July 09, 2024
Claire Ewert Fisher hosted a Faithful Climate Conversation at her church in Saskatoon. This is her reflection on the results.
“The unexpected, and biggest learning for me is that we need to recognize that this is God’s work. The plans we make help to focus our conversations, but it is often the surprises along the way that lead to the more important action. We listen to the promptings of God’s Spirit who is leading us not necessarily where we want to go, but where we need to be.”
Two of the many things I love in creation are the song of the robin at the end of a hot day, and the pink blossoms that crown a flowering plum tree in early spring. Living in a community with mature spruce and elm trees, a block from the South Saskatchewan river, are a few more aspects of life that I pray humans will not destroy.
Just as COVID was making its mark on our society, the adult education class at Mount Royal Mennonite Church (MRMC) began to meet via Zoom. The topic was ‘care for creation’ and our leaders were Mark Bigland-Pritchard and Myriam Ullah. As our conversations, shaped by the For the Love of Creation curriculum, developed, more and more people joined in the conversation. We learned about our feelings as well as our knowledge of the changes taking place in our climate. We discovered how our choices as individuals, but more so as a society, were impacting these changes.
After the four weeks of the course, we came up with two goals: planting more trees and placing solar panels on the roof of the church. We were to learn soon enough that grand goals like these don’t just happen in four weeks; it takes a while for new ideas to take hold and produce action.
While this might sound disappointing, we learned something that we had not expected. Here’s what has emerged:
These days, folks from MRMC, Wildwood and Rosthern churches meet monthly on Saturday mornings to consider actions and to educate ourselves. We gather because we want to make a difference for good, and in surprising ways, this is happening.
One Saturday, a city council member joined our group. She gave us some practical information and encouraged us to participate in civic action. Recognizing that there was little we could do on our own, we decided to write a letter to the Saskatoon city council and encourage them to follow through on some of their ideas concerning green spaces, and bicycle lanes, and collection of compostable waste and recyclable waste. We encouraged them to do what they could to keep the health of the natural environment of our city a priority at budget time.
After sending that letter, we were invited to present our concerns at the Council budget meeting. Three of us showed up to plead our cause. The best surprise of the day was to meet other groups of citizens with the same concerns. An umbrella organization, Saskatoon Climate Hub, meets weekly via Zoom to consider proposals and learn from others and advocate for them and for our natural world. One of our members joins the conversation when it pertains to our concerns.
The unexpected, and biggest learning for me is that we need to recognize that this is God’s work. The plans we make help to focus our conversations, but it is often the surprises along the way that lead to the more important action. As we care for the earth, we recognize what we love about it and do what we can to keep it healthy. We listen to the promptings of God’s Spirit who is leading us not necessarily where we want to go, but where we need to be.
Tags: Faithful Climate Conversations, FCC