In the revised edition of Love in a Time of Climate Change, Honoring Creation, Establishing Justice, I invite you to embark with me on a journey of faith, a deepening journey that integrates personal spirituality with concern and action for climate justice. I demonstrate a process in this book of facing and learning about climate change, processing it deeply, and discerning a faithful response based on the teachings of Jesus to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves.
Updates on Climate Change
So much has happened in the past nine years since the original edition of Love in a Time of Climate Change was published. In this revised edition, I update facts and share what climate scientists are saying now about climate change: its causes, impacts, progression, and future scenarios based on what we as the human community do or do not do to address it. I update stories about the global movement for climate justice, which has grown over the years, including church participation. I share how conversations about climate change have developed and changed over these nine years as well.
Themes of Love and Justice
This book reinforces the themes from the first edition. The premise of the book is that love God and neighbor in this time of climate change must include honoring creation and establishing justice. Love of God must include honoring creation because creation reflects the presence and the love of God. As creation is diminished by climate change, so are we all, and so is our ability to glorify God through creation.
In this time of globalized climate change, love of our neighbors must include working to establish justice, specifically climate justice. What we do on one side of the planet impacts people on the other side of the planet in ways we don’t even see, because we are now interconnected in so many ways. Working for the well-being of the whole must include justice, specifically climate justice. That’s a way to work for the well-being of our neighbors, near and far, present and future
Influence of John Wesley
This book is influenced by the teachings and practices of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement in the 18th century. His teachings on creation are remarkable. They help us see what’s at stake with the damage being done to creation through climate change and other environmental harms.
John Wesley’s teachings on justice include his concept of social holiness and his role as a social reformer in his time. Wesley’s insights and his ways of expressing his concerns for social issues of his day highlight the importance of working for justice as part of our faith journey.
Wesleyan Quadrilateral
John Wesley’s process of discernment has also influenced this book in a big way. I have adapted that process to explore climate change in this book by using scripture, tradition, reason and experience to look at climate change from different perspectives. This process of discernment enables us to think for ourselves, to explore what we believe, to discover truth, to decide for ourselves what we think about climate change, what we understand to be true, and how we respond. It is a process that helps us come into our own as maturing people of faith
Invitation to Action
Finally, this book expands our understanding of who we are and why we are here on this incomparable planet in this time of unprecedented challenge on Planet Earth. It is an invitation to rise to the occasion, to face the truth about the reality of climate change, and to live in love into the future as children of the earth, children of the universe, children of God. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.
Love in a Time of Climate Change will be released in Paperback and eBook format on January 13th. You can pre-order on Amazon now. The Audiobook version is available on Amazon with a trial 3-month subscription to Audible at $.99 per month that you can cancel at any time.
California Interfaith Power and Light is hosting an online Book Launch event with Sharon on January 14 at 12 noon PST. Register for the event at https://tinyurl.com/LoveClimate. For more information about the event, go to info@interfaithpower.org.
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