350.org + Bearing Witness

Photography by Jeffrey Louden on 4/2/12

(the "graffiti" was painted over with black the week after the shot was taken.)

Across a world divided in so many ways, one of the things that—sadly—unites us is the increasing damage from increasing temperatures. So far science has been in the lead in sounding the alarm, and the insurance industry (the part of our economy we ask to analyze risk) has not been far behind. Now we need faith communities the world over to step up and do their part in reading, like Daniel, “the writing on the wall.”

On the weekend of May 4 - 6 (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, depending on when your faith community gathers), we’ll help organize a huge global day of witness. In communities around the planet that have felt the sting of climate change, people will gather to mark the spot where wildfires consumed houses, where floods took down bridges, where acidifying water bleached coral, where drought killed forests. As part of those rallies they’ll form a “dot”—a dot we can connect with other dots across the planet to remind people that climate change is not a future threat but a current crisis.

In other places, people will form “dots of hope” around solar panels and wind turbines; they’ll help dig community gardens and weatherize homes, they’ll bike en masse or paddle to the middle of some lovely lake they’d like to see persist.

We’re so hopeful that religious communities of every major religious tradition will be involved in this work. Both the Hebrew Bible and Gospel contain injunctions to love one's neighbor and to be good stewards of the Earth. One of the things that faith communities do best is bear witness, on our own behalf and on behalf of those whose voices are not heard in our societies.

This day will not solve the problem of climate change—that will be a long path. But it won’t begin in earnest until we acknowledge as a civilization both that we’re in trouble and that we have ways out. Please join us on the weekend of May 4 - 6, and keep us in your prayers.

Sincerely, 

Bill McKibben

350.org

On behalf of Interfaith Power & Light