Preaching Hope in a Climate Emergency

If the world’s average temperature will soon shoot past the 1.5ºC target to ensure climate stability, how does one preach about hope? How does one preach about taking moral responsibility for addressing climate change?

Focused on these two questions, Rev. Margaret Bullett-Jonas held a lively 30-minute conversation on climate preaching with her friend and colleague Rev. Dr. Jim Antal.

Hope

1. Hope is out superpower

2. Live into a new story

3. Be honest to ourselves

4. Process grief in community

5. Courage will begin to take root as we live into a new story

6. Gratitude (for being given the opportunity to make this happen) will keep hope alive

“Hope is inseparable from our own actions. [Hope] isn’t given; it’s grown. Waiting to act on climate change until we have hope is like waiting to pick up a shovel until we build callouses on our hands. The hope never arrives until we get to work.” ~ Tim DeChristopher

from “Working Up Hope,” in Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis, ed. Leah Schade and Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, p. 148)

Moral Responsibility

1. Social & economic justice

2. International justice

3. Inter-generational justice

4. Racial justice

5. Inter-species justice

Their discussion also included brief comments on how to preach the lectionary texts assigned for the Third and Fourth Sundays in Lent.

Links: Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas’ Website: https://revivingcreation.org/ Rev. Jim Antal’s Website: https://www.jimantal.com/ “Sacred Season for Climate Justice” Climate Crisis Preaching: Selected Resources Margaret’s 2019 sermon on the Prodigal Son Recent climate news: InsideClimateNews.org