by Cat Boyle
Cat Boyle is one of nine UU representatives, and one of two UUYACJ members, going to Marrakech, Morocco as an observer of the UN climate change summit COP22. World leaders are convening Nov 7-18 to discuss the implementation of the Paris agreement, which aims to keep global climate change below an average of 1.5 degrees Celcius.
Read another of Cat’s reflections here. More info can be found here.
Courtesy of Cat Boyle.
This is Cat Boyle reporting from the busy crossroads of COP22 in Marrakech. This morning I attended a presentation on eco-villages from the Global Eco-village Network. Representatives from the Philippines, Columbia, Senegal and the United States spoke on the intersection of faith and rethinking how we act in community, particularly in establishing eco-villages, eco-temples, eco-mosques, eco-churches and perhaps for us, eco-fellowship halls! The Global Eco-village Network’s goal in connecting faith communities is to honor and respect each other, recognizing that at the center of all the religions is awakening to the divine presence. In regards to climate change, we must ask ourselves how we can take care of, not destroy, the only planet we have. Spirituality grounded in community is a key factor in developing resiliency. This marks the importance of our Green Sanctuaries program and begs us to consider how we as a faith can reach out to the communities we are based in and develop partnerships for the coming changes.