Montana Climate Matters: Montana climate solutions need people of faith

By Rev. Jody McDevitt

Climate matters to people of faith, and people of faith matter to the climate movement.

          Whether motivated by a spiritual connection to nature, the desire to be obedient to God through faithful stewardship, or the religious values of compassion and justice, people of diverse religious traditions are being drawn into action on behalf of the Earth’s climate. As climate change and its effects accelerate, the response of faith communities is growing. Faith calls for action, and action generates hope. The climate movement needs the hope that people of faith can offer.

          Numerous religious bodies provide resources to their faith communities. Catholic Climate Covenant (https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/), founded in 2006, grounds its work in the church’s history of teaching on creation, ecology, and care for the most vulnerable. Their goals are education, public witness, and resources, backed by the U.S. bishops and every pope since John Paul II. Evangelical churches can find resources for creation care at A Rocha USA (https://arocha.us/) and through the Evangelical Environmental Network (https://creationcare.org/) For Jews, a climate justice organization called “Dayenu,” meaning “Enough!” lives out the traditional Jewish ethos of concern for all generations to come (https://dayenu.org/). Protestant groups, including Lutherans, Methodists, the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians, and the Episcopal church, have denominational ministries that encourage local churches to commit to caring for the Earth through their worship, education, facilities, public advocacy, and personal discipleship. These groups and many more come together in national interfaith organizations, such as Blessed Tomorrow (https://blessedtomorrow.org/), and statewide organizations, such as Montana Interfaith Power and Light (https://montanaipl.org/).

          In Montana, one congregation, Hope Lutheran Church of Bozeman, is leading in creation care by offering reusable shopping bags and opening a recycling center in the church building. Their ministry has grown to include a mission garden, public advocacy to reduce plastic use, educating about regenerative agriculture, developing a long-term plan for land use around the church, and solar panels that not only save on utility bills, but also demonstrate their values to the community.

Our region’s United Church of Christ conference of 25 churches is noteworthy for the high percentage of church buildings with solar installations, including the conference office in Billings and four local congregations across the state. A faith community may start with one goal—for example, reducing food waste or public policy advocacy or maybe including prayers for the Earth in worship—and then draw on the strengths of its members to guide the way to the next action steps.

          Climate change is happening all around us from increased greenhouse gases in our air. Montanans experience it when drought affects agricultural yields, when 500-year floods become 100-year floods, when wildfire smoke becomes an expected part of our seasonal cycle, and when cold trout streams are closed to fishing due to high temperatures. We felt it this summer, when all-time temperature records were broken and smoke filled our beautiful big sky. Scientists have been warning us for decades. But scientists need allies who can mobilize communities by speaking to the heart.

Gus Speth, former dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale, once said: “I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy. To deal with those issues we need a spiritual and cultural transformation – and we scientists do not know how to do that.”

For the sake of every living thing on this precious Earth, now is the time for the climate movement and people of faith to work together.  

The Rev. Jody McDevitt is a retired Presbyterian Church (USA) minister who lives in Billings, where she coordinates the Earth Care Team at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church and is active in the Billings Climate Coalition.