May 21, 2006

Global Warming as a Religious Issue

by Sally Bingham

Rev. Sally Bingham is the Environmental Minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and the founder of Interfaith Power and Light, an interfaith ministry devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and faith. FCC isn't quite big enough to have a full time Environmental Minister, but we do have an active Environmental Ministry. Click to visit our "Green Page" which includes links to other sermons on this subject.

It is a pleasure to be here, this morning, and I bring greetings from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. I serve as the Environmental Minister there and sometimes that title needs a little explanation. So, I will start by telling that it doesn't mean I love animals and trees more than humans. I am, however, deeply committed to restoring a sense of ecological stewardship into the minds and hearts of people of faith. Every mainstream religion has a mandate to protect life and to serve one another, but in recent years we've left this responsibility of the environment to the environmental community, not making that connection between the degradation of the land, air and water and ourselves and our faith. Every single one of our behaviors effects another person, whether it's the coffee we drink, the clothes we wear, cars we drive, the electricity we use. Every single thing effects someone else. Once people of faith understand that, I believe great change will happen.

This morning's subject is one I have focused on for nearly ten years. Interestingly, the first time I preached about the connection between ecology and faith, I was just up the road at the little Episcopal Church on Lucas Valley Road called Nativity. I looked out over those glazed eyes and a congregation that thought I really was part of a liberal conspiracy. But I went on . . . People need to hear this message and when they get it, it means something. The message is this: if you sit in a pew and profess a love for God, it only follows that you will love what God loves and created - - all of life. It means loving one another as I have loved you. Loving your neighbor as yourself. In the words of today's scripture "Abide in me as I abide in you."

Up at Nativity those few years ago, I tried to convince the congregation that the prophets of today are the scientists and we need to listen to them. At that time the Gospel lesson was about Thomas who doubted that his friends had seen Jesus. He wanted proof and to put his hands in the nail holes and see for himself. I asked the congregation to not wait until they had seen the wounds of climate change, but to put their faith into action and change their behavior according to what the scientists were telling us. Global warming is not a myth. I wanted them to believe without seeing or it might be too late. I spoke about the skeptics among us. There always are some, and there always will be those who have to have proof and see for themselves

Ten years later, today, we are seeing and feeling and getting to put our fingers in the wounds. As an analogy, when Thomas expressed doubt over Jesus' resurrection, Jesus appeared to show him the truth. I think that for the skeptics of human-induced global warming, mother nature is showing us. 19 of the last 20 years are the warmest on record, with 2005 being the hottest. Africans in Kenya are dying from starvation due to years of draught. Hurricanes due to warmer ocean temperatures are devastating areas like New Orleans. And sadly we are witnessing the death of polar bears who are drowning from having to swim so far between ice islands where they rest during hunting season. The ice caps and glaciers are melting even faster than the scientists predicted a few years ago.

We have no excuse not to change our ways. We know better now. We've seen and heard and touched the wounds. The best scientists in the world are telling us that we are changing the climate. We must listen and we must hear.

It wasn't so long ago that the tobacco industry told us that smoking wasn't harmful to our health, or the auto industry said seat belts won't make any difference, or a hundred and fifty years ago when we were told that slavery was good for the economy. These were moral issues that our country addressed and did something about. And today, global warming is not just about science and economy, it is the greatest moral issue of our time. To ignore its effects compromises what it means to be human. In the 1960's Rachael Carson asked "who among us is not diminished as a human being if we continue on our present course?" I am asking the same question today. There will be suffering and loss of life in many major cities worldwide when sea levels rise. There will be loss of hundreds if not thousands of species as habitats are totally changed with the three degrees of warming that will occur by 2040.

This is a difficult issue to get people's attention on. Global warming is a hard one to focus on, and one of the reasons is that we are like frogs. We truly are. If a frog is thrown into a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out, but if you put a frog into a pot of warm water and gradually heat it up, the frog sits there and cooks. That's us. Global Warming is a slow processes that seems to be off most people's ability to feel alarmed about.

We can start to heal the planet with less use of oil and coal, and it will sustain the future for our children OR we can stay with the status quo and continue business as usual and suffer the consequences. We have the choice to preserve our health or not. It's not unlike an overweight person having to decide whether to slim down and get fit for a healthy longer life or risk dying young.

With the will in our hearts we can make changes. And its not sacrifice, its simply not wasting. It's driving fuel efficient cars, turning off lights you don't need and appliances not in use. Little things that give you a sense of giving back to the planet and your fellow human traveler.

