by Rev Richenda Fairhurst
One of the most important actions we can take as a church is to achieve net zero in our lives as people of faith, and in our denomination. One of the many petitions addressing climate justice heard and passed by General Conference this week was legislation to support just that goal.
The petition as it passed the plenary reads:
…Be it resolved, that we the people and churches of The United Methodist Church, confess our failure to properly steward God’s earth; ask for God’s help in restoring Creation; and join our bishops, boards, agencies, and commissions in committing to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The resolution was developed as part of a series of “model resolutions,” including resolutions for forming green teams, addressing sustainable annual conferences, and caring for sacred/church land.
Bob Downs, a creation justice leader in West Ohio Conference, a UM Earthkeeper, and a leading member of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM) submitted the petition. He was part of the UMCJM’s Annual Conference Working Group. Downs is quick to say that while he authored the resolution, he also enjoyed the benefits of teamwork from UMCJM and colleagues in West Ohio in honing the draft.
“The original resolution was perfected and submitted by my local church’s green team for consideration by the West Ohio Annual Conference in 2023. It was adopted and is currently being implemented by a conference-wide working group,” says Downs. “I modified the resolution to meet the guidelines of the 2024 General Conference and submitted the resolution as an individual. The UMCJM provided comment, endorsement, and publicity promoting the resolution and its adoption.”
What this resolution does is it calls the denomination to join with existing net-zero pledges, pledges made by a number of UMC boards and agencies, as well as by the Council of Bishops. Downs explains, “The resolution calls for our conferences and churches to assess current greenhouse gas emissions, determine appropriate offsets, and implement changes by 2050. It matches similar activities of our denominational boards, commissions, and agencies.”
The race to achieve net zero is a moral and urgent one. The petition “also acknowledges humanity’s responsibility for the climate crisis and expresses our need for God’s help in solving it,” says Downs. “My hope is that the resolution will encourage us as a church to do something about the degradation of our environment caused by global warming and its resulting climate change.”
Downs hopes the passage of the resolution will inspire action. “As Christians, we are commanded to care for God’s Creation. We are told in Genesis 1 to rule as God rules and in Genesis 2 to keep, guard, or provide for our planet,” says Downs. He also quotes John Wesley’s assertion: “We are now God’s stewards. We are indebted to God for all we have…. A steward is not at liberty to use what is lodged in their hands as one pleases, but as one’s master pleases” (John Wesley, Sermon 51, “The Good Steward,” §II.1, Works 2:283–84).
A few annual conferences, including West Ohio, passed net-zero legislation in 2023. Now, with the passage of this resolution at General Conference, the denomination is invited and urged to join the effort. Reaching net zero will take many, standing together, and learning from one another. The UMCJM understands the challenge of achieving this goal and the imperative of doing so.
Can we do it? With God’s help we will, yes.