Elaine Storkey, President of Tearfund, shared in the second plenary session on Saturday morning.

  • Why is theology interested in climate change? Good theology must be lived.
  • We need to look at the broad sweep of theology, not just pick & choose the parts we like.
  • Theology of God as creator: God’s delight in the world. It remains his world. (Gen 1, Jer 10, Psa 24)
  • The intimacy of God & creation – Psa 50. God has ownership, not us.
  • All created life is integrated, forms a whole.
  • Adam/adamah – solidarity, intrinsically interconnected.
  • A misunderstanding of sin – it’s lost it’s meaning, people only see it as a sex issue.
  • Sin: failure to love.
  • Theology of neighbour love: provisions of the Torah, parable of the good Samaritan, feeding the five thousand, etc.
  • 15,000 die daily from water related diseases.
  • Estimated that by 2010 50 million people could be climate refugees.
  • God’s requirement for justice: Isaiah 58.
  • What can we do?
    • Prioritize relationships over things.
    • Reduce overconsumption & waste.
    • Think, work & produce more locally.
    • Sabbath & Jubilee implications for rest; importance of rootedness, etc.