For the Love of Creation - Fall Events
The Reverend Margaret Marquardt, Chair of the Diocesan Eco-Justice Unit has asked diocesan comms and mission and ministry to circulate information from the August 2021 For the Love of Creation e-Newsletter.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE FOR THE LOVE OF CREATION WEBSITE
COP 26 Virtual Ecumenical Delegation
October 31 – November 12, 2021
Virtual Delegation | One week or both
For the Love of Creation and The United Church of Canada are seeking delegates for their United Nations Climate Change COP 26 Ecumenical Delegation. Participation will be virtual. The delegation will participate, learn and advocate in the COP virtual space, and communicate during COP and afterwards to For the Love of Creation constituencies and beyond to bring attention and grow support for climate justice. Your energy, experience, knowledge, hard work, voice, faith and creativity are needed!
Read more about the ecumenical delegation and apply.
Read more about COP 26-Glasgow.
Deadline to apply:
September 13, 2021
Fall 2021 Advocacy Webinar Series
For the Love of Creation is hosting an advocacy webinar series over three Thursdays in September (7pm EDT). Join us for one or more of the following sessions:
- September 9: Climate Financing
- September 16: Indigenous Rights
- September 23: Climate Ambition and Transition
Join us to hear from guest speakers, learn more about recent progress on the FLC advocacy priorities, and discuss what we will be urging the new federal government to do to advance climate justice.
Register for the Webinar Series
October 30: FLC Fall Symposium
Join us for the 2021 Fall Symposium! This gathering will mark a key moment in our journey, in Canada’s climate plan, and in global climate action as we engage with COP 26 (November 2021). We will hear the collective theological reflections in the Letter of the Faithful, learn about our climate advocacy goals and how they have evolved, and engage with faith leaders, theologians, climate organizers including:
- Sister Eva Solomon, csj
- Councillor Christine Boyle, Vancouver City Council
- Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat
- Dr. David K. Goodin
- Mueni Mutinda, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
- Jennifer Preston, Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)
- and more!
This gathering will also include a session for local networking and organizing around climate justice. We are currently looking for people who could serve as "Local Connectors" for their municipality or region to both lead and participate in small group discussions at the gathering. If you are interested in serving as a local connector for your city, town or region, please let us know by email at flc.pac@gmail.com.
Registration will be available soon!
Blog Post: There is no end to the creativity and scope of imagining a better world
"In my experience leading three “Creation, Climate and You” conversations, the greatest strength of these conversations is connection and imagination. Each of the conversations that I have led happened online and connected people from across Turtle Island. Coming together to share about our experiences of loss, worry, exhaustion and fear was cathartic for many. We identified with one another in these feelings and experienced comfort in the reminder that we don’t carry those burdens alone."
September 1 is World Day of Prayer for Creation
Each year from September 1 to October 4, the Christian family unites for the Season of Creation, a celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. Creation Day (September 1), also called the World Day of Prayer for Creation, opens the season each year. Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew, the World Council of Churches, and many other leaders have called the faithful to celebrate it. Globally, Christians are invited to pray in their communities or join an online prayer service to come together in a joyful celebration of our common cause.
Prayer is a powerful experience and tool to raise awareness and foster transformational relations and ministry. We invite you to use the Season of Creation Prayer for 2021 linked here or a favourite prayer from your tradition.
IPCC Report: Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis earlier this month. The report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of climate change. The report provides new estimates of the chances of crossing global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades, and finds that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said: "If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as today's report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses."