A faith commitment to sustainable living
Helens Rowlands reports from the Many Heavens, One Earth conference
Friends were represented last week at the Windsor Celebration of faith groups’ commitments to action for climate change, jointly organised by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Among the faiths represented were Sikhs and Hindus; Christians of many flavours from evangelical to orthodox; Jews from Britain, America and Israel; Shinto priests from Japan and Daoist monks from China; Muslims from Egypt to Indonesia; Buddhists and Baha’is. Together the nine religions represented some four billion people worldwide. Also participating were a range of secular environmental organisations.
The objective was to recognise and celebrate commitments made by faith organisations, to harness the power and influence of faith groups for change, for the peace of the planet, and to send a strong message to political negotiators prior to the Copenhagen summit in December.
On behalf of Quakers, Alison Prout and I received a certificate in recognition of Friends’ long term commitment to work ‘to protect the living planet’. Other faith groups being similarly recognised have produced seven-year (or eight, or nine – depending on what number is auspicious!) plans for change, in response to the UNDP’s call for faith commitments. The scope of those commitments is awe-inspiring. Each faith is enjoined to consider what can be done, from within its own teachings and traditions, under seven headings:
- Faith-consistent use of assets
- Education and young people in formal and informal situations
- Wisdom – including theological education, rediscovering past teachings about the natural world and helping people adapt to new situations as climate change makes it necessary
- Lifestyles – encouragement of simple living, making pilgrimages more ecologically gentle, uniting communities to use their green purchasing power
- Media and advocacy
- Partnerships and eco-twinning
- Celebration
During the event, sheikh Ali Gomaa, grand mufti of Egypt, announced a single Muslim plan that includes ‘greening’ of mosques and of pilgrimage cities including Medina. This led to an inter-faith initiative, announced by the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, to build an alliance of pilgrimage cities to share experience and standards, bringing together Jerusalem with Medina and potentially others. Each faith tradition contains within its teachings, practices and foundational stories the seeds of particular witness it can make. The gathering heard how Jesuits in South America are making care of the Amazon their particular concern, how Muslims will be printing Qur’ans on Forest Stewarship Council-certified paper, how Jews are creating a new concept of ‘eco-kosher’ which views food purity not just in terms of its content, but where it comes from and how it is packaged. The Lutheran church in Tanzania has schemes to plant 8.5 million trees and Shinto and Daoist shrines are recognising their responsibility for their mountains and forests.
On Wednesday evening, Friends House was host to an open meeting enabling a wider public to gain a flavour of the Windsor event. Olav Kjørven, UN assistant secretary general and head of the UNDP, spoke of his understanding of the power of faiths to motivate people all around the world to commit to significant change. Would the faiths’ commitment be more powerful than that of the politicians? Participants were able to share in three remarkable religious and cultural performances that brought alive the spiritual inspiration and motivation faith can give – a South Indian dance conveying an ancient creation story from the Vedas, Sufi poetry from twelfth century Persia and gospel singing from the New Psalmist Baptist Church choir. For once, Quakers in the audience had no reservations about joining in with heartfelt applause!
Further details of the event and the faith commitments can be found at www.arcworld.org.