You may be asking yourself why I bring this to your attention in church. The answer is that how we behave as human beings matters. This is a religious issue because how we behave towards each other matters to God. Each of us matters and our behavior matters. We are called to serve God and one another. That is what loving one's neighbor means. It is not an act of love when we pollute our neighbor's air or water. It is not an act of love when the poor among us are harmed sooner and more than we.

Christians have a call to live fully into their human potential. That means being the best we can be and moving towards God: getting closer and closer throughout our journey until we are actually walking with God at our side. Everything changes when that happens.

Think of the night sky and the vastness of the universe. "Abide in me as I abide in you." Doesn't that take on new meaning in light of the vastness of all that God created? We have potential far beyond our understanding. When we find ourselves in strange undiscovered waters or standing in the center of uncertainty, as we are today, look for God and walk with God beside you. We can do amazing things and accomplish so much. We can love beyond ourselves and our small world. Recognizing the full glory of God gives us huge opportunity and optimism. Civil rights have been and are being addressed, we got lead, which poisons the minds of children, out of gasoline. We have removed the bald eagle from the endangered species list. We have conquered diseases and flown people to the moon. We have new and spectacular technologies to address our carbon emissions. We just need to use them.

When the moral aspect of slavery reached the religious community, immediately we changed the coarse of a culture. We can do it again. When the morality of our dependence on oil and coal reaches the people in the pews we will change.

There is real hope on the horizon. Look around you when you drive and notice the hundreds of fuel efficient cars on the streets here and in San Francisco. Notice the solar on roofs. Notice that several large companies, oil and otherwise, are making profits by cutting carbon emissions and implementing green practices. Dupont, Fed EX, and British Petroleum to name a few. Even Wal-Mart is going "green". Ford and General Motors are laying off workers by the thousands and are threatened with bankruptcy while Honda and Toyota are making history with sales and profits. The American public wants fuel efficient cars. Thousands of jobs are being created with the development of wind, sun, fuel cell technology and recycling of materials.

If you are still wondering why I bring a subject like global warming to the pulpit, it's because what we as humans are doing, we are doing to ourselves and to our neighbors. This is the most important moral issue of our time. As I asked earlier, What does it mean to be human today? And what sort of future will our children have?

We are the moral voice of society and we need to address this issue from a faith perspective and, by example, take a leadership role. "People will know you by your love," is what Jesus told his disciples.

Do you think we can love nature again? Can we open our hearts to the wonder and life-giving source that lies there. There was a time when we were far more attached to the land and air and water than we are today. We lived on the land and were dependent on routine weather and loyal seasons for crops. We understood, much better than today, how important clean air and water are for our health. Remember when you could drink water from a stream or walk in the woods for silence and solitude and, if you will, emotional healing?

I think we have lost our way when it comes to the natural world. There is a new book out, called The Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv . He writes that we must save our children from "nature-deficit disorder". No joke: Nature deficit disorder. We are into the second or third generation of people who have not walked alone in the woods or thrown rocks into a creek. Or yes, hugged a tree. Those were things that many of us older folks grew up with. We played outside, not in front of TV . We escaped difficult situations by running to nature and could use the outdoors for healing and quiet time. Nature inspired us to be creative and use our imaginations. Children today have none of that discovery time - - the self-confidence one gains by finding your way home along a path through the woods is crucial for children's well being. I don't know if there is a substitute for that. But I do know the city gangs and kids growing up without contact with nature is harming our society. Nature is who we are. We are nature. Our DNA is much the same as trees. When we are separated from that part of us, we are unbalanced. We've lost part of ourselves.

Many people are concerned about how many cases of depression there are and how unexplained emotional diseases are increasing. Could it be we have lost contact with a very important part of ourselves when we don't have contact with Nature? Most of us here today have access to gardens or the natural world through trips and hikes. But many other Americans don't have that privilege any more, and they are the ones who have violence and crime in their lives. Could it be that Mr. Louv is on to something?

Carl Jung famously observed, "People can't take too much reality." Still, where climate change is concerned, I wonder: have we even had a fair chance to try? Have the skeptics given us the ability to turn our heads and ignore the truth? Maybe, but I know things are changing for the better and you will be a part of that. Make a commitment to become more aware of how your behavior effects your neighbor. Think about the first and great commandment . . . to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

And, listen to the words of the scripture from this morning: "Abide in me as I abide in you." Walk with God and make the adjustments in your life that have to happen to save this fragile earth, our island home. We are all in this together, one spirit and one family with a shared purpose.

Amen.