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LUTHERAN SYNOD CALLS FOR ADOPTION OF THE GENESIS COVENANT At its most recent assembly, the Sierra Pacific Synod called on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is the largest Lutheran body in the United States, to adopt the Genesis Covenant at its 2009 Churchwide Assembly. This means that the Genesis Covenant will now come before the national governing body of the ELCA for approval. This is the second Christian denomination to consider mandating a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from all of its congregations and facilities. In July 2009 the Episcopal Church will also have the Genesis Covenant before its national assembly, the General Convention. BISHOPS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES CALL FOR ADOPTION OF THE GENESIS COVENANT In a recent statement signed by all of the bishops from Province 8 of the Episcopal Church, the Genesis Covenant was singled out as a key effort to halt global warming. The bishops called for its adoption and encouraged all others to join them in supporting it. To find out more go to www.provinceviii.org and look for the prominent article detailing the bishop's letter to the church. |
WELCOME TO THE GENESIS COVENANT!
If you are a person of faith from any religious or spiritual tradition...
If you are convinced that global warming is a real and very present danger to our planet...
Then this webpage is meant for you. It is an invitation to you personally to exercise your leadership to do something to put that faith to work to stop the threat of irreversible climate change.
My name is Steven Charleston. I am not an environmentalist. I am not a scientist. I am not a politician. I am a person of faith and I am concerned that I do something to save this Earth for the sake of all life and all future generations. Those are my only credentials.
I am also the person who envisioned the idea of the Genesis Covenant. It came to me as a simple but powerful vision for what religious leaders could do if only they would decide to act.
Let me come right to the point. The Genesis Covenant is an attempt to inspire every religious community in the United States and Canada to cooperate on a national level for a single goal: to stop global warming.
By "every religious community" I mean very literally every Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu community in North America.
By "on a national level" I mean that these communities take this action through their highest national governing bodies.
By "to stop global warming" I mean that they agree to reduce the green house gas emissions from every facility they maintain by a minimum of 50% in ten years.
In a nutshell, that's the Genesis Covenant. It is not an organization. It is not affiliated with any particular political, social or even religious institution. It is simply an opportunity for any and all persons of faith to do something together to save our common home, the Earth.
Here is what I am asking you to do: exercise your leadership by bringing the idea of the Genesis Covenant before what ever governing or representative body speaks with authority for your faith community. Get that body to authorize a minimum 50% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from every facility you own and operate within 10 years.
I am asking you to take the initiative. I am asking you to work within your own national community. I want to inspire you to be the catalyst for action in your faith tradition.
That is what I am trying to do in my community, the Episcopal Church. That is what I hope you will do in your community as a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu. You know your people and how to get things done in your community just as I do in mine. You know the institution. You know its structures and its process. Put that knowledge to work to get the Genesis Covenant on the floor of the highest level you can reach. Get it debated, understood and approved. Get the minimum 50% reduction passed on your national level and go on record as one more religious body that is making this effort to halt destructive climate change.
Imagine with me the impact it would have if every religious community in the United States and Canada stood up to make this single commitment. Imagine the impact this would have on other sectors of society from corporations to governments. Imagine the hope it would embody for the world when people saw whole communities of faith putting aside their differences to work together for a single sacred cause: the welfare of the world. In a time of such global fear and strife, this simple witness alone could heal a million hearts.
If you agree to help, you will not be joining any organization. You will simply be taking the idea and making it your own. It will be up to you and all those you can recruit to help you to make it happen. Through this site you can access resources and support: but in the end, it will be your leadership that will make the difference.
Perhaps, like me, you are daunted by the prospect of taking on such a challenge. Like me, you may think you are no expert or great authority figure on the subject of global warming. Like me, you may hesitate to act.
But please remember, just like me, you are a person called to believe in something greater than yourself. You are a faithful witness to the truth you find in what you profess as your religion. You are an example of that faith. You are sustained by it and guided by it. You share it already with a great many others whose values are no different than your own.
Now is the time to put that faith to work. Now is the time for you to bring the Genesis Covenant to your community and let a miracle begin to happen.
Please meditate on this invitation. Please pray about it.
I believe the same power that brought you to faith in the beginning will see you through to the end of this journey as we all do what we can to practice what we preach through a simple idea whose moment has come: the Genesis Covenant.