Our Prayers Will Bring Hope. Our Lights Will Guide the Way.
December 2014/January 2015
December 1 to 12, world leaders will try to agree on the fundamentals of a climate change treaty in Lima that will guide the 2015 Paris climate talks. If we are to stop climate change we need a strong meaningful agreement that everyone can commit to. Lima is where our leaders have to “nail down” the fundamentals of the agreement, giving a year to work on the details so that they can agree and sign a climate treaty in December 2015. Thus, success in Lima would be one giant step forward for a robust climate treaty that protects our planet and our future.
When world leaders come together, they need to know that we are holding them in our thoughts, meditations and prayers. Each evening from December 1 to 7, households and communities around the world are invited to light a candle, or solar lamp, and pray, meditate, or offer an invocation for a climate agreement. On Sunday, December 7, from 8 to 8:30 p.m. worldwide, people from diverse faith and spiritual communities will gather for public vigils.
This year the IPCC (the United Nation’s International Panel of Climate Change experts) has released the most comprehensive report on climate change ever made. The conclusions are sobering – our climate is changing at a disastrous rate because of our carbon emissions. We must wake up during this Advent and act now. Humanity is facing the greatest challenge since evolution began.
Why?
• Earth is almost half way to the maximum amount of warming our living Earth can tolerate before its systems become unavailable to support life.
• The ideal amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is 350 parts per million. The current level is 404 parts per million.
• The fossil fuel industries have 2795 gigatons of carbon dioxide resources in supply and yet Earth and humanity can withstand only 560 gigatons of carbon dioxide before going over the 3.6 degree Fahrenheit temperature increase.
Reflections and Actions:
• “… this task entrusted to us by God the Creator requires us to grasp the rhythm and logic of creation. But we are often driven by pride of domination, of possessions, manipulation, of exploitation; we do not “care” for it, we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a gift that we must care for.” (Pope Francis, 6/5/13, Environment)
• Take a photo at a public vigil you attend; post it on Facebook or Twitter with #LightForLima along with your hopes for the future. Our digital vigils will tell politicians that people around the world are watching and praying for action.
• More information on “Light for Lima” is at http://ourvoices.net/Lima and information regarding the gathering of world leaders is at http://unfccc.int/meetings/lima_dec_2014/meeting/8141.php.
• Read the summaries or reports from the IPCC at http://www.ipcc.ch.
• A prayer is located at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx52-Hz0qRx5bGNkLS1td1FkRmc/view?usp=sharing. Other resources for organizing a vigil are at http://ourvoices.net/lima-resources.
• Sign the Our Voices petition urging global leaders to prevent devastating climate change as part of the vigil at http://ourvoices.net.
• U.S. citizens are invited to urge Secretary of State John Kerry to contribute to the Green Climate Fund that helps developing nations mitigate and adapt to the greatest impacts of climate change at http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50887/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11955.
• For signs of hope, read the June 2014 article entitled, The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate written by Al Gore at http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-turning-point-new-hope-for-the-climate-20140618.
• Reflect on what is possible – even if at first the challenges seem insurmountable. What urgent action must be taken in our mission to care for Earth?
“Pope Francis has called human trafficking “a crime against humanity” and “an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ.”
The 2015 World Peace Day will focus on human trafficking. The theme is, “Slaves no more, but brothers and sisters.” Do you recognize your brothers and sisters around the world as made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore having “equal dignity”?
Trafficking, which generates huge amounts of income for organized crime, threatens peace because it is based on a lack of recognition of the fundamental human dignity of its victims, the Vatican statement said. Information, resources, and the Pope’s message for the day are at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/war-and-peace/world-day-of-peace.cfm.
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