Climate change is a tremendous challenge for the global community. Many see it as the critical issue of our time. As people of faith, it is an issue that reaches to the core of who we are and how we are to live in God’s world.
Over the last year, children and students across the globe have been striking on Fridays to demand action on the climate crisis from all levels of government and civil society.
They are demanding a just transition that enshrines dignity and justice for all, supports the rights, title and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples, and ushers in a renewable energy economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind.
To launch the Global Week for Climate Action, over 4 million people around the world marched for climate justice on September 20. In Ottawa, members, staff, and supporters of Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) were out in solidarity with the several hundred youth on Parliament Hill.
But that was just the warm-up.
On Friday, September 27, 2019, CPJ is joining Global Climate Strike activities across Canada. Strikes will take place in at least 160 Canadian communities in every province and territory in a massive outpouring of support for bold, far-reaching climate action. CPJ will have a presence in Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, and Halifax. We will also be participating in the Digital Climate Strike by taking our website offline for the day.
CPJ believes that every Christian is called to care deeply about God’s creation, just as God cares for each and every one of us. We have a responsibility, first and foremost, to demonstrate our respect for life and our love for the Earth. If human activities cause the warming of the planet, which in turn drives species towards extinction, intensifies natural disasters, harms human health, and threatens the well-being of our children and grandchildren, then it inevitably becomes an issue of life and love.
And so, we strike.
