Climate and Worship
Climate change is one of the critical challenges of our time that needs to find more attention in worship events.
Worship serves as a ‘lifeline’ for the church. Worship nourishes church communities with knowledge about the values, teachings, traditions, and histories of the church. Worship also motivates church communities to think and act in ways that (worship leaders take to) reflect the values and teachings of the church.
The primarily source for worship is scriptures, interpreted to be relevant to the life of worshipping communities (locally) and the church (institutionally).
There are interrelated challenges in the life of worshipping communities – e.g., poverty (worsened by rising costs of living), violence (especially against women and children, but also against minoritized races, religions, orientations, and nations), technology (which shifts so quickly with the advances of artificial intelligence), climate change (the devastating effects of which are at hand), and so forth. When these challenges are engaged in worship, the messaging for worshippers to take become relevant for their lives. And consequently, the lifeline of the church functions relevantly.
Climate change is one of the critical challenges of our time that needs to find more attention in worship events.
This conviction is behind the “Acclimatise (the) lectionary” project, which will begin by providing weekly reflections on how lectionary texts may be interpreted to address the realities of climate change and the rise of climate injustice.
These reflections will be available at Insights online and launched in January 2025, on Epiphany Day.
More information will follow from Synod communications.
Watch this space!
More Information on Climate Action
The Climate Action Mission team are taking intentional steps to address climate change and its impacts on the environment and communities as an ongoing commitment to the stewardship of the earth. This may include:
- advocating for policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- supporting sustainable practices within the church and wider community
- raising awareness about the importance of caring for the planet.