Key points:
- The Council of Bishops adopted a response to the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement’s open letter asking the bishops to prioritize creation care and environmental stewardship.
- The bishops affirmed their commitment to implementing the decisions made at the 2024 General Conference, including creating Green Teams in churches, districts and conferences.
- The council also encouraged church members to take action.
The United Methodist Church’s bishops remain committed to caring for God’s world, and they call on fellow United Methodists to join in this urgent work.
During its fall meeting on Nov. 4, the Council of Bishops adopted a response to the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement’s open letter asking the bishops to prioritize creation care and environmental stewardship.
“God promises no harm, and as people who follow the ways of God, we too are committed to do no harm to any part of God’s creation,” the bishops said in the letter.
The bishops affirmed their commitment to implementing the decisions made at the 2024 General Conference, including creating Green Teams in churches, districts and conferences. They also agreed to implement sustainable practices at annual conferences and in managing church properties, and joined the United Methodist commitment to Net Zero Green House Gas Emissions, among other actions.
In their response, the bishops also are inviting United Methodist local churches and ministries to:
- Create Green Teams in each local church/ministry;
- Organize one churchwide action around creation care at least once a year;
- Study together for deeper understanding of the work of creation care and justice; and
- Engage with partners in the Ecumenical Decade for Climate Justice Action launched by the World Council of Churches.
“The bishops of The United Methodist Church commit to giving continued support in this endeavor to do no harm to God’s world, to continue to advocate for creation justice, and to give voice and leadership to our commitment to care for all of God’s creation,” the letter said.
The council also encouraged United Methodists to do their part. “Together, and across the globe, United Methodists can make a difference and bring about health, sustainability and care for the garden that we were created into.”
The Rev. Richenda Fairhurst, a member of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement’s coordinating team, said she saw the group’s open letter as an opportunity to bring together the voices of those who’ve been working for creation justice for decades and to offer a love letter to the church.
“I was so grateful for the bishops to see these things also, the urgency and the remedy, and to share a call to build each other up and to mobilize for God’s Earth and for each other.”
The council's letter comes as leaders and climate experts from around the world gather in Belem, Brazil, for the 30th annual United Nations climate summit known as COP30. The conference continues through Nov. 21.
California-Pacific Conference Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank, who chairs the Council of Bishops’ Justice and Reconciliation Committee that oversaw the bishops’ creation-care response, said she is proud of the church's ongoing work “to care for God’s creation in all the ways we can.”
“Our work together is what can make a difference in the future of our world. Let us be diligent in our actions and persistent in hope for all creation,” she said.
The bishops' response is in line with The United Methodist Church’s revised Social Principles, which reflect increased attention to creation care.
The Rev. Sharon Delgado, convener of grassroots caucus Fossil Free UMC and a member of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement's coordinating team, said she appreciates that the Council of Bishops responded so quickly with a call to churches for climate justice and climate action, addressing most of what her team had asked for in their letter.
However, she said, there is one more request that she hopes will be addressed in future conversations: divestment from fossil fuels.
The group’s open letter urged the council “to support fossil fuel divestment at every level of the church, affirm and promote Wespath’s fossil free Social Values Funds, and provide witness for continued full divestment of the denomination in accordance with the mission, Social Principles, and priorities of the Church.”
“While discussions and debates about divestment within the denomination are ongoing, I am heartened that the bishops highlighted the urgency of this moment and spoke of the harm caused by the world’s addiction to fossil fuels,” Delgado said. “As their pastoral letter points out, the Social Principles specifically address ‘global warming and climate change, and the dependence on fossil fuels.’”
She said the bishops’ response expands her hope that the church is moving in a good direction.
Fairhurst echoed those sentiments and noted the role of people of faith in meeting this moment.
“Our faith is an essential part of what it means to be a disciple at this time. We must name the urgency of climate change and creation justice, and also name the remedy. And that remedy is us, every green team, every solar panel, every prayer garden filled with native plants, every mound of good soil, where there is enough to eat, where there is clean water, where all are welcome. All of that is church.”
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Dwyer is news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
