Resolution 26-2b

     Ecological Resilience in a Time of Climate Crisis

(from Synod EcoFaith Network)

WHEREAS, God gives the whole creation, including human beings, the capacity for resilience, to thrive amid changing circumstances; and

WHEREAS, scripture encourages, illustrates, and embodies resilience;¹ and

WHEREAS, challenges to resilience persist, such as

a)    accelerating change in climate, including extreme weather events which are increasing in frequency and intensity on a global scale and also in northeastern Minnesota; and

b)    recent federal funding cuts to food assistance, health coverage, education, scientific research, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation, such that churches are doing ministry in a time when people cannot depend on government support for some services their communities need; and

WHEREAS, congregations, drawing strength from the steadfast love and faithfulness of God, are a resilient presence in their communities through their historical and ongoing ministries of worship and hospitality, outreach and service, care for people in need, civic engagement and public witness, education and creation care; and

WHEREAS, the Northeastern MN Synod’s EcoFaith Network has, through numerous initiatives,² since being established by the synod at its assembly in 2008, assisted the synod in living out God’s call to be stewards of the earth for the sake of the whole creation; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Northeastern MN Synod, meeting in assembly, affirm ecological resilience as a value we share as people of faith; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Northeastern MN Synod, meeting in assembly, encourage congregations to become active centers of resilience (see examples in footnotes)³ which address the impacts of climate and ecological harm; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Northeastern MN Synod, meeting in assembly, strengthen its efforts for advocacy and civic engagement at local, state, and national levels including encouraging circles of civic engagement and partnership with Lutheran Advocacy MN; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Northeastern MN Synod support these actions with, through and by the leadership of the bishop and synod staff, conference leaders, and the EcoFaith Network’s Leadership Team and its Partner Congregations. 

ENDNOTES

1. Examples of scripture illustrating resilience:

 -   the steadfast love of the LORD that never ceases (Lamentations 3:22),

 -   the Earth’s regenerative capacities renewing desolate landscapes (Isaiah 55:13),

 -   those who trust in the LORD, who are like trees planted by water, continuing to bear fruit in anxious times (Jeremiah 17:7-8),

 -   those whose faith enables them to endure hardship (Job 19:25), to take heart (John 16:33), to press on toward the goal of new life (Philippians 3:12), and not to grow weary in doing what is right (Galatians 6:9); and

 -   Jesus Christ the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5), whose life, ministry, death and resurrection embodied God’s unwavering, redeeming love for the cosmos (John 3:16; Colossians 1:20).

2. Examples of EcoFaith Network of the Northeastern MN Synod initiatives, conducted along with its Partner Congregations and more recently other ELCA synods:

-   annual EcoFaith Summits fostering a community concerned for Creation across the Upper Midwest (Current year’s theme is “From Fear to Fire: Igniting Community for a Planet in Peril,” which emphasized faith-based community organizing),

-   bi-monthly Green Blades Rising newsletters,

-   a Pollinator Sanctuary movement within our Pollinator Synod,

-   weekly Preaching Roundtable commentaries,

-   website resources; and

-   a Lenten pilot project to support circles of civic engagement in congregations advocating for neighbors and nature in partnership with Lutheran Advocacy MN and MN Interfaith Power & Light.

3. Examples of how congregations can become active centers of resilience:

-       providing places people can turn to for ongoing services and/or referral during times of disruption and recovery,

-       fostering the resilience of the broader community by helping it ask questions about its power, water and air quality, biodiversity, economic sustainability, and how people can become neighbors to each other,

-       becoming clusters of resilience with other congregations in their conferences and communities,

-       making room in worship for lament and for confession that names ecological suffering, that identifies systems of exploitation and extraction that oppress people and the rest of the Earth community, and that proclaims God’s saving gospel for the whole creation,

-       assessing programs, communication, operations, buildings and power systems with an eye to being better prepared for weather and health emergencies; and

-       learning from Indigenous neighbors and other marginalized groups both within our church and beyond it who have long been practitioners of resilience.