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Join faiths praying for a strong climate treaty in Paris 2015
September 15, 2014:
See below for a new climate justice prayer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Spiritual and religious leaders from around the world are launching the interfaith our voices.net initiative this week to encourage world leaders to hear the moral imperative for a global climate treaty by the
December 2015 Meetings in Paris.
The focus is also on praying for people and governments to
have the determination to protect the planet through positive action.
“Our aim is to bring faith to the climate talks,” said ourvoices.net spokesperson, Tessa Tennant.
“Our voices.net offers us all a means to express, from the depths of our spirituality or faith our
love and desire for a prosperous future for our children, for the most vulnerable and our precious
planet.”
The Spirit of Our Voices
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In this video about the climate crisis, and need for a moral
response, UN climate leader Christiana Figueres said: “if prayer or meditation is your contribution, join
ourvoices.net which aims to trigger reflection across faiths everywhere around the globe”
“The Earth is a stunning gift, home to all that we love.” said the Rev. Fletcher Harper,
ourvoices.net coordinator “Together we can build an enormous community whose outpouring
of prayers, action and genuine concern can help create the positive future we all want.”
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| Creator God, You have called us to be keepers of your Earth; Through greed, we have established an economy that destroys the web of life. We have changed our climate and drown in despair. Let oceans of justice flow, May we learn to sustain and
renew the life of our Mother, Earth We pray for our leaders, custodians of
Mother Earth; as they gather in New York City at the climate talks May they
negotiate with wisdom and fairness, May they act with compassion and courage,
and lead us in the path of justice for the sake of our children and our children’s
children.--Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Climate Change prayer |
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Archbishop Tutu’s Prayer for Sept. 14Archbishop Desmond Tutu has written a prayer for ourvoices.net and encourages faith
communities worldwide to offer this prayer, or their own prayers, to draw attention to the People’s Climate March in New York City the following
Sunday, September 21.
At least 1,000,000 are expected to participate in the March and shadow
marches are planned in many other countries.
Sea PrayersThrough ourvoices.net, faith leaders around the world have been offering Sea Prayers, in which
people of diverse faiths stand in the ocean, offering prayers in solidarity with those threatened by
sea level rise.
Three Stepsourvoices.net is creating a global, multi-faith community around three simple activities.
1. Add Your Voice to Our Voices
The first is an on-line sign-up, through which ourvoices.net aims to gather signatures from tens
of millions of people of faith and spirit worldwide who lift their voice in mindful, prayerful
concern about climate change. The goal is to build a massive number that can lift the spirits of
world leaders, giving them the boost in support they need to agree to a strong climate treaty.
2. Power in Prayer and Spiritual Practice
The second activity builds on the power of spiritual practice. ourvoices.net will encourage
everyone to offer prayers, devotions, and meditations for a meaningful climate deal. By means of
the Prayer Calendar, people can participate according to their own tradition. In
addition, ourvoices.net will organize global days of prayer and action for a strong climate treaty
to empower faith communities worldwide to have a voice on climate and give them the chance to
show their hopes and concerns publicly. The first occasion is:
Sept. 21 Global Day of Prayer and Action
when faith and spiritual communities will make a Global Climate Chorus at
1:00 pm in their own time zone. They will be invited to ring their bells, sound a shofar, offer a
public call to prayer, ring a meditation gong, bell or han, chant a mantra, or conduct an outdoor
walking prayer/meditation, sing a hymn or gurbani etc, creating a global chorus of outdoor
prayers for the climate around the world.
Sign up your faith community for the Global Climate Chorus on Sept. 21.
3. Share the Stories
Thirdly, through the internet, and traditional media, ourvoices.net will lift up the
voices and stories of faith communities that are working to create and advocate for a sustainable,
clean energy future, and to help people affected by climate change. Follow @ourvoices2015 to
keep track of the news, and share your Twitterfeed with us, so we can follow your community’s
good work.
Multi-Faith Leadershipourvoices.net is engaging a diverse audience. Leaders and practitioners from
Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Daoist, Jewish, Hindu, Humanist, Indigenous, Jain, Muslim,
Shinto, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist and other communities, from all continents, are becoming
involved as Ambassadors and in other ways.
Connect Now• Offer a prayer, either privately or publicly, for an effective climate change agreement in
December
• Add your voice to our voices at our voices.net
• Follow @ourvoices2015 on twitter and Facebook
• Follow @arcworld on twitter and Facebook
• Join the Global Climate Chorus
Together, a global, multi-faith community can raise our voices and create a path to a positive
future.
Notes for Editors
ourvoices.net was created in 2014 as a direct response to UN Climate Leader Christiana
Figueres’s call for the moral imperative for a global climate deal to be a constant factor at the
negotiations. In her view, it may be very difficult to reach a meaningful deal without it. More
than 80% of the world’s population claims affiliation with a faith or spiritual belief and all faiths
have care for the environment as an integral part of their tradition. The voice of the faith world
on climate, demanding a meaningful global climate deal will be clearly shown through
ourvoices.net
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Faiths for Green Africa
We are working with more than 25 Christian, Muslim and Hindu faith partners in Africa. |
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September 15, 2014:
Join faiths praying for a strong climate treaty in Paris 2015
Spiritual and religious leaders from around the world are launching the interfaith ourvoices.net initiative to let world leaders see the moral imperative for a global climate treaty by the
December 2015 Meetings in Paris. Includes a new prayer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. |
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September 5, 2014:
ARC statement on Global Alliance for Climate-smart Agriculture
This month a Global Alliance for Climate-smart Agriculture will be launched as a major new initiative to promote more sustainable forms of agriculture. ARC explains why we have decided to join the Alliance. |
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