Jan 23, 2013
For Immediate Release
For more information: LeeAnne Beres, Executive Director
Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light
6512 23rd Ave NW, Suite 317, Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 632-2426 LeeAnne@earthministry.org
In his second inaugural address, President Barack Obama confirmed that we are commanded by God to care for the planet. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” he said. Clergy from many faiths across Washington State will take up that call Feb. 8-10 during the National Preach-In on climate change.
“President Obama has affirmed that we have a responsibility to address climate change,” said The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham of Interfaith Power & Light, which organizes the Preach-In each year. “Faith leaders across the country will mobilize their congregations in a major push for action in response to this speech.”
“Congregations from Vancouver to Spokane, Port Townsend to Tacoma, and everywhere in between are signed up to participate here in Washington”, said Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light executive director LeeAnne Beres. “Climate change is more than an environmental issue. It’s a human issue, and a moral and spiritual one. The longer we wait to address this crisis, the more we risk our children’s future. As people of faith we find that unacceptable, and we’re willing to do something about it.”
Clergy will preach sermons on climate change, people of faith will send thousands of valentines to the president asking him to love the Earth, and thousands of congregations will commit to green their houses of worship. In 2012, Preach-In congregations sent an estimated 37,500 postcards to U.S. Senators asking them to support clean air legislation.
Preach-In registration is free, and registrants have access to free and low-cost materials to plan their Preach-In activities. For more information, see www.preachin.org.
Here’s the full text of what President Obama said about climate change:
“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.
The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise.
That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”