This year, we are honoring Dan Misleh (he/him) at our Annual Benefit Dinner with the Fr. Jack Morris Legacy Award.
Dan wrote this years ago. We don’t have the exact date in our archives, but we think it was before Pope Francis and Laudato Si’ brought this conversation to more parishes. Dan has been at the forefront of this conversation over all that time.
It should not come as a surprise that from 1982-84, when I was a volunteer in Fairbanks, AK, I never thought about climate change: most of the time it was cold, like thirty or 40 below cold. In fact, I’m not even sure if I’d heard the term back then.
That has changed. All of it.
In June of 2007, I returned to Alaska and helped host a hearing on climate change for the bishops of Alaska in my new role as director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. Stanley Tom from the Village of Newtok told the bishops that his village is now regularly inundated with water as the ice forms later and later and no longer holds the late fall storms at bay. The entire village is moving to higher ground.
Also changed is all the news about climate change. Rarely a day goes by without some new report about how climate change is impacting polar bears, seasonal migrations of other animals, droughts and storms likely the result of a warming planet.
But what’s not talked about as much but critically important for those of us in the faith community—and certainly Jesuit Volunteers—is what will climate change mean to people?
While many environmental groups talk about impacts on the natural world and businesses facing greenhouse gas regulations contemplate the money they might make or lose trading emission allowances, the faith community is taking the lead in Washington, DC and in state capitols advocating for people, especially for those least able to bear the burdens of climate change or remedies to reverse it.
The values of JVC Northwest have shaped my life from the moment I began Orientation in August of 1982. There I began to unpack the values of simple living, community, service and spirituality. I was so captivated by these values that two years later I would be working for JVC: Southwest in Oakland, California as an area director and being tested by the whole simple living thing. The move from Toksook Bay to Oakland was precipitated by the woman I met (Susie Patridge, St. Mary’s, AK, 80-82) while a volunteer in Fairbanks. Like many FJV couples, our common values and experiences helped forge a strong attraction. One thing led to another and now we are grandparents.
JVC Northwest’s core values influenced my decision to continue a career working in the Catholic community. Now, I apply those values to the work of understanding and acting on climate change from a faith perspective.
With other national Catholic organizations including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Climate Covenant is educating Catholics that climate change is more than reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s About Poverty
From the U.S. bishops and Pope Benedict XVI to national Catholic organizations and informed parishioners, Catholics are increasingly engaged in the public debate about the issue making the poor a priority as our society addresses climate change and its impacts. Why? As Matthew 25 tells us, our very salvation could depend on seeing the face of Christ in our brothers and sisters in need. And the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (upon which the US bishops rely for their call to action) has said that it will be the poorest places on earth that will experience the greatest impacts.
It’s About Community
We learn as JVs that we are our sibling’s keeper. Community for us moves beyond our fellow volunteers, our families, our neighborhoods. The global threat of climate change demands an expanded view of community that embraces solidarity. Once climate change is seen as a global problem, we must face the fact that while a warming planet will impact us all, not all will be impacted equally. Those of us in the hyper-consuming developed nations not only are contributing the most to climate change, but also enjoy the resources unavailable to poorer communities and nations.
It’s About Simplicity
Our lifestyles in the developed countries are simply unsustainable. Does this mean we give up our cars, our electronics, and our warm homes? No. But maybe it means a greater awareness of our contributions to climate change and a resolve to consume less (much less) and to focus clearly and intentionally on a much softer environmental footprint.
It’s About Spirituality
JV spirituality is one of mindfulness: becoming aware of our relationship with God and with others. It is about contemplating our place within God’s wonderful Creation, honoring the Creator, and recognizing that the goods of the planet are meant for all to share. We are asked to be stewards of God’s marvelous creation, to demonstrate in concrete ways a respect of each other and to see the face of Jesus in all we meet.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, an ancient verse takes on new meaning in a world reacting to the strain of our own exploitation. It is about life, all life, and especially human life.
We must contemplate this verse and act in ways that fully embrace its deepest meaning:
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so you and your descendants might live.” (Deut. 30:19)
To learn more about this work, visit https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/.We must contemplate this verse and act in ways that fully embrace its deepest meaning:
