by Rev Richenda Fairhurst
For creation justice advocates, the work of decades found an exhilarating moment this week when, in literal moments on Tuesday morning, the General Conference delegates approved consent calendars A04 and B04, and Bishop Plambeck called for a vote to approve them. A minute later, a total of 185 petitions were in the history books. A04 passed with 92% of the vote, and B04 with 95%.
Those votes affirmed justice, struck down harmful language, and brought creation justice into the center of church life. If you blinked, if you looked down to get a sip of coffee, if you were distracted, as I was, you would have missed it. Full disclosure, I too missed the moment! None-the-less, before you could put down your coffee, The United Methodist Church took two enormous steps that were decades in the making.
Photo courtesy of UM News Service
For the UM Creation Justice Movement that day, four petitions made it over the finish line in one fell swoop. Those petitions were:
- Green Team Formation This encourages the forming and support of green teams in churches, districts, and conferences. Submitted by Crys Zinkiewicz.
- Church Land Use This encourages sustainable practices in managing church land in order to bring harmony back to sacred/church land. Submitted by Kim Richmond.
- Commitment to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This calls for United Methodists to join the agencies and bishops in a pledge to achieve net zero. Submitted by Bob Downs.
- Establish a Conference Caretakers of God’s Creation Coordinator in Each Annual Conference. Caretakers is the fiscal agent of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, so this resolution is a big step. More about this is upcoming.
The next petition to pass was also on a consent calendar, and it passed on Thursday afternoon:
- Sustainability Practices at Annual Conferences. This calls for annual conference planning to include venues where sustainable practices are possible (such as recycling) and sustainable practices by the body during the conference. Submitted by Rev. Nancy Blade.
And finally, late Friday afternoon, an unexpected twist. With time growing short, Fossil Free UMC’s minority report, which would have brought the question of divestment from fossil fuels to a vote, was instead bundled with a number of other petitions and referred. The result was that divestment did not get a hearing on the floor. Though this was disappointing, nonetheless the divestment legislation had tremendous support and engaged positive conversation at General Conference. Read the press release from Fossil Free UMC:
There were other petitions related to the work of creation justice, as well as important new language in the revised Social Principles for the Community of All Creation. Rev. Nancy Blade compiled a comprehensive watchlist of legislative petitions. Notable were the following, which were also all passed at General Conference:
- Annual Carbon Footprint and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Audit for Local Churches. Just as it sounds, this legislation asks the trustees to have a yearly emissions audit, include that audit in charge conference reports, and use that audit to remove obstacles to action toward netzero. Submitted by Ian Urriola.
- Reporting Church’s Progress on Facilities Becoming Carbon Neutral and/or Having Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This builds on the above, requiring churches to, where applicable, create plans and timelines toward achieving net zero in their church. Submitted by Ian Urriola.
- Recognizing United Methodist Support for Global Green New Deal Initiatives and Legislative Efforts. This commits to advocacy in public life and government policy as well as in the denomination to get to net zero, and calls on countries most responsible to take just action. It calls for this work at every level of the church, in church polity, in preaching, teaching, programs, and ministries. The text with only minor revisions is worth reading, search “20617” here. Submitted by Ian Urriola.
- Use of Plastics. This petition calls for avoiding and reducing plastic and single-use plastics at all United Methodist conferences, and for delegates at those conferences to personally commit to this and be an example by their own actions. Submitted by Harald Rueckert.
Beyond the legislation, the Movement had events together with partners. During the first week of conference, the Movement celebrated Earth Day with the Earth Day Vigil for Creation, and on April 23rd, together with Fossil Free UMC and GreenFaith, creation justice leaders gathered to call out Bank of America and the bankrolling of fossil-fuel projects at the People of Faith Vigil.
During the second week of conference, the Movement celebrated and promoted the introduction of Disaster Ministry’s new solar trailer, while for the duration of the conference, the Movement invited General Conference attendees to take some sacred time in nature with an audio-guided Prayer Walk.
The best place to see all of the happenings, with news and more, is the General Conference connection page.