Church leaders from Western and Eastern Africa are converging in Liberia to discuss Climate Change and its negative impact on the earth and human existence.
August 7, 2024-The Liberia Council of Churches, in collaboration with the All African Council of Churches, has begun a three-day regional consultative conference on climatic change for religious leaders from East and West African countries in Careysburg, Montserrado County, Liberia.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, the Vice President of the All African Council of Churches, Bishop Doctor Teyi Lawson-Kpavuvu, said climatic change is no longer a subject to be managed by others but should claim the attention of religious leaders.
"It has become a constant concern in our lives, and it affects us in many ways," he said, adding, " Climate change is present in our lives, and there is a need to integrate the welfare of the earth in our lives because what affects the earth also affects us."
According to him, one needs to understand that climate change and the environment are the equations of social justice, as climatic crises are also issues of social justice.
He said crises imposed by climatic change are challenges that religious leaders, in collaboration with other stakeholders, must address.
"I am saying that climatic change is a challenge because it is an issue we must take as religious leaders and people of faith, as this conference is a way of looking at the problems and finding solutions."
Also remarking, the Chairman of the African Faith Network on Climate Justice, Rev. Dr. Bliss Agbeko, said it is a matter of the welfare of the earth, which is about survival or a matter of life and death.
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"Over the years, we have observed that human beings cause the destruction of the earth because we human beings are contributing negatively to it."
According to him, God created the earth and gave it to human beings to care for and preserve for succeeding generations.
Earlier, the Secretary General of the Liberia Council of Churches, Reverend Christopher Toe, described the gathering of faith leaders to discuss issues affecting the earth as special and historic.
Reverend Toe urged religious leaders to buttress government's efforts in combating challenges imposed by climatic change.
During the conference, participants will discuss the Islamic Perspective of Climatic Change, Christian Perspective of Climatic Change, Theological Reflections on Climatic Change, Interreligious Engagements Critical for Climatic Mitigation, Unpacking the United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change, and panel discussion by stakeholders on leveraging faith actors' moral authority to advocate for climate justice.
The consultative conference, which is being held under the theme "The Welfare of the Earth is Our Welfare," will bring together over 50 representatives of civil society organizations, environmentalists, and Muslim and Christian religions from East and West Africa.
The Bishop of the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Reverend Samuel Quire, is expected to deliver keynote speech marking the end of the conference. Editing by Jonathan Browne
