St. Bart's Climate Action Committee Reflection by Sukie Curtis

“It is a magnificent thing to be alive in a moment that matters so much.”

​I’m sure I’m not the only person who was moved by the Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill’s sermon on Sunday morning, September 27. The above words are part of a quotation he shared with us from the book, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson. (If you missed it, you can read it or watch it here.)

What a huge and powerful reframing of this time and situation in which we find ourselves, witnessing and being impacted by so many interlocking global challenges: —ecological, political, humanitarian, and more —that feel immense and overwhelming because they ARE immense. As both Allen and the authors of All We Can Save remind us, “in some ways, we, humans, were not designed for a crisis this massive and all-encompassing. In other ways, we were made for this moment.” (AWCS, p.373. italics mine)

“St. Bart’s was made for this moment,” Allen said, which felt like both reassurance and a calling. The authors continue: “What we do now is dream. From a foundation of science and community, we must imagine the future we want to live in, and the future we want to pass on, and every day do something to reel the dream closer to reality.”

Note the essential role of community in climate work; this is not something anyone can do alone. And yet, there’s a part for each of us: “Roll up your sleeves. Everyone has a role to play.” The thread of community and the connection between human beings (and the planet) was woven through the films of the “Climate Future Film Festival,” and certainly through our conversations after viewing the films.

Even as many of us described feeling despair at times, and grief, and uncertainty about the way forward, it made a difference that we were talking together about climate change and how best to move forward. We need each other, to talk and dream together and take action (including many individual actions) toward a more sustainable future! I felt encouraged and buoyed up and hopeful because we were talking together—22 of us on Sunday afternoon, and 18 two weeks before.
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And there’s always room for more voices in the conversation and more hearts and minds, as every day “we do something to reel the dream closer to reality.” Please join us!