Religious Witness for the Earth procession

Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt. Photo by Martin Urbel

Rev. Fred Small

Religious Witness for the Earth holds interfaith "Service of Repentance and Renewal" on global warming

On November 12, 2003, a rainy day in New York City which coincided with the fifth anniversary of the US signing of the Kyoto Protocol, nearly three hundred individuals gathered at UN headquarters on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to hold an interfaith Service of Repentance and Renewal focusing on global warming. Organized by a team of interfaith activists including the Rev. Fred Small, minister of First Parish in Littleton, MA, the service had strong representation from Unitarian Universalists and was uplifted by the homily given by the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, minister of the Fourth Universalist Church of New York City, who represented UUA President William G. Sinkford at the event.

Participants gathered at the Community Church of New York at E. 35th Street and walked to the plaza at UN Headquarters. The interfaith service was held on the plaza, and participants then visited diplomatic missions or attended a workshop for activists led by Ross Gelbspan, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist turned climate activist.

Asking the world's forgiveness for the United States' failure to address climate change, worship leaders pledged to mobilize faith communities to protect the environment. The service marked the fifth anniversary of the United States' signing the Kyoto Protocol to address global warming. Congress never signed the treaty, which President Bush has rejected as too costly.

"Every religious tradition forbids theft, but global warming steals from our own children and grandchildren," said the Rev. Fred Small, Co-chair of Religious Witness for the Earth, which organized the service. "As Americans, we repent our nation's recklessness. As people of faith, we ask our political leaders to stop the despoliation of God's creation."

Other speakers included Enele Sopoaga, ambassador to the UN from Tuvalu, a small Pacific island nation facing inundation by rising sea levels caused by global warming; Bishop Bud Cederholm, Jr., of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts; Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg of The Spirituality Institute; and the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, representing the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Traveling to the event, some participants literally "walked the talk" of reducing carbon emissions. Four Buddhist monks led a contingent of walkers all the way from Western Massachusetts last week. Others arrived from neighboring states in fuel-efficient hybrid cars or vans powered by biodiesel made from vegetable oil. Anne "Andy" Burt, a Quaker from Edgecomb, Maine, drove nearly seven hours to attend the service. "I have three little grandchildren, and I don't want them to live under the tyranny of a degrading planet," Burt explained. "Climate change is a curse upon creation, but it's a blessing if it calls us to heal our relationship with the earth and with each other."

For more information on the work of Religious Witness for the Earth, go to the organization's web site . For further information on the UUA's commitment to protecting the environment, visit a listing of actions taken by the UUA General Assembly.

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