by Pastor Janice Sutter

 

Last month, I got to walk the trails at Camp Friedenswald. To stand in the shade of the towering red oaks. To soak in the late afternoon light on the prairie and oak savannah. To come upon a “kettle pond” created thousands of years ago at the melting of a glacier fragment. In such a place, the beauty and diversity of God’s creation speaks! It is good!

 
The event that took me to Friedenswald was a workshop for Mennonite pastors on climate change, led by Doug Kaufman and Amy Huser. Not only did we celebrate the creation around us, we also heard about the impact of climate change in Indiana and globally. We talked about our responses of denial, despair, and feelings of being overwhelmed with this change that affects all in our global home.
 
A highlight of the event was hearing from Mennonite Central Committee partners from Zimbabwe, El Salvador and Nepal. Each of these leaders, Durga, Zacarias and Sibonokuhle, are working with communities living in poverty whose lives have been severely impacted by prolonged drought and decreased snow line (Nepal), intense rain and drought leading to social crises (El Salvador) and severe heat waves, dwindling resources, and increased conflict (Zimbabwe).
 
For me, this put a whole new face on climate change. These three courageous leaders are walking with their communities through incredible change that wreaks havoc on families already struggling in poverty. They urge US Christians to pay attention to their struggles.
 
All three of these leaders named the hope that keeps them going in their work. Sibonokuhle of Zimbabwe spoke of the importance of her Christian faith. God’s call on her life invites her into “radical discipleship, which means that I don’t live just for myself.”
 
In their testimonies, I heard the need for faith in God, the Creator, along with a call to follow Jesus in radical discipleship that considers the needs of the planet and the people of earth. Such a time as this calls for faith in God alongside responsible human action.

 

This article originally appeared in the October 2018 edition of Kern Road Mennonite Church's electronic newsletter Kernels.

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