Raising awareness about the impact of climate change, representatives of churches, ecumenical organizations and the United Nations stood together at Mulinu’u last Thursday for a prayer.
General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Samoa, Reverend Ma’auga Motu said that with the world being confronted by so many environmental problems, God is the only answer.
“This sea prayer is to express solidarity with communities affected by sea-level rise,” he said.
“God owns everything that exists, He is the rightful owner of everything, and from the very beginning he has made human beings his caretakers for the earth.”
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“So we should take good care of the resources God has given us, not use them in a way that threatens the well-being of the environment. Let’s rise and give praise to the Almighty God for His Greatness.”
Rev. Ma’auga says it is important to return the glory where it is due.
“Above all, environmental stewardship shows that we are grateful to the One who provided the earth to sustain its creatures.” he added.
“Environmental stewardship reflects our Christian belief that Jesus is reconciling all things to himself, and that the risen Lord is presently reigning over the cosmos.”
Programme animator for climate change and resettlement of the P.C.C, Peter Emberson said that if we practice environmental stewardship, we show ourselves to be participants in his creation.
“We may not be able to see this completely reversed until we reign in peace but we can avoid causing ourselves grief by taking care of the resources God has given us,” he said.
“Environmental stewardship illustrates to the world that we care about the world God has given us, as well as all those who rely on that world for air, food, water and shelter.”
He also offered a germinating coconut as a “symbol of hope and resilience in life” to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Figueres, along with the former Ambassador to the UN, Dessima Williams, threw the coconut into the ocean, where it would inevitably find its way back to shore, grow, and show its resilience.
Participants in the prayer included representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Samoa Council of Churches (SCC), the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) and the United Nations.
Many of those praying were in the country taking part in the Small Island Developing States (S.I.D.S) Summit held last week, focusing on a group of countries that remain special cases for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities.
Others participating in the sea prayer at Mulinu’u included Peter Emberson, Programme Animator for Climate Change and Resettlement of the PCC; Daniele Violetti, Chief of Staff, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Andrew Higham,
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Ian Fry, Chief Climate Change Negotiator for Tuvalu; and Julia Bethan Edwards, Researcher on climate-induced relocation, PCC; along with others.
The campaign is focusing on the power of prayer and meditation as an essential contribution to change, giving support to negotiators’ having the courage, generosity and imagination to reach a meaningful deal.
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