Durham Friends Meeting Minute of Concern for the Environment
approved September 21, 2014
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” Psalm 24:1
The Religious Society of Friends testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship are our guides in dealing with the challenges of global warming and climate change. Durham Friends Meeting supports sustainable relationships among the economic, environmental, and social systems; we understand these to rightly be relationships that emphasize humans as interdependent with and nurturing of the environment and of each other.
Cultivating a deeper awareness of our connections with all of Creation enables us to live more Spirit-filled lives. This awareness reminds us of God’s presence in everything around us, leads us to greater clarity and acceptance of ourselves as God’s creatures. Failure to respect the sanctity and interdependence of all Creation is a root of war, social oppression, and environmental destruction.
Friends’ concerns for simplicity, right sharing of resources and equality lead us to recognize that the effects of global warming desecrate God’s creation. We, on this day of the United Nations march in New York City, issue an urgent call for Friends to make substantive changes in their lifestyles including:
–reduction in use of fossil fuels for transportation, home heating, electricity.
–reduction of industrial combustion of fossil fuels.
–work for public policies that discourage use of carbon-based fuels and encourage use of renewable sources of energy.
We acknowledge there is an urgent need to begin a steady progress towards bringing our lives into right relationship with the community of life on Earth. With this knowledge, and with Friend’s testimonies as our guide, we embrace our responsibility to protect the earth’s life forms and ecosystems.