By Ruth Ivory-Moore, Program Director, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility

In 1993, the ELCA Social Statement, “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice” [Caring for Creation], described:

“The earth is a planet of beauty and abundance; the earth system is wonderfully intricate and incredibly complex. But today living creatures, and the air, soil, and water that support them, face unprecedented threats. Many threats are global; most stem directly from human activity. Our current practices may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner we know.”

Strikingly, it describes the state of the environment in 2018.

The release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions acts as a blanket surrounding earth and leads to increase in the atmospheric temperature — global warming. Because of global warming the earth is experiencing increased frequency, severity, and intensification of weather patterns and temperature extremes. The aftermath varies depending upon locale: floods, droughts, and wildfires; coastline erosions due to sea level rise; and acidification of oceans – all of which are yielding the degradation of the earth and negatively impacting its habitants at unprecedented rates. The consequences are staggering – forced migration; exacerbation of poverty; national security concerns; negative impacts on agriculture resulting in food insecurity; and threats to ecosystems that could lead to the extinction of some species.

Human activity and devastating accumulation of GHG emissions in the atmosphere are linked.¹

Without human activity deploying drastic measures immediately to stop the earth’s degradation, we are rapidly losing our ability to salvage our home here on earth. While the deterioration that the earth is experiencing is seen around the entire world, the impact varies and is not equal. The most vulnerable are disproportionately affected while they have contributed the least to the release of GHG emission into the atmosphere. They are also ill-equipped to implement the remedies needed to create resilient communities and societies to combat climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is the United Nations’ (UN) body for assessing the science related to climate change, issued its 2018 report entitled: “Global Warming of 1.5°C” (Report). The Report expressed the urgency of the need to take rapid strategic action over the next decade to limit global warming to 1.5ºC to avoid the risks associated with long-lasting or irreversible change. “Limiting warming to 1.5ºC is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics but doing so would require unprecedented changes,” said Jim Skea, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III.²

This is one of the most challenging times that we have ever faced as a global community and church. Our lives and future generations depend on the actions we take or do not take. The IPCC Report makes this very clear. We no longer have the luxury to focus on one industrial sector. We must address GHG emissions from all sectors.

The world is in a dire situation, but it is not hopeless. The God of hope grounds and guides us through the story of Scripture, where resurrection overcomes death, and hope triumphs over despair. In ancient Israel, as Jerusalem was under siege and people were on the verge of exile, Jeremiah purchased a plot of land (Jeremiah 32). The Caring for Creation social statement reminds us: “When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow, he reportedly answered, ‘I would plant an apple tree today.’ When we face today’s crisis, we do not despair. We act.” The IPCC suggests specific actions.

We will:

• Pray for guidance;
• Become educated on the facts;
• Raise awareness in our communities;
• Love our neighbors (understanding that neighbors are next door and around the globe); and
• Advocate for those disproportionately impacted.

As found in Psalms: “You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet” (Psalm 8:6).

We will passionately seek justice for all as we are accountable to God for our stewardship of the earth.

[1] See findings of the U.S. Global Change Research Program Climate Science Special Report, https://science2017.globalchange.gov/, last assessed 10/23/18; and see “Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet”, https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/, last assessed 10/23/18.

[2] See IPCC Press Release, http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/session48/pr_181008_P48_spm_en.pdf, last assessed 10/23/18; and “UN SDGs, Special Climate Report: 1.5ºC Is Possible But Requires Unprecedented and Urgent Action,” https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2018/10/special-climate-report-1-5oc-is-possible-but-requires-unprecedented-and-urgent-action/, last assessed 10/25/18.

Our guest blogger, the Rev. Kwame Pitts, helped draft and present the ELCA Social Policy Resolution “Voting Rights to All Citizens” adopted by the Churchwide Assembly in 2013. She shares her poetically presented thoughts in 2018 here.

THE RESPONSIBILITY I CARRY INSIDE MY DNA: THE CONTINUED STRUGGLE FOR VOTING RIGHTS

By guest blogger the Rev. Kwame Pitts, Campus Pastor, Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park in Chicago (bio)

Simply because they refuse to assimilate
Kowtow to the dominate culture
To the poisonous American nationalism.
2018
We are still having this conversation
They tried to wipe our rights.
They tried to cripple the peoples of Georgia
The tired, the poor, the abused, the violated.
We are still standing.
So please,
Don’t tell me to conform
To stick to the sickly sweet,
Feel good Gospel
ANY THEOLOGY,
That does not address the suffering
ANY DOCTRINE
That chooses to ignore the cries for justice
ANY DENOMINATION
That co-signs off on the slavery and the destruction
Of God’s People,
Of Black and Brown Bodies
Of Indigenous and Ancient Bodies
Of those who Love Authentically,
Even if that makes folks uncomfortable
OF those who rejoice the Creator,
In so many beautiful and original ways…
Will not be the religious tradition that I will ever follow.
So,
What side are YOU on?
Will you speak prophetically,
Unapologetically
And defend
The right
To
VOTE?
Ache’
Amen
Ameen.

Biographical submission: The Rev. Kwame Pitts understands her role in the scheme of things as a weaving of both academics, theology and the practical. Currently she serves as Associate Pastor for Body and Soul UChicago Campus Ministry at Augustana Lutheran Church, Hyde Park. Campus Ministry, under her tutelage, is being redefined as a resource for public theology and an example of public Church. Pr. Pitts holds a M.Div. degree from LSTC, is working on her final STM thesis on syncretism and oppression and has been accepted to an Ecumenical D.Min. program concurrently. In 2013 she wrote and presented to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly the Social Policy Resolution regarding Voting Rights and subsequently partnered with ELCA Young Adults and Racial Justice Ministries to form #ELCAVotes. Currently she serves on both boards of SOUL (Southsiders Organized for Unity and Leadership) and Emmanus Road, another faith rooted organization located in NYC. Pr. Pitts has no apologizes for her voice and where she places herself in faith rooted organizing for all people. She is also known for her poetic voice both academically and theologically, and this is reflected in the blog.

