Preaching Hope in a Climate Emergency
If the world’s average temperature will soon shoot past the 1.5ºC target to ensure climate stability, how do we preach about hope? How do we preach about taking moral responsibility for addressing climate change? Focused on these two questions, Rev. Margaret held a lively 30-minute conversation on climate preaching with her friend and colleague Rev. Dr. Jim Antal. Their discussion included brief comments on how to preach the lectionary texts assigned for the Third and Fourth Sundays in Lent.
“Hope is inseparable from our own actions. [Hope] isn’t given; it’s grown. Waiting to act on climate change until we have hope is like waiting to pick up a shovel until we build callouses on our hands. The hope never arrives until we get to work.”
– Tim DeChristopher (“Working Up Hope,” in Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis, ed. Leah Schade and Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, p. 148)
Links:
Margaret’s Website: https://revivingcreation.org/
Jim’s Website: https://www.jimantal.com/
“Sacred Season for Climate Justice”
Climate Crisis Preaching: Selected Resources
Margaret’s 2019 sermon on the Prodigal Son
Recent climate news: InsideClimateNews.org
This ecumenical event was co-sponsored by Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, and Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ.
