Sample Worship Moment for Climate Hope Cards

For churches participating in collecting UCC Climate Hope Cards that will be delivered to decision makers in Washington, D.C. this September, Julie Ballard of Niles Discovery Church in Fremont, California offers the following example of an invitation for church members to join in the campaign. Niles Discovery Church makes a regular practice of including in worship Kairos Moments that share reflections and calls to action that address the twin crisis of climate and inequality. A collection of sample moments are available here.

Good morning. Our Green Team is taking on a new project and we hope you will be a participant. We are participating in the UCC’s Climate of Hope Cards Campaign. This campaign is part of an effort to save thousands of lives, address social inequities, and get our nation on track to meet its climate goals.

The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of updating a number of protections that could significantly impact our environment and public health. Congregations like ours are striving to collect as many postcards as possible to urge the strongest possible protections. These postcards will be delivered to decision makers in Washington DC in September. They will also be used to connect people to opportunities to submit comments to the EPA as updates to protections are considered.

Today, justice takes many different and interconnected forms. We see this especially in the climate crisis. The burdens of pollution do not fall on everyone equally. Climate related disasters do not affect everyone the same. Race, poverty, and other social inequities all play a role and who currently suffers the most and who faces the greatest impending dangers. Often those who have contributed the least to climate change are those who have been impacted the most. Our Green Team has received _ postcards and we hope to get all of them signed and returned. We invite you to take some postcards and have friends, family, and people in your community sign them, and return them to you. Then you need to bring them back to the church and put them in the designated area. In early August, the Green Team will send the cards to the Environmental Justice Ministries of the United Church of Christ to flood federal offices in Washington, D.C.

Thank you for your participation.