ORCIE has formally endorsed An Economy of Life: A Statement from Canadian Faith Leaders, released October 14 by For the Love of Creation, an ecumenical coalition of churches, religious congregations and faith organizations across Canada working together for climate justice.
The statement grew out of a shared desire among faith leaders to speak out and act as announcements of new oil fields, pipelines and expanded liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export have come in quick succession, with serious environmental and social consequences.
It reflects what many of us have seen in our own communities: summers of wildfire smoke, families displaced, elders and children unable to go outside safely, ecosystems under strain. It also names what lies underneath.
These impacts are tied to the economic choices Canada continues to make, including public money for fossil fuels, the lack of real investment in a just transition, and our own patterns of consumption.
Responding to this is a moral and spiritual responsibility we carry as people of faith.
The statement is paired with a letter from national-level faith leaders to Prime Minister Carney raising concerns about fossil fuel expansion and calling on the government to meet its obligations to Indigenous Peoples, including free, prior and informed consent. Together, the statement and the letter will be a tool for education, mobilization and advocacy over the coming months.
Here is how your congregation can take part:
- Endorse the statement. Congregations and individuals can sign on here.
- Share it in your newsletter and on social media. A share package with ready-to-use newsletter text, sample posts for Facebook, Instagram and hashtags, in English and French, is available here.
- Bring it into prayer, liturgy and formation. The statement offers language rooted in creation care, justice and hope. Use it to help your community ask what a faithful response to the climate crisis looks like where you are.
- A basis for public policy dialogue. The statement’s calls for an end to public support for fossil fuel expansion and for a just transition will be the grounding for our work and for engaging MPs in the months ahead.
Read and share the statement:
We make this endorsement in hope: hope rooted in God’s love for creation, in the courage of communities across this land, and in our shared commitment to walk a path of justice, right relationship with Indigenous peoples, and care for our common home.