A Review of the Revised Edition of Love in a Time of Climate Change by the Reverend Richenda Fairhurst
Also at: Love in a Time of Climate Change: A Review | UMC Creation Justice
Overview: Recommend
Rev. Sharon Delgado’s newly revised Love in a Time of Climate Change is a tour de force. It maps the landscape as to where people of faith now find themselves as they seek Love and Justice in the midst of a warming planet. This book offers a moral survey alongside a material one, with the undisputed science of storms and sea level rise set inside the call to attend to the discipleship tasks of testimony, witness, prayer, and action for neighbor and creation.
Dedicated to “the courageous souls who are living and working on the front lines of climate change,” Rev. Delgado frames her stocktake within the discipleship imperative of “why now, why this” with an opening quote from the World Council of Churches:
Victims of climate change are the new face of the poor, the widow and the stranger that are especially loved and cared for by God. When creation is threatened in this way, churches are called to speak out and act as an expression of their commitment to life, justice, and peace. -World Council of Churches
Be encouraged! Where we stand, what we must do, and the Spirit in which we must do it all fit in this little book. Bonhoeffer’s collected works span seventeen volumes that perplex theologians to this day. Rev. Delgado’s work gets right to the heart of the matter. It sits neatly and clearly in front of us, calling us to love, seek justice, and act.
I recommend this book as key component study for church green teams, adult Sunday School classes, and pastors and conference staff. In prayerful community, people of faith need to catch up to current science and public policy to better understand what faithful action looks like, and what terms it must take. I recommend this book for every church leader and every bishop, that it may be a lamp to our feet as we navigate the smoke, heat, and floodwaters that disrupt our worship, undo our mission, damage our churches, destroy the homes and take the lives of both young and old in our own congregations, and around the world. May God have mercy on us.
What I appreciated about the book:
I really appreciated the survey nature of this book. It covers all the bases, and after reading it you will know the basic concerns and social considerations of acting to address climate change. I especially appreciated that Rev. Delgado offers this survey as a fellow traveler. She has a lifetime of faithful expertise, to be sure. Yet her deep faith helps her see her own voice as one of millions, and she raises her own witness and testimony alongside the voices of others.
I really valued the emphasis Rev. Delgado places on entering into a rightful spirit in seeking to understand the scope of what we are dealing with. She offers the latest science without varnish, which is at times hard to bear. Yet, we know that scientific measurement does not stand by itself. A faithful person brings with them a sharp mind, and also the interpretive tools of heart, spirit, and being. For those who follow the teachings and discernments of John Wesley, we have what is called the “Quadrilateral” which Rev. Delgado offers as a faithful toolbox to lead us through discerning prayer, acknowledging Tradition, Reason, Experience, and Scripture above all.
Rev. Delgado opens the book in witness, then spends the first significant pages of the book walking through this Wesleyan way of discipleship. She further addresses the Graces of Wesleyan theology, Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace. She calls us to reflect on where Grace meets us in this work. She calls us to holiness in the face of the climate crisis, and comforts us with the assurance of God’s love. Who can be against us when God is with us?
What we might struggle with:
Wesleyan faith is not lived in the shadows. John Wesley famously preached in open fields, public prisons, and from church to church to church. He calls us to act and sing and preach out loud. He envisions the effort of faithful human beings as having an on-purpose impact in how we live our lives together. United Methodists and many other people of faith understand that to serve the poor and speak to the powerful means faithful testimony and an open voice.
For some, the topic of climate change is “political.” In churches, often we feel silenced because the “politics” of one person might dismay, dishearten, or infuriate the “politics” of another. Rev. Delgado offers straightforward observation that the policies under which we all live impact God’s creation, the life we share, and what life together means. I think of it this way, if it was the policy of our towns to dump plastic waste at the front door of our churches, we wouldn’t consider it to be “political” to say something about it.
Speaking truth faithfully with respect for others and love for our neighbor is a blessing to the body of Christ. Policy, then, when we look more widely, does not have to be about “politics.” It is about faithful testimony and the urgent question of what life together should be like.
Where to go from here:
The book is available as an audio book or ebook, and in print through booksellers such as Bookshop.org, or direct from the publisher, Fortress Press. Explore Rev. Sharon Delgado’s author page for more information, as well the facilitator’s guide for leadership help. For those who read the original book published in 2017, you will find the updates in the New Revised edition an essential help as it will bring you up to date with where we are now.
The Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is here for the friendship and conversations about climate, community, and connection. For more conversations, see the team at the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement Café. Find Richenda in Southern Oregon and at JustCreation.org.
Note from Richenda: I received an early copy of the book in order to write this review. I also endorsed this book ahead of its publication. Rev. Sharon Delgado is a friend and colleague, and I am grateful to her for the time and effort it takes to put a book like this together. None-the-less I offer what I hope is a fair and honest review.
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