Tuesday, 01 November 2011 18:55

Minneapolis Area Synod 2007 Resolution: Faithful Solutions to Global Warming and Climate Change

WHEREAS the biblical tradition stresses the connection in covenant between the community of faith, the created order, and the Creator, so much so that Paul explains that “For all creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Romans 8:19), andWHEREAS God calls us to Care for Creation with Vision, Hope, and Justice (1993 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America social statement) in ways that protect the fruitfulness and viability of the earth and the sustainability of human communities, and

WHEREAS James Hansen, chief environmental scientist for NASA, says that “We have at most ten years…to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions,” that allowing such emissions to grow at the current rate will result in a “far more desolate world”…”for all foreseeable generations,” and that “our children, grandchildren, and many more generations will bear the consequences of choices that we make in the next few years,” and

WHEREAS probable consequences of climate change include drastic changes in global weather patterns with unpredictable impacts on both water supply and food production across the earth, and the intensification of social dislocation of peoples and political strife between nations in an intensified struggle for control of scarce resources; and

WHEREAS there are practical solutions to the problem of global warming, therefor be itRESOLVED that the Minneapolis Area Synod Council in partnership with the Office of the Bishop and in cooperation with Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota (LCPPM) train professional staff to help prepare them for leading congregations, youth groups, and other ministries in moral deliberation concerning global climate change and its impacts and solutions, and be it further

RESOLVED that the Minneapolis Area Synod Partnership Table in cooperation with LCPPM and Congregations Caring for Creation (C3MN) provide training to help congregation members address global climate change in the personal, parish, and political contexts, and be it further

RESOLVED that the Minneapolis Area Synod Partnership Table in cooperation with LCPPM and C3MN form a local chapter of the Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the synods, identifying contact people within each conference to serve as a resource for congregations seeking to get involved, and be it furtherRESOLVED that the staff of the Office of the Bishop direct Minneapolis Area Synod congregations to resources so that when planning any building project, they may include environmentally-conscious and sustainable designs, and maintain their facilities with renewable, recyclable, and environmentally-friendly products, and be it further

RESOVLED that the Office of the Bishop engage in public policy advocacy to significantly reduce emissions that cause climate change in the following five sectors: home, transportation, energy, production, commercial and industrial applications, and be it finally RESOLVED, that the 2007 Minneapolis Area Assembly memorialize the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly of strategies for environmental education, advocacy, and action throughout the ELCA.

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