An open letter to all Canadians from the Moderator of The United Church of Canada This letter was born in Copenhagen where, heartbroken, I watched the international climate talks fall apart.
Heartbroken because it was clear to me, as it was to many of you, that the talks in Copenhagen needed to succeed, that it is no longer safe for us to go on as we have before. I believe this is a unique time in humanity’s fretful reign on Earth, a rare moment that will have historic significance. And yet the Copenhagen talks failed. We have no plan to reduce deadly emissions of carbon dioxide. Emissions that are a symptom of our broken relationship with the web of life. Emissions that are rising faster than at any time in human history. We also have no legally binding agreement. Instead we have feeble words cloaked in mistrust, the phantom of a deal. Our moment of opportunity came and then went, and here we are now, the fate of civilization and of millions of the planet’s life forms hanging by the frayed thread of inaction. So where is our hope? I believe the answer to this question is that hope is in you. It is in me and in all of us who choose to reject despair and embrace hope. Together, we will replace the Copenhagen failure with success. It is up to us. Why do I say that? Because I believe something important shifted in Copenhagen. Watching the tens of thousands of citizens who gathered at the talks to exhort our world’s political leaders to act reminded me of the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who said it would be “fatal…to overlook the urgency of the moment.” He also spoke of the “fierce urgency of now.” King’s fight was against the great moral ills of his day, what he called the “manacles” of racial segregation and the “chains” of discrimination. He refused to wait and called on everyone to act. I too believe the time for waiting has run out. |
Trinity is a small active church with both social and religious activities for people of all ages in Oakville and surrounding area.