Once a time when churches could plan for carefree fun at camp and vacation Bible school, summer has become a season when excessive heat has proved deadly for children, the elderly, expectant mothers and other vulnerable groups.
Church leaders in children’s ministries, senior groups and other caring ministries would do well to develop links to resources that provide accurate information about excessive heat and its effects on humans. In addition to local weather forecasts, there are nationwide and even international sources for reliable scientific data that can help churches plan their summer ministries safely and effectively, including background for climate justice ministries.
The first step to protecting people in church and community is to accept that the climate crisis is real, and that human action is making climate extremes much worse. Denying this reality simply means that more people will suffer and die from extremes of heat, cold and storms.
Despite the global scale of the climate crisis, there’s plenty churches can do to help their congregations and communities cope with extreme weather and reduce climate hazards.
Climate Central has been a consistently reliable, fact-based source on various aspects of the global climate crisis since 2008. According to its website, “Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives.”
The site produces easily understandable graphics and fact sheets on climate science, energy, sea level rise, and extreme weather, along with related topics. Churches in coastal areas experiencing sea level rise and vulnerable to hurricanes will find Climate Central information especially valuable for assessing insurance liabilities and crisis preparation along with ministry planning.
World Weather Attribution offers another valuable climate resource for churches working with international missions and for United Methodists making “history of Methodism” trips to the United Kingdom.
For example, on Heat Action Day this year (May 30, 2025), WWA reported that the latest climate data showed roughly half the world’s population – an estimated 4 billion people – “experienced at least 30 extra days of extreme heat (hotter than 90% of temperatures observed in their local area over the 1991-2020 period) that was made at least two times more likely due to human-caused climate change.” Even England, the home of Methodism’s founders John and Charles Wesley, is now vulnerable to extreme summertime heat that creates health hazards.
Furthermore, WWA reported on June 20: “Heatwaves are the deadliest type of extreme weather globally, with hundreds of thousands of people dying from heat-related causes each year.”
See also The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by journalist Jeff Goodell.
Overall, thoughtful church leaders will recognize that excessive heat is a genuine threat to summertime health and seek out reliable information on how to cope with heat that can kill.
– Cynthia B. Astle, Editor, United Methodist Insight
From the Duke Heat Policy Innovation Hub
Duke Heat Policy Innovation Lab
Project Page for Cooling Communities:
This is where resources that emerge from the project will be posted.
Infographics:
Duke’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub worked with NC state agencies to develop this resource. While primarily intended for local governments, some parts of the toolkit (and the supplemental resources further down the page) might be helpful for churches.
The hub has also been working with the state on this heat health alert system, which anyone can sign up for via email (specifying county/ies you are interested in).
From Creation Justice Ministries
- Extreme Heat Resources. In this download, you’ll have access to 3 items, including the Heat & Health- A Faith Response to Building Stronger Communities Resource, as well as a bulletin insert and fact sheet to share with your communities. These tools equip faith communities to prevent heat-related illness, prepare their facilities, and care for vulnerable neighbors during extreme weather events.
- Potential Energy Coalition’s Extreme Weather Resource Hub
The resource hub offers a wide range of communication materials, data, and toolkits to help communities raise awareness and prepare for extreme weather events—especially extreme heat. - Climate for Health’s Global Heat Action Day Webinar
In the webinar, public health experts, faith leaders, and climate advocates offer a powerful conversation on the growing threat of extreme heat. Together, they outline actionable, justice-driven strategies—especially for faith communities—on how to respond with care, preparedness, and compassion.