By Tim Sullivan
On Sunday, Berkeley’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church took part in a national preach-in on global warming which linked hundreds of congregations across the country together as they reflected on their responsibility towards the planet and social action.
The Reverend Arthur Boone linked the responsibility for Christians to act on the issue of global warming to Christ’s admonition to love one another. Citing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians “Love does not insist on its own way…,” the Reverend argued that the United States, with 3% of the world’s population, cannot in good conscience continue to consumer 25% of the world’s energy resources. “If we are to love our fellow humans, we cannot insist on our own way of consuming ever more energy,” he said.
During coffee hour following the service, Jennifer Rice of St. Mark’s spearheaded a postcard-writing campaign to Senator Barbara Feinstein. The postcards, with a Valentine’s Day theme, asked that Congress love the earth and oppose current legislative efforts to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce the Clean Air Act.
St. Mark’s was one of hundreds of congregations participating in the preach-in on global warming. The participation by St. Mark’s is characteristic of this Berkeley congregation whose Social Justice Committee is actively involved in feeding the homeless. The national organizing effort was spearheaded by Interfaith Power and Light.
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