Conference to discuss climate from faith perspective
The climate is a very heated issue around the world, and a conference this Saturday, Nov. 1, will delve into that subject from a different point of view.
The Messiah Lutheran Church at 2691 NE Pine Island Road in Cape Coral will host the second annual fall social justice conference, “Living a Connected Life: Spirituality & Our Environment” sponsored by the House of Prayer Retreat Center in Alva, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The idea of the conference is to delve into the problems of climate change and global warming by greening the religious communities from a faith perspective both in the world and in your neighborhood.
The keynote speakers will be Sr. Mary Elizabeth Clark and the Rev. Andy Bell.
Clark is director of the Sisters of St. Joseph Earth Center in Philadelphia, an ambassador for the U.S. Catholic Bishops Climate Change Coalition. She served as lobbyist in Washington and advocates for environmental justice from a faith perspective.
Bell is executive director of Sunshine State Interfaith Power and Light, whose mission is “to organize faith communities to address the climate crisis.”
Breakout sessions will be led by Maria Lofredo Roca and Win Everham.
Roca, a Green Faith Fellow and associate professor at the Department of Communication and Philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University, is also senior faculty associate of the Center for Environmental & Sustainability Education.
Roca said it is up to the people to care for the earth, not for governments to legislate it.
“We are called upon to be stewards of the earth. What are we not doing to make our community better,” Roca said. “We take care of what we love, so we need to find that place within ourselves, which is our faith.”
Everham is a professor of environmental studies at FGCU. His research examines the impacts of disturbance including exotic invasions.
Beverages and cookies will be served, but guests are encouraged to bring a bag lunch.
The conference last year focused on migrant workers, human trafficking and domestic violence.
Roca said the true solution to climate change comes from enough people simply caring enough to do it.
“You can have all the science in the world, but if people don’t care, it won’t do anything,” Roca said.
Tickets are $40 at the door, $30 if reservations are made before Oct. 25, and $10 with a valid student ID.
For more information, call HOPRC at 728-3614 or email office.hopretreatcenter@gmail.com