Photos & Text By Logan Williamson

Many practicing Christians are skeptical of climate change and doubt global warming is the result of human activity. However, an alternate narrative is taking shape, one grounded in theological texts which links the imperative to address environmental matters to the faithful practice of Christianity.

In 2015, fewer than half of Catholics (40%), non-evangelical Protestants (39%) and evangelicals (29%) agreed with scientists that human-caused climate change is happening. But that same year, Pope Francis published an encyclical, issuing a moral call to action on climate change. This was a landmark moment which left a lasting impression on many Christians, including former Vice President Joe Biden. Moreover, the theologies of ‘creation care’ and environmental stewardship — the beliefs in a call by God to preserve the earth and promote sustainability — have steadily gained currency.

Christian Bible

In New York City, several groups are leading the way in reconfiguring the Christian response to climate crisis.

At the interdenominational Riverside Church, Alan Bentz-Letts chairs the Beloved Earth Community, a group of Christian climate activists who organize educational seminars and community actions around climate change, zero waste and other local issues. He organizes a “First Sunday on Climate” series, because the pace of climate change, he said, demanded response and action. “The world has no more time to procrastinate or delay, so we have to act now.”

Alan Bentz-Letts (left) and Beloved Earth Community volunteer (right)

At the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Manhattan, Janet Kraus facilitates the Care for Creation working group which advocates for an interconnectedness of all creatures and a responsibility to care for the environment. Kraus facilitates bible studies and draws inspiration from “Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis’ encyclical to act on climate, particularly the parts about respect for God’s gift of creation. “It is out of gratitude and reverence,” she said, “that I want to preserve this gift we have been given.”

Janet Kraus (left) & Kelly Moltzen (right)

“A Catholic in the Franciscan tradition, Kelly Moltzen, a convener at Interfaith Public Health Network, is focused on creating a sustainable food system comprised of more plant-based meals. For Moltzen, the spiritual realm overlaps with the physical. She uses as an example the Holy Eucharist made manifest in the bread and wine. “To believe in the ‘incarnation’ is to believe there is divinity and sacredness in everything.” All things in the world are interconnected, she said, and humans are called to ‘co-create’ with God to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. “We continue to be co-creators by making sure enough food is available for people and that it is grown ecologically the way God meant it to be."

Riverside Church

Episcopal Christian Dr. David Larrabee, retired physics professor with a M.A. in Systemic Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York, explores ecological readings of Biblical texts, including a “partially realized eschatology,” the belief that the promised kingdom of God had been partly inaugurated with the first coming of Christ. Christians should not think temporally about the advent of the kingdom, he said, but work to further it through the stewardship of God’s creation. By writing and speaking on the subject, he looks to disciple others to “value the world intrinsically” and give to it just as they would give to the church.

Other Christians, such as Brandon and Faith Lee, co-owners of Bird and Branch, a small coffeeshop in Manhattan’s midtown neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, see a responsibility to tend and care for the earth according to Genesis 1 in the Bible. In 2018, the young couple started the shop in consultation with Jonathan Walton, the founder of the LoGOFF (Local, Green, Organic, Fair and Free) movement – a practical framework for stewardship ‘with Christ at the center.’

Genesis 2:15

Bird and Branch now uses all green energy, and it recycles and composts to reduce waste. Employees also prepare coffee in a ceramic and use stainless steel straws for customers who choose to dine in. “We are trying to eliminate single-use items,” said Faith.

Not only congregants but clerics as well, including Rev. John Flack, the pastor of Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church, are addressing the climate crisis. Flack preaches at least once a month on the topic of climate change and includes the subject in the weekly liturgical prayers. It is the “first commandment” in the Book of Genesis to take care of the garden, he said, and God invites humans to participate in a project to protect the environment.

As a Lutheran, Flack also believes that the Eucharist is a symbol signifying the presence of Christ in all of creation. By not taking full account of the sacredness of the earth, from the leaves to the wheat grains, humans are “abusing” the Body of Christ. “We can live a life of interdependence, instead of exploitation and domination.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus and the temporary closing of religious institutions has been a practical setback for Christian climate activists who must confront the limits of social distancing.

Flack, who contracted Covid 19 but has since recovered, is concerned that the shelter in place order will weaken the emotional bonds between people. He believes in the doctrine of the ‘incarnation,’ arguing that the church as the body of Christ is supposed to meet together. For him, the sacraments are “physical signs of God’s grace” that are meant to be shared by the church. “The whole situation sucks; that’s all there is to it.” However, he sees this as a time to cling to faith and allow the Scriptures to speak in new and urgent ways.

Screen capture of Zoom meetings

On March 15, the third Sunday of Lent, Flack posted a sermon in which he read an essay by German theologian Martin Luther written in 1527 during the Bubonic Plague that said Christians must not “tempt God” and endanger others through recklessness or negligence. Flack told members of his own flock to take care of their neighbors by staying home. It is an act of love, he said, to put a pause on fellowship meetings and an act of faith “to trust that God is with us and will call us together again.”

As a small business, Bird and Branch has a slim profit margin, and Faith and Brandon depend on it to provide their livelihood. Although it is considered ‘essential,’ Faith and Brandon had to shut it down, because they did not want to put members of their staff at risk by asking them to come in for work. But their trust in God has helped them through this challenging time, and they came up with the idea to prepare breakfast and coffee to deliver to local hospitals. “Lifting morale is needed in hospitals right now, so we are happy to do a small part where we can.”

Brandon Lee and employee prepare breakfast and coffee for healthcare workers

For Kraus, the economic inequities revealed by the pandemic have been devastating, and all the more reason for Christians to provide leadership around the idea of collective good. “The values are askew,” in that people from low-income areas are not taken into account, she said.” The world is a “common home,” she said, referring to the Pope’s encyclical. “It is not the home for the wealthy and the powerful.” As she reflected on how poorer neighborhoods in New York City have been most affected by the virus, tears fell from her eyes. “It is the people who have been neglected, ignored and treated unevenly who are suffering the most. Again, that is the group that is the hardest hit, and that really upset me.”

For Letts, the pandemic has shown that the principalities and powers that the Apostle Paul referred to as the Epistle to the Ephesians, are elected officials and the oil and gas companies. He said they are using the virus as an opportunity to “increase their evil ways,” because they know people cannot gather in protest. The Trump administration, for example, has relaxed Obama-era environmental regulations during the ongoing pandemic, including fuel economy standards. “But once (the lockdown) ends, we will be back protesting, trying to undo all the mistakes that have been made. So, watch out, we’re coming.”