The diocese’s fourth annual observance of Creation Care Season concluded at the end of November with an interfaith panel on climate change that brought five faith leaders together at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston to discuss how faith inspires and drives environmental action.
The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, a regional interfaith environmental organization, gave the keynote address at the Nov. 20 event, and the Rt. Rev. Bud Cederholm, a retired bishop suffragan of the diocese, moderated the panel. The five panelists were leaders from Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Islamic, Jewish and United Church of Christ traditions.
All of the panelists identified climate change as an issue of moral justice for people of all faiths, and said that faith communities need to work together to care for creation on behalf of future generations. The Rev. Jim Antal, President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, said that this is the “first generation to foresee and the last generation to with the opportunity to forestall the most devastating effects of climate change,” and Safwan T. Eid, Associate Imam at the Islamic Institute of Boston (IIB), noted how the IIB involves children and youth in creation care. The panel engaged in discussion with the audience, and attendees enjoyed “creation-friendly” refreshments that were seasonal, local and plant-based.
The diocese's Creation Care Season kicked off in early October with dozens of churches holding animal blessings in honor of St. Francis Day.
Three churches (Christ Church Needham, St. Andrew's Framingham, Grace Church Medford) that have recently installed solar panels held special blessing services that featured prayers, songs and raising Bishop Cederholm in a cherry picker to sprinkle holy water on the roof-mounted panels. They bring the number of Episcopal churches in the diocese using solar energy up to eight, with a ninth coming online soon.
Tom Gaitley
Other Creation Care Season events included three film screenings, several panel discussions about divestment and sustainable investing and two Sustainable House of Worship (SHOW) workshops. SHOW workshops educate parish representatives on how to track energy use, make affordable, energy-efficient updates to church properties, obtain incentives and rebates for going "green" and apply for Creation Care Initiative grants from the Diocese of Massachusetts.
Information about the ongoing grant programs and upcoming events and SHOW workshops are posted on the Creation Care Initiative page, as well as a link to Creation Care Season reflections written by leaders around the diocese.