Sharon Delgado

Greetings friends, on this New Year’s Day, 2026. In just thirteen days, the revised edition of my book, Love in a Time of Climate Change, will be released by Fortress Press. As that time approaches, I will be posting excerpts from the book. Today’s excerpt from the new preface is about hope.

A Deeper Understanding of Hope

The topic of climate change hovers over our daily lives, although our concerns may be largely unspoken. The topic is often avoided, including in churches. Many people feel helpless in the face of a challenge of such magnitude, especially if no one else in their circle of friends or in their church seems to be concerned. Many people feel grief, paralysis, anger, or fear for the future related to climate anxiety.

Love in a Time of Climate Change addresses this dilemma by inviting readers on a journey of faith that integrates personal spirituality with action for climate justice. This journey requires a spiritual deepening that enables us to squarely face the reality of what is going on in the world and equips us to take positive action in both the personal and social spheres of life.

Over the years, in my presentations on climate change, someone in the audience almost invariably asks, “What gives you hope?” My answers have varied, but my answers have always been built on the assumption that if we get the word out, and if we pray and work hard enough, humanity will be successful in addressing climate change in time to avert catastrophe. As global temperatures continue to rise, I no longer hold such an assumption, so I have had to develop a deeper response to the question of hope.

For me hope persists, in the face of the grim reality of climate change and the multiple other accelerating crises we face. Darkness is often the context in which hope is experienced, as expressed in Romans 8:24: “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what they see?” Hope is not optimism or certainty of success. It is not based on outward conditions. Hope is the positive energy with which we approach life when all external indicators of success have failed. Václav Havel said that hope is “a dimension of the soul . . . , an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.”

Hope is a virtue that we can practice every day. Hope is one expression of the light of God that continues to shine in the darkness of our time. Hope can help us face and bear our grief, frustration, anger, and dread, but only if we don’t expect it to cancel out these feelings or change the external situation. Tara Trapani, chief administrator of the Yale  Forum on Religion and Ecology, says it like this: “Hope is the friend who sits with us in the dark, so we are not alone, and shines for us so we can make it through. If we expect it to be more than this, we are doing it a disservice, and we will always be crestfallen.”

In his book Climate Church, Climate World, Jim Antal claims that “Hope is the most important contribution people of faith can and must make as humanity confronts the climate crisis. To become people of hope we must be willing to stare reality in the face.” For it to be real, hope must not be based on wishful thinking, but on facing the truth, no matter how painful. In fact, facing “the existential dread we experience” may be a precondition of hope. He says, “When we have a safe context in which we can share our dread with trusted friends, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit will ignite in us a tenacious and defiant hope.”

In his words and in his actions over the years as a pastor, climate educator, author, nonviolence practitioner, and activist, Jim Antal has demonstrated what he means by “defiant hope.” He says, “If hope is essential to Christians, then exposing the lies perpetuated by the powers and principalities that deny climate change must become a first-order priority.” Instead of avoiding conflict or admitting defeat, hope enables us to enter the fray.

Maintaining hope in this time of climate change requires action. Hope does not mean sitting on the sidelines wondering which team will win. It means joining the team, getting out onto the field, and putting one’s whole self into the game. In today’s context of climate emergency, hope means keeping our eyes on the prize and playing the game as if our lives and the lives of others depend on it, because they do.

These reflections on hope are meant to encourage readers to explore the themes in Love in a Time of Climate Change with courage and fortitude, knowing that God is present with us as a light in the darkness as we seek to be faithful in this challenging time. This book offers a way to nurture faith, hope, and love in ourselves and others as we look together at climate change and consider what we can do to respond. It is written to help readers cultivate an authentic faith, discern what is true, and identify God’s call.

I still approach climate change with hope. Throughout the book, I offer positive signs and visions of a future that we can work toward with so many others who are praying, speaking, writing, organizing, and acting for peace, justice, and the healing of creation. There is still hope that “people power” will overcome the powers of evil and that “we shall overcome.” In the words of the movement for global justice: “Another world is possible.” Possible, but not guaranteed.

Jesus said, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). For hope to be real, it must be honest. In talking about climate change, it is urgently important that, like the Hebrew prophets, and like Jesus, we speak the truth in love. If we don’t, people won’t realize what is at stake. If we do speak, people may be motivated to act on behalf of life if they realize the extremity of our situation and the profound significance of our time.

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