1. Turning the Tables on Fossil Fuels
Divestment as one congregation’s approach
Greg Powell

2. What Is Climate Justice?
Some countries acquired great wealth by burning fossil fuels

3. What Is Climate Justice?
A completely different set of countries will underwrite that wealth

4. What Is Climate Justice?

5. Why Do I Care?
Concern for others

6. Why Do I Care?
Preserve sources of joy, connection

7. Why Do I Care?
Preserve sources of joy, connection

8. Why Do I Care?
Preserve sources of joy, connection

9. Why Do I Care?
Climate chaos moves us further from fulfilling the commonwealth of God

10. Why Do You Care? Form pairs (triads if necessary)
What is one thing that worries you about climate chaos?
What is one opportunity you see in addressing climate justice?
Name one thing you want to protect from a changing climate

11. What Can Congregations Do?
Reduce footprint
Lobby elected representatives
Support civil disobedience/disobedients
Make climate the election issue
Work to change the underlying structures

12. What Can Congregations Do?
Like Jesus, work to change the system

13. Divesting from Fossil Fuels
Sell holdings in largest 200 fossil fuel companies
Initiated by 350.org
Commitments from
27 post-secondary
42 cities
74 religious inst’ns
31 foundations
19 others

14. Divesting from Fossil Fuels
United Church of Christ - national
Unitarian Universalist Association
United Methodist Church, USA
Church of Sweden
United Reform Church of Scotland
Uniting Church in Australia Assembly

15. Why Divest? Communicate how serious we are
Effective during South African apartheid
Largest divestment movement in history
Highlight moral bankruptcy
Highlight lost social license
Turn the tables of energy-economic system

16. Turning the Tables Energy transition is about shifting power
From competition to cooperation
From concentration to distribution
From destruction to creation
From a few wealthy to a commonwealth
From exile to home

17. How Trinity-St. Paul’s Divested
Long-standing commitment to climate justice (& indigenous rights)
Hired a convenor
Discerned next steps
Broad engagement
Identified movement
Researched unknown areas
Continual updates
Feb 2014 unanimous vote, GC proposals
Fossil Free Faith webinar May 5

18. “If it’s wrong to wreck the planet, it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage”
“We are called...to live with respect in Creation” A New Creed

19. “All creation is good.
We sing of the Creator,
who made humans to live and move
and have their being in God.
In and with God,
we can direct our lives toward right relationship
with each other and with God.”
A Song of Faith

20. People and all creatures are counting on us, at this moment