Editor’s Note: The editorial staff of Unbound, as well as the members of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), are aware of massive energy in the church for taking a stand against fossil fuel pollution. One of the potentially most energetic debates coming before the 223rd General Assembly
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An Outline of Twelve Overtures. In 2018, business before the Environmental Issues Committee of the PC(USA) General Assembly includes: engagement with vs. divestment from fossil fuel polluters, environmental racism, carbon pricing, reducing the use of polystyrene, and adopting the “precautionary principle” toward new technologies and strains of genetically engineered crops
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People of faith must respond to parallel abuses of power at Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Bears Ears National Monument. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a staple of God’s creation–a creation of which we humans are the stewards. Its vast and beautiful 19.6 million acres of wilderness are home
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The words “national sacrifice zone” don’t strike me as a way we, as Christians and stewards of God’s Creation, should be characterizing a region of our country. However, in our ecological and social sin, we have tolerated the development of sacrifice zones: places permanently damaged by environmental destruction or economic
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Editor’s Note: The theme of Creation Justice Ministries’ 2018 Earth Day Sunday resource, Sense of Place, dovetails excellently with the Ecumenical Advocacy Days theme for this upcoming weekend: “A World Uprooted”. It is becoming increasingly apparent that creation justice has major human stakes, as well as environmental ones. Next week,
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Along the sidewalks of the Avenida de la Constitución, behind the Capitol of Puerto Rico (a smaller scale replica of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.), is a collection of statues called the “Walkway of the Presidents”. There you can see the statues of the presidents of the United States who
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Connecting back to last issue’s theme, Defending the Common Good, Sue Smith challenges the current position of the church in discussions surrounding issues of climate change, fossil fuels, and financial investment. As with all scenarios of potential divestment, the perceived advantage of “a seat at the table” is weighed against
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Pathways to Sustainability Editor’s Note: The nature of recovery lies in the recovery of nature. With fires raging in the West and hurricanes hammering Texas and Florida, many of us wish our country were still trying to fulfill its Paris climate pledge, and not gutting the EPA or unleashing polluters.
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Faith in a Time of Climate Peril Within a song or hymn, one can often find insights into how to cope with setbacks and hardships. The old African-American spiritual “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” presents a dim reality: a “darker midnight lies before us, for the time is drawing
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In the McCarthy Era, newspapers had a problem. They tried hard, as we might say in modern parlance, to be “fair and balanced.” But, in trying to do so, they actually made things worse. Senator Joseph McCarthy would accuse various Americans of being Communists and Soviet spies. Newspapers would then
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