Faith Leaders Mobilize for Climate Action at Multifaith Convening
“We’re here to focus our attention on this moment and this movement to face this unprecedented existential challenge of the climate crisis. Despite the importance of data, technology and science, this crisis is, at its core, about values,” said Karenna Gore at the recent multifaith convening hosted by Center for Earth Ethics.
The event brought together more than 100 faith and community leaders, activists and scholars in Union Theological Seminary’s James Chapel on September 25. It marked both Climate Week NYC and the ten-year anniversary of the Religions for the Earth conference, which sparked the creation of CEE the following year. A panel of faith leaders centered the event, with speakers reflecting on a decade of action since the 2014 conference and the path ahead.
The panel, introduced by Gore, featured Tom Goldtooth of Indigenous Environmental Network, Rev. Fletcher Harper of Greenfaith, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of Dayenu, Dr. Rajwant Singh of EcoSikh and Rev. Leo Woodberry of New Alpha Community Development Corporation. Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, president of UTS, welcomed everyone and spoke about the significance of the occasion and the larger movement that it represented. Grandmother Mona Polacca opened the program with a message that included a “prayer song that acknowledges everything of life, including the center of Mother Earth.”
The panel discussion, co-moderated by Gore and Polacca, confronted difficult truths about the role of religion in addressing the climate crisis. Rev. Harper voiced frustration over religious communities’ lack of engagement: “I am really tired of going to religious environmental events where someone mentions that 83% of the world’s population is religious. Nowhere close to 2% of the world’s people of faith are active on this. We’ve got to do better.”
Rev. Woodberry echoed this urgency, focusing on the issue of “this conspicuous consumption—this addiction that we have, that we need to have more and more and more.” He quoted Gandhi: “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Woodberry offered a counterpoint to this wreckless consumption by asserting that “each and every one of us, as well as the Earth, is sacred. Every single thing is precious: the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, the wind that blows and allows the Earth to be seeded.”
Goldtooth used a poignant symbol to ground the discussion in Indigenous rights and struggles for justice. Holding up a glass of water, he connected the audience to the rallying cry of the Standing Rock movement: “mni wiconi” (“water is life”). Highlighting the danger from industries that “don’t even ask permission” to construct destructive pipelines, he put forward a clarion call to treat the Earth as an active subject that demands respect rather than a passive object that humans are free to exploit. Remarking that he rarely has “enough time to sing my songs” at such gatherings, he offered a traditional song to center his reflections around reverence for Earth.
The climate crisis is not only a political, social justice, ecological issue—it's also an issue of the soul.
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn Tweet
Speakers stressed the importance of spiritual nourishment in the face of our interlocking climatic, ecological and societal crises. Rabbi Rosenn stated that “we are living in such dark times,” emphasizing that “the climate crisis is not only a political, social justice, ecological issue—it’s also an issue of the soul. I think that there is a growing recognition among faith communities of the need to spiritually resource people in the face of the climate crisis.”
Another throughline was the need for practical, tangible action in the fight for climate justice and environmental protection. Dr. Singh stated that “you cannot feel closeness to God just by your talk—if there is no action, all talk is a fantasy.” He drove this message home by playing a recording of birdsong from a forest that was restored through EcoSikh’s monumental tree planting and ecosystem restoration drive.
Rev. Harper praised activists like Saffet Catovic and Patrick Carolan who have been putting “their bodies on the line in peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience” to confront the destructive power of the fossil fuel industry. He also uplifted scholar-activists like Mary Evelyn Tucker, Kusumita Pedersen and Kathleen Deignan who have helped provide an ethical, theological and conceptual framework for protecting the Earth.
Grandmother Polacca closed with a saying from her mother, reminding everyone of the importance of joy and presence, even in the midst of challenges: “Do it while you can, and while it’s here.”