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All faiths prepare for climate campaigning in Peru


The Columban JPIC worker in Peru, Laura Vargas, attended the historic New York Climate March on Sunday 21 September. In Lima, she is involved in meetings and a series of Inter-faith Climate fasts in the lead-up to Lima hosting a major conference on Climate Change in December. That meeting of nearly 200 governments is another staging point towards a crunch summit in Paris in 2015, when it is hoped world leaders will agree a new global deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions that includes all countries. Laura Vargas writes:

I can´t stop thanking God for all the blessings that have allowed me to live these recent days. The Interfaith Summit in New York, in which I participated with Religions for Peace and the World Council of Churches, and where I made a small contribution, was really very significant. While there, we invited renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs to be our keynote speaker for our Interfaith Conference on 9 December at the Jesuit University of Lima, and he accepted. This made us very happy. We also met other very interesting people who are coming for December’s COP 20 (Conference of Parties) conference in Lima. This means a huge challenge, but we are happy to accept it.

The New York March was so impressive: the blocks and blocks of hundreds of thousands of people exceeded all expectations. It was so big we had to stand for more than three hours before setting off. They talk about 320,000 in New York and another 300,000 in the rest of the world, including 40,000 in London. Tackling Climate Change is a huge challenge and we must continue to campaign tirelessly. Millions support us.

I was in the religious sector of the New York march, with the Columban missionaries, and was very happy to meet Elizabeth Nye, who works for Columban JPIC in Washington. There were so many different people all around us – a great variety of faces, all messages imaginable, all ages and conditions of life, all faiths and religions. It seemed miraculous that in this sea of people I meet with Oblates, Franciscans and other religious orders. It was so beautiful to see grannies with posters saying: "we are here for our grandchildren"; other posters said: "not climate change, but system change" and there were children with posters saying "we are not responsible - we want pure water, healthy soil, good air”. There was a Noah's Ark from which representatives of faiths spoke.

In the evening, the interfaith prayer in the Anglican cathedral was spectacular. I was impressed with the message of a native of Greenland - of the Eskimo people - who said something very deep and beautiful: "The ice is melting at the North Pole, and the only way to change that is melting the ice from our hearts". Then a Pastor, who used hiphop music in his Church and gave out the CD, and spoke of the need for faiths to work together. There were extraordinary and beautiful representations of the world of nature, which taught me that there is much to learn. The priest who led the ceremony was Fletcher Harper of the Episcopal Church, and he will also be coming to Lima in December.

The Lutheran World Federation is planning to begin 1 December with a public fast which will convene 365 people of all races, religions, cultures and continents to represent the 365 days leading up to COP 21 in Paris in December 2015.

Imagine how joyous I was to meet Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez of Honduras, who was one of the senior Catholic representatives at the New York interfaith summit and march. After a big hug I requested his support in asking Pope Francis to send a greeting for our prayer service in Lima. He told me that he would do it with pleasure, and it was - hopefully - possible.

God has been very good to me, and I am very happy and thankful for all these gifts and wonderful experiences.

Further reading:
www.columbans.co.uk/news/columbans-join-worldwide-climate-marches/
www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1205/0/faiths-join-global-climate-marches-as-vatican-urges-action

 

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