Category: Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide

Loss and Damage Action Day- 22 September

Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide

Quaker Peace and Social Witness has shared that on 22 September, individuals were invited to participate in Loss and Damage Action Day. Last week, people around the world stood in solidarity with those living under the worst conditions of the climate crisis and called for “polluters to pay up.” As rich countries and large emitters of greenhouse gas emissions continue to knowingly damage the planet and threaten the well being of the earth’s most vulnerable, Quakers continue to call for urgent, sustainable and transformative climate action.

Photo by Michael Preston

Loss and Damage refers specifically to the negative impacts of climate change that have already been experienced. It also refers to those losses that have yet to occur but inevitably will. Often the people most impacted are already the poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants of earth who have contributed the least to the climate crisis. On the 22nd, hundreds of Quakers and others came together across the United Kingdom, including as part of a walk of witness from St. John’s Church, Waterloo, to Parliament Square, in order to increase pressure on the largest polluters to be responsible for the consequences of their actions.  

Photo by Michael Preston

As the climate crisis continues to be increasingly felt around the world, it is more important than ever to put pressure on those most responsible. To stand in solidarity at any time of the year with those most impacted by climate change, here are a few simple actions you can take:

1. Write to your national representatives to tell them about how important it is to fund loss and damage.

2. Hold a short screening of “The Global Story of Climate Change, Loss and Damage- and Who Should Pay for It” to share with friends and family the importance of polluters paying

3. Share your own #PayUp4Loss&Damage post on social media

4. Engage with future climate change justice related events in your community

5. Familiarize yourself with the People’s Climate Empowerment Series and share it with your community

Photos by Michael Preston

Kwibuka Yearly Meeting Environmental Projects

Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community
Members of Kibogoye Monthly Meeting during a workshop on environmental protection and job creation

Kwibuka Yearly Meeting in Burundi engages Friends and non-friends through a wide range of actions to encourage environmental protection and economic development. This happens through the “Christian Action in a World of Distress” Program. Some of the activities include teaching young vegetable farmers to make organic pesticides and fertilizer to prevent environmental degradation, how to transform non-biodegradable plastics into useful tools, and offer retreats to foster youth leadership in climate action. The group is also planning to open three new nurseries to help combat deforestation.

Participants of a workshop entitled “Managing the Risks of Climate Change”

Quaker Presence at Climate Change Interfaith Dialogue and Service prior to COP25

Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community
Carmen Alcalde, Lindsey Fielder Cook, and Detmer Yens Kremer
Lindsey Fielder Cook shares remarks

On December 1st, 2019, the Sunday before COP25 in Madrid started, several organizations, including Quaker United Nations office, organized a Interfaith Dialogue and Service. Lindsey Fielder Cook and Detmer Yens Kremer were present for QUNO, Carmen Alcalde represented the Madrid Meeting. During the day many thoughts regarding the responsibility of faith communities to act on climate action urgently and with a united voice. Lindsey Fielder Cook spoke on a panel regarding faith perspectives on climate change, and Detmer Yens Kremer shared a poem by Anohni and guided those gathered in silence during the service itself.

Detmer Yens Kremer co-facilitating a small discussion group focusing on systematic and individual change in the face of the climate crisis and the role of faith communities

World Quaker Day at Hill House Meeting, Ghana

Photos from Faith Communities Worldwide, Spiritual, Lifestyle and Community

October 6th is World Quaker Day, and many Friends and their respective meetings around the world gathered around the climate-conscious theme of “Sustainability: planting seeds of renewal for the world we love”.

Hill House Meeting in Ghana started by discussing a range of questions to engage with what sustainability is and how it connects to Quaker testimonies, from which in particular arose the importance of the future, of planning ahead and considering generations to come. This is expressed in a Ghanaian proverb that says ‘dea wodua na wobu’ – meaning you reap what you sow. So if you plant good seeds (good ideas) you will have good results (expression of love and care) for the future. Other items discussed ranged from good governance to land tenure and electricity production. Ultimately this translated in Hill House Meeting committing to more environmental practices as a community and as individuals.

Friends World Committee for Consultation, which has supported the meetings celebrating World Quaker Day has further information specifically about Hill House Meeting and how Quakers around the world joined in on celebrations with a focus on sustainability.