I am a father of two great kids. I worry about their future,
especially when I see extreme weather events accelerating around the world.
It’s clear the climate is changing and very little is being done to correct what’s causing the problem, primarily carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel.
I am also a person of faith and sometimes it seems my fellow believers and faith leaders are unaware of the severity of climate change or are ignoring this growing crisis.

I was particularly eager to read, “Our stormy relationship with climate change,” the recent column by Elizabeth Eisenstadt-Evans, in Lancasteronline’s Faith and Values section.http://lancasteronline.com/lifestyle/faith_and_values/column-our-stormy-relationship-with-the-issue-of-climate-change/article_11729a1c-94f6-11e3-a5a7-001a4bcf6878.html
She hits the nail on the head when she says, “If God gave us intelligence, surely he intended us to use it to protect the complex web of life around us, rather than heedlessly exploiting it.”
I am requesting that the faith leaders of Lancaster County work together to speak out on this issue and rally the community to action, because I need all the resources of faith and God-given intelligence as I raise my children and do my best to protect them from the coming storms.
Speaking out on, and taking action on climate change, is more than promoting stewardship of the earth, more than providing security for future generations by ensuring they have the resources they need for their survival. This is about loving our neighbors locally and around the world.
As people of faith, we can let justice roll like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream by speaking out. We can love our neighbors as ourselves in the way we use our resources and the way we speak out against expanding our fossil fuel consumption through drilling and pipelines.
Most of all, spreading awareness about climate change will enable us all to be good parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.