Creation Corner Column for December 2019
Religious Declaration of Unprecedented Climate Change
Responding to the very serious climate threat, the 2019 Religious Declaration of Unprecedented Climate Emergency was issued by the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care (NRCCC).
This was the 20th year for the annual prayer breakfast and week of action for public advocacy event, composed by Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, and Orthodox Christians, and Jews.
The Declaration clarifies two essential facts: (1) humanity has an extremely short window of time in which to avert irreversible climate chaos, and (2) religions around the world consider protecting God's Creation a moral and spiritual imperative.
An increasing number of members realize we need to address climate change with the same focus, fervor and self-sacrifice as a nation does in mobilizing itself for defense against a common foe (in this case, atmospheric physics).
The Declaration reflects major policy recommendation statements from such groups as the National Association of Evangelicals, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Central Conference of American Rabbis, the National Council of Churches, and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops.
Declaration co-authors included Dr. Richard W. Miller, Professor of Philosophical Theology and Sustainability Studies at Creighton University; Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, a "reviving creation" Episcopal priest, and David W. Carroll, an inventor and tech business entrepreneur.
Stewards of God's Creation awards were bestowed on Rev. Gerald Durley (Baptist) and Rev. Jim Antal (United Church of Christ).
See web sites for Climate One, Reviving Creation, and persons/groups named above.
This column was composed as the 2019 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was begun in Madrid, Spain, the COP 25 (Conference of the Parties) Talks.
Thanks to the folks publishing The Mountain Vision, for this NRCCC information. Their web site is http://www.christiansforthemountains.org .
-----------------------------------
Mike Ochs finds common ground between religion and politics in his concern for the environment.
Politically he self-published the first "Greens Bibliography" of the English-language literature on the international Green Party movement (1989), the project for his Master of Liberal Arts in International Studies degree at Lock Haven (PA) University. He also helped plant the seeds for the Green Party of PA at that time, and remains a cyber-activist with it.
For a monthly newsletter of the ecumenical United Churches of Lycoming County (PA), he has written the "Creation Corner Column" since 1997. It became a blog in 2011 at
He received a B.A. degree from Gettysburg College in 1965.
