Thank you for joining us for "A Religious Response to Climate Change: Learning" held at St Michael and All Angels Parish in Tucson on October 4th. Please join us if you can - and bring friends! - to the followup session, "A Religious Response to Climate Change II: Living" to be held at St Michael's on Saturday, December 13th, 9am-2pm. All are welcome!
A Religious Response to Climate Change – II: Living
Advent, Stewardship, and Metanoia
The Episcopal Parish of Saint Michael and All Angels
602 North Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona 85711
Saturday, December 13, 2014, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Mass (optional) at 8:30 AM & lunch at 12:00 PM (free-will offering)
“We praise you and we bless you, holy and gracious God, source of life abundant. From before time you made ready the creation. Your Spirit moved over the deep and brought all things into being: sun, moon, and stars; earth, winds, and waters; and every living thing. You made us in your image, and taught us to walk in your ways.” – Enriching Our Worship, Eucharistic Prayer
“On November 2nd the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which represents mainstream scientific opinion, said that it was extremely likely that climate change is the product of human activity... Many factors influence the climate but perhaps the single most important is carbon dioxide (CO₂)… At the start of the industrial revolution, in about 1800, there were 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO₂ in the atmosphere. That had been the level for most of human history. This year, however, concentrations exceeded 400 ppm, the first time it had reached that level for a million years. Most of the increase has been caused by people burning fossil fuels.” – The Economist, November 2, 2014.
How do we respond to the realities of climate change with an eye to stewardship of earth’s resources and responsible changes in practice? In other words, given what we have learned, how are we now to live?
As we seek to make an informed religious response to climate change, we come together to discuss and discern plausible actions. In this follow-up to our first forum on climate change (October 4th), we will seek practices for sustainable living, related to food, water, and energy.
We will be invited into theological reflection on the spiritual context for environmental action by The Rev. John R. Smith, The Rev. Nadine Martin, and The Rev. Dr. John R. Leech.
- What does it mean to have stewardship of all our natural resources?
- What change of direction (metanoia) is needed for sustainable living?
We will be listening to presentations on challenges of sustainable living from:
- Alexander D. Cronin, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona.
- Margot Garcia, Professor Emeritus, Department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University.
- Taralynn Reynolds, Population and Sustainability Organizer, Center for Biological Diversity.
The presenters will address questions concerning energy, water and food in terms of:
- What is a “sustainable world”?
- What are the current levels and rate of consumption?
- What are the effects of current consumption, especially on energy, water and soil?
- What are the means to change the current trends and where are we in this change?
Our speakers will participate in a moderated panel discussion after their presentations.
Moderator of the panel: Ke Chiang Hsieh, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Arizona. Senior Warden, St. Michael & All Angels Parish.
Host: The Rev. John R. Smith, Rector, St. Michael & All Angels Parish.
RSVP by calling (520) 886-7292, Monday through Thursday, or e-mail to church@stmichael.net, no later than December 8th. Please leave your name, your affiliation, and the number of people planning to come with you. http://smallangelstucson.org/ https://www.facebook.com/
