I want to write to you today about Overture 09-01 from San
Francisco Presbytery, “On PC(USA) Fossil Fuel Divestment.” PEC has supported
this overture from the beginning of its predecessor and several of us on the
PEC Steering Committee have also worked on the Fossil Free PCUSA Steering
Committee.
The overture and the work of Fossil Free PCUSA calls our
denomination to do four things:
1. Express its profound concern about the destructive effects of
climate change on all God’s creation and divest from fossil fuels even as we
reduce our use of fossil fuels and shrink our carbon footprint.
2. Call upon the Board of Pensions and the Presbyterian Foundation
to immediately stop new investments in fossil fuel companies, and within three
years, divest from the fossil fuel companies identified in the Carbon
Underground 200 list.
3. Call upon the Stated Clerk to inform affected companies of this
action.
4. Call upon all levels of the denomination (presbyteries,
congregations, and individual members) in taking action to slow climate change.
You can read the full text of the overture.
Divestment is a way for we people of faith to act out our
theology. We believe that caring for creation is an integral part of who God
calls us to be. We can’t care for creation well if we are invested in companies
that destroy creation as part of their business model. We are called to be
prophetic models of change, so we must model what it means to put our treasure
where our hearts are.
Where we put our money defines us and has great power. That
power is why it matters what we buy at the supermarket (buying organic and
local food creates greater demand for more organic and local food), why it
matters what kinds of cars we buy (buying less gas for a hybrid vehicle creates
less demand for fossil fuels), and why it matters what products we fill our
lives with (even changing to recycled toilet paper changes demand for paper!)
Where we put our money shows where our hearts are.
And so it matters where we put our investments—how we make money
is a symbol for who we are as people who follow Jesus, people who are called to
love with our whole selves. If we make money from fossil fuel companies, it
doesn’t matter if we put that money back into local food or hybrid cars or
recycled paper—it’s money that comes from companies that burn fossil fuels and
wreak havoc on the planet. That’s why divestment needs to be part of our
response to climate change.
But divestment from fossil fuels has never just been about
money. It’s also a way to change society and speak up against the destruction
of God’s good earth. So, if you’re a commissioner at General Assembly, please
support this overture to divest from fossil fuels.
Fossil Free PCUSA will be joining PEC at General Assembly—we’ll
even be together in the exhibit hall in Booths 208 and 210.
For creation,
Abby Mohaupt
Vice Moderator of PEC and member of FFPCUSA Steering Comittee
Abby Mohaupt is an eco-feminist theologian and ordained PC(USA)
teaching elder inNorthern California. She holds a Master of Divinity and a
Master of Theology from McCormick Theological Seminary. She currently serves as
the Faith Community Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator of Puente de la Costa Sur
in Pescadero, CA, a resource center for farmworkers and families.
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