Jim Antal

“Climate Church, Climate World” was a powerful choice for the 2022 All Church Read at First Congregational Church of Bellingham. The Adult Forum and Meet Me in the Middle discussion groups studied the book in depth. The author, Jim Antal, shared and evening with the Adult Forum and inspired the first Climate Revival, which was held in November with members of the Bellingham Community, representatives of Interfaith Power and Light, and members of other congregations participating.

Antal challenges individuals and congregations to act, shifting attention from personal salvation to collective salvation. He reminds readers that climate change amplifies all forms of injustice – hunger, refugees, racism, poverty, inequality, deadly viruses, and war. Defending creation is a campaign for justice. The author also inspires new approaches to worship, preaching, witnessing, and other spiritual practices that honor creation and help people to discover hope and joy.

This book is not an easy read, but it is a challenge worthy of this time in the life of the church.… (mere)

The author argues that climate change is the greatest moral challenge humanity has ever faced. It multiplies all forms of global social injustice. He presents a compelling case that it’s time for the church to meet this moral challenge, just as the church addressed previous moral challenges and calls for the church to embrace a new vocation so that future generations might live in harmony with God’s creation. After describing how we have created the dangers our planet now faces, he urges the church to embrace a new vocation, one focused on collective salvation and an expanded understanding of the Golden Rule. He suggests ways people of faith can reorient what they prize through new approaches to worship, preaching, witnessing, and other spiritual practices that honor creation and cultivate hope.… (mere)