Give us a creation care sermon
When it comes to climate change, more than 70 percent of young Canadian Christians want mentoring and action from their church.
A network of Canadian churches and Christian organizations, including Tearfund Canada and A Rocha, have joined together in a group called the Creation Collective. From April 17-19, 220 people attended Creation Collective’s launch events in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, either online or in person. Among the attendees were pastors and church leaders. CC interviewed one of the organizers, Matthew Schroeder, to find out more.
CC: Tell me a bit about Creation Collective. How did it start?
Matthew Schroeder: It’s brand new and was created in response to the results of young people who were surveyed through a partnership between A Rocha and Tearfund Canada.
CC: What brought about the survey that you conducted?
Schroeder: This survey has been done in a similar fashion in the UK and Australia. The results were fascinating and we wanted to do something here [in Canada], but the real motivation comes from Tearfund Canada’s work in the Global South. As a relief and development agency, our mission is to help people out of poverty through the local church. But in the last few years, our work has been changing. The people and churches that we work with, the people that we serve, our partners overseas, they are coming to us and explaining how the changing climate is impacting their daily lives. Where drought used to come every ten years, now it’s coming every three years. And when before there were consistent rains that would be predictable and gentle, now the rains are unpredictable and differential. When a drought occurs every 10 years, you can probably get back up on your feet. But when it’s every three years, there’s just not enough time to recover, and you fall deeper into poverty. Globally, hunger levels have actually been increasing for the first time in decades.
For us in North America climate change is, for now, an inconvenience. We can turn up the air conditioning, and we have insurance on our homes. But for many people living in poverty around the world, it’s quite literally a matter of life and death.
It’s a topic that’s not often discussed in the church. But pastors have so much going on, and so we wanted to interview the next generation.
What do the young people here in Canada think? What do they believe and what do they feel convicted by?
If this was any other topic, the church would be talking about it right away.
CC: What insight did the survey results provide for you?
Schroeder: Ninety-one percent of young Christians [in Canada] are worried and 60 percent are either seriously or quite worried about climate change. If this was any other topic, the church would be talking about it right away, but for some reason, it’s not the case with this issue.
CC: The Creation Collective website contains this verse from 1 Corinthians: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.” What’s your perspective on how this verse connects to the mission of the organization?
Schroeder: In its context it talks about the church as a body, and how we play different roles within it. But we can take that concept and apply it to the global church. We see our brothers and sisters who live in poverty being greatly distressed by climate change. And then if we consider how creation longs and groans for the renewal of all things, we can combine these concepts and make the argument that we should be caring for creation too.
CC: What can young people – or any of us – do in the face of climate change?
Schroeder: I would tell them to pray about it. Go to our website. There are resources on that website, anything from Bible studies to sermons, to videos to articles. Tearfund and A Rocha are here to help if they want more of a discussion and an exploration in terms of how their particular church can get involved.
Action is not very difficult. It’s not like they’re asking their churches to go to Ottawa and participate in some massive protest. It’s simple things like preaching more on creation. Praying more about it. Providing mentorship around Christians cultivating hope for the future. It’s things that churches should really be doing anyway. I don’t think it’s a very high ask.
If you want to get internationally involved and help the people living in poverty, adapt. There’s mitigation – such as reducing your carbon footprint and trying to slow down climate change – which is great, but it’s going to happen regardless, right? If everybody stopped doing everything tomorrow, a certain level of damage has already been done. That being said, the poor around the world are still going to face the brunt of climate effects. We have to help them adapt. Start with prayer. Look at our resources. Talk to us and we’ll find a way to work together.
I think caring for creation falls within spiritual disciplines. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. You start off small and eventually you continue to grow and get better at it as an individual, but also as a church. Identifying where your church is and how you can play your part is where you start, and then you take one step forward at a time.
Where I see churches specifically getting involved is around cultivating Christian hope. I think that’s very unique and very needed in our world.
It is exciting just to see how much interest there has been. The momentum is building. . . The important thing is that people go back to their churches and discuss it.
This interview between CC and Matthew Schroeder, director of communications for Tearfund Canada, has been edited for length and clarity.
I read the article and agree with the interviewee. When I still did some preaching, I did address creation care directly in several sermons, as did Cindy Verbeek when she was a guest preacher. If you would like to see those sermons, please email me.