I recently watched the trailer for the new movie, The Hungry Tide. The film documents history in the making, as the Pacific Island of Kiritiba prepares to be perhaps the first nation relocated due to climate change.
Let’s just pause for a moment and reflect upon that. An entire nation relocated. Can you even fathom what that means? I can’t. Paint a picture of the chaos, anger, and grief that would entail. What would America relocating look like? Recall the chaos our nation endures when inhabitants of one of our thousands of cities evacuates. And those instances are just one city or one region temporarily relocating. Translate that to a national, permanent scale. Wow.
National IPL has chosen this movie as the film portion for the 2013 Preach-In on Global Warming, scheduled for February 8 through 10.* I don’t think there is a more fitting film out there. Most movies about climate change either explore the science behind predictions or the sources. The symptoms, though, are just beginning to creep up on us, making movies like this possible.
They also make faith-based action more possible, too. They are concrete indicators of how climate change threatens all of human life. As people of faith, my hope is that we recognize that even if we don’t live in a floodplain or a superstorm path, we will recognize that others do and act accordingly.
One of the best things you can do in response to climate change is to get your congregation to participate in the National Preach-In on Climate Change. You have the choice whether or not to purchase the film as part of your organizing kit. I encourage you to purchase it if your congregation is able, as I believe it is a great way to open your fellow congregants’ hearts to the serious consequences of climate change. Sign your congregation up today so that you can download all materials free of charge or order printed materials, priced at cost, to accompany the film (bulletin inserts, postcards to sign and send to President Obama, an organizer’s guide and more).
*Please know that although the formal Preach-In is scheduled for the weekend of February8 through 10, your congregation can participate any time in February.
— Allison Reeves Jolley, NCIPL Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator
North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (NCIPL) is a program of the North Carolina Council of Churches. NCIPL works with faith communities to address the causes and consequences of global climate change and promote practical, hope-filled responses through education, outreach, and public policy advocacy. Please visit our website for information on our current programs, campaigns, and events.
