The Grand Tetons Said ….

“I stand here day and night praising God for the blessing you are to me. I stand here still, gazing into the heavens even when you sleep. I stand here tall proclaiming the Majesty of God. No complaints but simply admiration and gratitude.”

These days we often hear people saying, “geez, it’s hot. It’s cold. We have never seen such rain. We don’t know what’s going on. England, for the first time, sent out a heat advisory. The earthquakes, floods, and on and on.” This list of what is happening environmentally just keep increasing. This is not about the end times, this is about our unwillingness to abide by the commandment, not a food for thought or suggestion, given to us to care for those that are entrusted to us, including the creation!

We, Episcopalians, had been talking about this crisis for a long time. We have relied on scientific evidence to speak about it rather than shooting from our hips based on how we feel about it politically or religiously. This issue of the environmental protection, caring for the earth, creation care as we call it, had been in church conversations for a long time, and that’s tempered by Scripture, Tradition and Reason or faith, hope, and charity or science, wisdom, and knowledge!

Here are the resolutions we passed using scientific, religious, and factual rationale, to do our part in addressing this crisis, to let the Grand Tetons remain grand and majestic. Resolutions are not simply a set of legislative actions with no soul to make us look good. It is a soulful collection of hopes and dreams, wishes and suggestions for our world that we may live into the culture and life of christ, that we may love and live the commandment.



Here are the dreams and hopes for the care of creation and a better world! Take a few minutes to read them, digest them and speak about.

2018-A010 Encourage Planting of Paris Groves To Give Thanks for Creation. The 79th General Convention recommends that Episcopal schools, camps, and conference centers commit to environmental stewardship in education and, together with all those who reaffirm their Baptismal vows, to bear witness to the Paris Climate Accord with strategic tree planting.

2018-A011 Affirm Commitment to Address Environmental Racism. The 79th General Convention reaffirms the church’s commitment to a safe and healthy environment and authorizes a task force to recommend remedies to address governmental policies affecting community health and environment.

2018-A013 Create a Task Force and Staff Position for Care of Creation. The 79th General Convention funds a staff office, a small grants program, and a Task Force for Care of Creation that will develop initiatives in eco-justice ministry and projects. The Task Force will disseminate case studies and best practices and report to the 2021 Convention.

2018-A014 Create a Pilot Carbon Offset Program. The 79th General Convention recognizes that church travel contributes to climate change and directs Executive Council to draft a policy, test a pilot carbon offset program, and present a plan for a broader church-wide effort.

2018-A018 Adopt Bishops’ Pastoral Teaching and Commit to Paris Climate Accord. The 79th General Convention adopts the 2011 House of Bishops’ Pastoral Teaching on the Environment as an official position and calls for the church to advocate for a fair and ambitious binding climate treaty.

2018-A020 Divest From Fossil Fuel Companies and Reinvest in Clean Energy. The 79th General Convention reaffirms its commitment to divest from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean energy and calls on the Executive Council and the Church Pension Fund to report on their progress in reaching these goals.

2018-B027 Encourage Gender-Inclusive Responses to Climate Change. The 79th General Convention calls for public policy advocacy of gender inclusive responses to climate change and for women’s leadership on climate justice; and also encourages budgetary support for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

2018-C008 Encourage Sustainable Choices to Combat Climate Change. The 79th General Convention urges that church members strive to combat climate change through sustainable living choices, and encourages the use of a web tools to track carbon use.

2018-C020 Urge Support for Carbon Accounting Policies for Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The 79th General Convention calls on Episcopalians to support and advocate for justly implemented policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as a carbon tax.

2018-C021 Call for Shareholder Advocacy for Environmental Impact. The 79th General Convention calls upon the Executive Council Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility and the CPF to identify ten companies in the church’s portfolio with a significant environmental impact and advocate for them to include a sustainability expert on their boards.

2018-C063 Advocate for Ocean Health. The 79th General Convention affirms all work by the church to protect the global ocean, authorizes the Government Relations Office to advocate public policies that advance ocean health work, and calls on the church to commit to ocean health and those affected by environmental displacement.

2018-D006 Call for Public Investment and Community Participation in Transition to New Economies. The 79th General Convention calls for church support for public investment in economic transition in areas of education and job training, clean energy, universal access to community college, and local hire and public works projects that recognize the rights of workers to organize.

2018-D007 Support Disaster Relief, Recovery, and Prevention. The 79th General Convention commends Episcopal Relief & Development’s response to recent natural disasters, urges the federal government to support sustained recovery efforts, and encourages Episcopalians to create emergency preparedness and response plans.

2018-D053 Call for Model Policies for Sustainable Church Land Use . The 79th General Convention recommends the use of church-owned land for conservation projects to mitigate climate change, and directs Executive Council to appoint a body to gather information for an inventory of all church-owned properties.

2015-A030 Support Ecologically Responsible Stewardship of Church Property. The 78th General Convention directs the DFMS to develop resources to support local ecologically-responsible stewardship of church property; and create regional groups to compile materials, create networks, and provide consultation.

2015-A058 Authorize Liturgical Materials Honoring God in Creation. The 78th General Convention authorizes the use of supplementary liturgical materials that honor God in creation and consider them for inclusion in the Book of Occasional Services.

2015-A170 Advocate for Safe Food Production and Farm Labor Policies. The 78th General Convention supports public policies that promote sustainable farms and land use, safe and healthy food cultivation, production and distribution, the labor rights and safety of farm workers, and public food programs for the poor.

2015-A171 Give Thanks for the Papal Encyclical on Climate Change. The 78th General Convention welcomes the papal encyclical on climate change and encourages the Presiding Bishop to write a pastoral letter to the Church in anticipation of the 2015 Paris climate summit.

2015-C013 Oppose Environmental Racism. The 78th General Convention recommits to opposing environmental racism which is expressed in the location of harmful industries in low income neighborhoods.

2015-C045 Call for Investing in Clean and Renewable Energy. The 78th General Convention calls the Church to divest from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean, renewable energy in a fiscally responsible manner.

2015-C053 Support Subsistence Rights of Indigenous Cultures. The 78th General Convention calls for policy recommendations and strategies to support subsistence rights and access to traditional native food sources by Indigenous cultures.

2012-B023 Seek Environmental Justice. The 77th General Convention calls for support of policies that provide tangible benefits to communities bearing the greatest burdens of global climate change; for transformation of the world’s energy away from fossil fuels; and for grassroots solutions to climate change.

2009-D031 Urge Commitment to Lower Carbon Output. The 76th General Convention urges the US government to commit to lower the output of atmospheric carbon by 25% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

2006-B002 Acknowledge and Reduce Global Warming. The 75th General Convention acknowledges Global Warming and urges the Executive Council and its Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Committee to promote a sustainable global environment. (Credits to The Episcopal Church Archives)

I think this is an impressive work of the church. Subscribe to these, and invest in creation care. The Grand Tetons, The Great Lakes, The Grand Canyons, and all that are majestic and mysterious, may stay grand and beautiful for our children and grants.

Blessings and prayers

+Jos

The Rt. Rev. Jos Tharakan

XIV Bishop of Idaho