Approximately 200 children who were separated from their parents at the border have still not been reunified with their parents. Additionally, the zero-tolerance policy that seeks to criminally prosecute all people arriving at the border continues, and there are efforts to expand the detention of children and their parents. As we face continuous policy changes that harm children and families seeking protection in the U.S., Congress has an important role to play in allocating funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) and hundreds of people of faith in a national call-in day, Wednesday, September 26^th to ask your Member of Congress to reject family separation and detention and champion alternatives that honor the human dignity of all.

Family detention is inhumane and unnecessary. Community-based alternatives, such as the Family Case Management Program (FCMP), are humane, cost-effective and successful in ensuring families continue their immigration cases. Families that used the FCMP had a 99% compliance rate in continuing their immigration process. In addition, while family detention costs $319.37 per person per day, the FCMP costs $36 per day per family. Beyond punishing children and parents who have already been through a difficult journey to arrive in the U.S., there is no reason to continue to spend our tax dollars expanding detention.

You can act today by joining IIC’s Call-in day rejecting family separation and detention.

1. Call your Members of Congress.​ Dial the IIC line (866) 940-2439 three times to be connected to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. You can use this sample script for guidance, although your own story can also be influential:

“I am your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and [as a person of faith] I urge my Senator/Representative to reduce funding for immigration detention, deportation, and border militarization. Enforcement alone without underlying reform is causing harm in my community and tearing families apart.

“I also urge my Senator/Representative to reject family detention. Detaining children with their parents is not a solution to family separation. Rather than detention, Congress and the administration should use and invest in community-based alternatives to detention such as the Family Case Management Program. The administration must end ‘zero-tolerance’ criminal prosecution of families and asylum seekers for crossing the border, and immediately reunify families already separated. My community welcomes and values immigrants, and we urge you to do the same.”

2. Share on Social Media: ​Share the same message with your Senators & Representatives on social media.

Go to the Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s Summary Sheet to learn about more actions you can take to support children and families seeking protection.

“I was so moved,” said Elena Robles of a talk she heard about stress and farmers near the end of her term as a Hunger Fellow with the ELCA Advocacy office. Farm Bill conferees are engaged in the task of bridging differences between the Senate’s (S.034) Agriculture Improvement Act and the House of Representative’s (HR.2) Agriculture and Nutrition Act, aiming for Farm Bill consideration before upcoming midterm elections. The speaker Robles heard, Matt Perdue, shares his insights here with us about very human elements the Farm Bill addresses.

By guest blogger Matt Perdue, Government Relations Representative for National Farmers Union

There is a lot that weighs on a farmer’s mind. Farming is a tough occupation. Unpredictable weather, staggering financial risk, volatile markets, and the strain of heavy workloads are all routine aspects of a life in farming. Spend a few minutes in a small town coffee shop, and you quickly realize that the struggles of farming often dominate those conversations. Farmers are comfortable talking about their stressors. What they rarely acknowledge is their actual stress.

The reality is that mental health struggles among the farming population is a persistent and growing problem. Farmers and agricultural workers have a much higher rate of suicide than the general population. This is exacerbated by the fact that 60 percent of rural residents live in areas that suffer from mental health professional shortages. When farmers do acknowledge their stress, they often find that there’s nowhere to turn for help.

Farmers are under greater stress today than anything most have experienced since the 1980s. Net farm income has declined for five years and is now less than half of what it was in 2013. As trade uncertainty compounds already low commodity prices, experts suggest that a rebound could be years away. While the economic challenges aren’t necessarily the same as those of the 1980s, many worry that a similar farm suicide crisis is brewing.

Many are optimistic that a new Farm Bill will, at the very least, bring farmers and ranchers a desperately needed measure of certainty. Among the legislation’s hundreds of pages is the farm safety net, which supports farmers when market forces make it all but impossible to turn a profit. It includes credit programs that can keep a farmer afloat between the costs of planting and the revenues of harvest. The Farm Bill also includes programs covering conservation, trade promotion, rural development, renewable energy, and everything in between.

As Congress makes progress toward passing a new Farm Bill, a bipartisan group of legislators has worked diligently to address the agricultural community’s growing need for mental health services. Led by Congressmen Tom Emmer and Tom O’Halleran, and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Joni Ernst, the coalition has resurrected a long-forgotten and never-funded program: the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network.

FRSAN was established in the 2008 Farm Bill to provide grants to extension services and nonprofit organizations that offer stress assistance programs to farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. The program would fund farm hotlines and websites, community outreach and education, support groups, and home delivery of assistance. In short, FRSAN helps communities better support farmers when they need it most.

The Senate and House have each passed their versions of the Farm Bill, and each includes reauthorization of FRSAN. As they hurriedly work to reach agreement and pass a final product, it’s important that a strong and diverse coalition of groups continues to advocate for the inclusion of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. It’s important that members of Congress hear from farmers, health providers and the faith-based community about the need to better support our agricultural community.

Beyond the Farm Bill and far from the politics of Washington, it’s equally important that we continue the conversation around farmer mental health. We need to educate members of our communities to better recognize and respond to the signs of distress. We must also identify those mental health resources and services available in rural areas and leverage those to better serve our agricultural population. Most importantly, we need to make sure that when the stress mounts, farmers have somewhere to turn.