Special coverage:
Rebecca Randall

Rebecca Randall

Rebecca Randall is an independent reporter in Washington state. She reports on climate movements and climate justice and intersections with religion and spirituality. She is also interested in mental health and child welfare.

By this Author

Antonio Frietze, who helped lead an effort for the Archdiocese of San Antonio to join the Laudato Si Platform, shakes hands with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller during a mass celebrating making a climate action commitment. (Courtesy of Catholic Climate Covenant)

Messages that mobilize: How to convince church leadership to take climate action

What actually works to mobilize church leaders to take climate action? Communication scholars and concerned Catholics shared what has worked for them in recent years, from strategic approaches to specific examples. 

Up to 89% of the world wants more climate action. These Catholics find hope in that.

Up to 89% of the world wants more climate action. These Catholics find hope in that.

People's climate anxiety can feel worse when it seems like nobody cares. However, 80-89% of the global population wants more climate action from governments. What happens when people realize they're part of the majority?

A new rooftop solar array at Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Cataño, a town bordering the San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico, will serve as a source of community resilience in the face of future climate disasters. (Courtesy of Lissette A. Avilés-Ríos)

Puerto Rico parish aims to be climate resilience hub to respond to extreme storms

Rather than rely on the unstable electric grid in Puerto Rico, Nuestra Señora del Carmen Parish opted for solar, with hopes of serving as a climate resilience hub to prepare for future storms.

JoDe Goudy (center), vice-president Se’Si’Le’; the Rev. AC Churchill (second from right), executive director Earth Ministries/Washington Interfaith Power and Light; Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizando (right); and other participants lead the community in prayer on Sept. 23, 2023, at an All Our Relations campaign event organized by Se’Si’Le’ in Olympia, Washington, at United Churches of Olympia. (Courtesy of the Nez Perce Tribe)

Indigenous leaders gain support of Washington Catholics for dam removal

Two years ago, the Indigenous nonprofit Se'Si'Le approached the Washington state Catholic bishops for support in advocating for dam removal, to aid the restoration of salmon populations in the Columbia River watershed.

Former Pittsburgh Bishop Dorsey W.M. McConnell and Rev. Noah H. Evans bless the solar panels installed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. Courtesy St. Paul’s Episcopal.

Can churches spread the gospel of solar in coal country?

Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church in West Virginia installed an array of 60 solar panels with a scrappy financial model, hoping to lead by example and inspire other communities in Appalachia to transition to solar energy as well. It might be working.

 

Advertisement