Church leaders marching for the climate

Christian leaders will participate in the Auckland People’s Climate March on Saturday 28 November, after which they will host a church service at St Patrick’s Cathedral to pray for the Paris climate talks.

Priests and ministers from Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and other churches are uniting behind the call for a global deal to reduce carbon emissions, in anticipation of the international negotiations taking place in Paris from November 30th.

“As Christians, we are called to be stewards of the earth, and climate change threatens God’s creation,” said Reverend Dr Carolyn Kelly, a Presbyterian chaplain at The University of Auckland.

“The people most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are the poor and the marginalized. Therefore we must take a stand for justice, and out of care for our common home”.

The service, ‘Prayer For Our Common Home’, will take place at St Patrick’s Cathedral onSaturday 28th November at 2pm, immediately following the march.

Father Larry Rustia, a priest from St Patrick’s Cathedral said “this is an opportunity to pray for our home, for the Pacific, for our leaders, and for the Church. We all must act, and the time for action is now. We invite the people of Auckland to join us.”

The Church leaders will be marching as part of a block called ‘Faiths For Earth’, made up of different world religions united behind the need to act on climate change and protect the earth. The People’s Climate March begins at Albert Park from 11am, and marches up Queen Street to Myers Park. It is set to be the largest climate change mobilisation in New Zealand history.

ENDS

© Scoop Media