I’m a Christian.  I am driven by my faith to be concerned with climate change. The mainline church denomination of which I am a part recognized the role of mankind in changing global climate conditions.  It did so ten years ago.  But although it has been recognized by written resolution, it has been very slow for we followers to embrace in our lives. I suppose all sin is hard for a sinner to accept and thus we choose to read and use the Word as it suits us. I am certainly guilty of this. We all may be.

To begin,  I would turn to the Sanctus, one of the oldest pieces of Christian Liturgy.

“Holy Holy Holy Lord God of power & might, Heaven and Earth are full of thy glory.”

Heaven and Earth is an important message for us.  The world in which we live is full of his Glory and perfect beyond my imagination. To obliterate the mechanisms that make it work as designed, are acts, in a matter of speaking, against God.         

This past year I took part in a Pilgrimage.  I walked The Camino de Santiago or simply, The Way.  I found that each footstep I took moved me along in a manner in which I felt connected to God and to other pilgrims past and present who had walked those same footsteps. We all know what it means to feel connected.  The Great March for Climate Action is another attempt for me to be “connected”.  For 7 million if I can! There are many steps for us all to take if we are to make meaningful sacrifice for this Earth, “God’s Glory.”

As an aging, white middle class american I felt the guilt of transgression against our future. Countless generations of humanity could not contemplate the proficiency of our excess in this age. There has been minimal effort on my part to live a life sustainable, and responsible. When The Great march for climate action was suggested by my children, I saw it as personal sacrifice… A way to make an offering, or amens. To walk across the North American continent seemed a method of contrition. But as I walk into the desert landscape of the southwest I have a better view. It is not sacrifice that is in the making here. It is connection. Connection to this earth of ours, and its inhabitants. The hot sun reminds that most of us is water, and it disappears quickly. The fierce wind usually blows against you when you have a place to go, and the biggest hill to climb is often located just before camp. Progress is slow, but with each step my spirit is raised. I pray my body stays with the journey every single step of the way but If it doesn’t I know we will make every step in this small community of marchers which will grow in number as we continue to make footsteps toward a goal of climate action. Yesterday we finished our day with a 3 mile climb along a section of Highway 62. The next morning I walked by a coffee house in the small downtown atop that rise. The waitress came out and asked, “Hey, were you one of those people that walked up the mountain yesterday? … I heard about that.” I think thats how it happens … the spirit of our footsteps get passed along and before you know it, all are connected to the message.