Ministry and the Youth Climate Movement
Category: Unitarian Universalism - General
It’s Getting Hot in Here, a blog about youth activism against global warming, recently featured a sermon by Unitarian Universalist minister Fred Small.
Rev. Small addresses the spiritual aspects of the fight against global warming, noting, “If faith demands confidence in the outcome and hope optimism, then global warming can really do a number on faith and hope.” Yes, indeed. The feeling of futility that many people have when they think about global warming is standing in the way of change.
Rev. Small is using his ministry to inspire climate activists. Here are some of the ways he does this:
1. Founding and leading Religious Witness for the Earth, which organizes religious leaders to raise awareness of global warming. (The website is out-of-date, but the group is still active).
2. Ministering to youth participants at Power Shift 2007, a conference that brought youth to Washington D.C. in early November, to lobby for “bold and comprehensive solutions to the climate crisis.” During Power Shift 2007, Rev. Small provided spiritual resources to sustain youth activists. He writes:
Christians, Jews, and Muslims attending the “Faith and Climate” panel sought scriptural and religious grounding for climate stewardship. Others less religious were curious how faith might support and inform activism. A number were delighted to be introduced to Unitarian Universalism. At the workshop I led on spiritual practice, participants were looking for practical tools to sustain their commitment and avoid burnout. My workshop on songs and songleading, attended by over thirty singers, reviewed the powerful impact of singing in movements past and shared tricks of the trade. Misreading the schedule, I arrived ten minutes late to find the room already filled with song. They were teaching each other!
3. Bringing the message of hope from Power Shift 2007 back to his congregation, the First Church Unitarian in Littleton, MA. His sermon that is reprinted on It’s Getting Hot in Here was first delivered in Littleton, following the conference.
Zo Tobi, author of It’s Getting Hot in Here, refers to Fred Small as “one of our movement’s finest chaplains.” Rev. Small’s ministry illustrates how faith leaders can make a difference in the fight against global warming.
