“Will the churches have anything to say about these issues, or will we watch history pass?”

Justice in climate change and poverty

Church leaders tour across Canada to discuss the issues

WINNIPEG, MB—Does the Church in Canada have anything to say about climate change and poverty? That was the question three Canadian church leaders travelled across Canada to answer by engaging with faith communities throughout April and May.

The tour, coordinated by the Canadian Council of Churches and Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), featured Susan Johnson, the National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Willard Metzger, executive director of Mennonite Church Canada, and Karen Hamilton, General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, speaking with various guest panelists across the country.

During the Winnipeg stop on April 16, the panel included Mark Burch (Simplicity Institute), Tasha Carriere-Spillett (William Whyte School), and Shaun Loney (BUILD, Inc.).

In the opening remarks, CPJ executive director Joe Gunn asked, “Will the churches have anything to say about these issues, or will we watch history pass?”

All of the presenters agree that climate change and poverty are entangled concerns.

“Climate change reduces animal populations, changes conditions for hunting and gathering, and effects agricultural production,” says Burch. “And the suffering that occurs in poverty is both material and psychological.”

Burch says climate change is a symptom of the worldview where humans act as lords of the Earth.

“We should re-imagine ourselves as not having dominion over nature, but having symbiosis with it,” he says. “Simple living would eliminate war and violence. The role faith communities can play is focusing more attention on Christ’s model of simplicity.”

“We have to stop fighting poverty,” Shaun Loney says, addressing the issue as a symptom of unhealthy economy, “and connect the people who most need the work with the work that needs to be done.”
“We have to stop fighting poverty,” Shaun Loney says, addressing the issue as a symptom of unhealthy economy, “and connect the people who most need the work with the work that needs to be done.”

He adds that this is not a complex solution, but it is made difficult because there is no money to be made from simple living, and this would be difficult for our economy to accept.

“I want to be able to say to my children that I did everything I could,” says Carriere-Spillett, who introduced herself in Cree to demonstrate her background. “Our ancestors understood the complex relationship between people and the earth; it has turned into a relationship of exploitation and we are accountable for that.”

Carriere-Spillett encourages reaching out to young people to teach them the importance of this relationship.

Where poverty is concerned, Loney says strong local economies are what are needed from his experience working in Winnipeg’s North End.

“We have to stop fighting poverty,” he says, addressing the issue as a symptom of unhealthy economy, “and connect the people who most need the work with the work that needs to be done.”

The church leaders says they are encouraged by the discussions they’ve participated in throughout Justice Tour 2015.

“There are lots of initiatives happening across the country,” says Metzger, “but they are fragmented. If we gather together, we’ll have a stronger voice.”

To learn more about the Justice Tour, go here.

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