Gabriel, who is \u201calmost 5,\u201d was trying to stand patiently with his father, Tim Emmett-Rardin, a United Methodist from Philadelphia, until the signal came for them to sweep into the throng that became the People\u2019s Climate March.<\/p>\n
It had been a long wait Sept. 21 on the New York block where pennants held aloft on poles announced the presence of United Methodists, Lutherans, Hindus, Episcopalians and numerous other faith groups stationed there by march organizers. <\/p>\n
Baptists clad in green T-shirts demanded \u201cClimate justice for all God\u2019s creation\u201d and Hare Krishna danced joyously. The music and amplified speeches offered from various faith perspectives did not always rise above the din of the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe keeps asking when we\u2019re going to start moving,\u201d Gabriel\u2019s father said.<\/p>\n
Early on, organizers estimated that 100,000 people would come to midtown Manhattan to demand significant commitments by world leaders to deal with the climate change issue.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Bill McKibben, a United Methodist from Middlebury, Vermont, and president of\u00a0350.org<\/a>, a group that helped organize the march, mentioned that 200,000 people might show up.<\/p>\n By midafternoon Sunday, organizers released an estimate of 310,000 people based on the crowd density along an expanded march route. That estimate later was increased to nearly 400,000.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 5:00 p.m., march organizers had to send out a text asking marchers to disperse from the march route because the crowds had swelled beyond the route\u2019s capacity,\u201d said a press release from\u00a0peoplesclimate.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gabriel had a lot of company.<\/p>\n The march preceded the Sept. 23\u00a0Climate Summit<\/a>\u00a0at the United Nations, arranged by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon \u2014\u00a0who also took part in the march<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 to spur political action on global warming and encourage leaders from government and the private sector to announce new initiatives.<\/p>\n McKibben, who spoke about the march during\u00a0an International Day of Peace symposium<\/a>\u00a0on Sept. 19 at the United Methodist-related Church Center for the United Nations, was skeptical about what the summit might accomplish given what he considered the \u201ccomplete failure\u201d of the U.N. Copenhagen summit on climate change in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have much hope that this week, in New York, the world leaders will get us much farther,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we decided to invite ourselves to crash this party and come, too.\u201d<\/p>\n March participants \u2014 representing government entities, labor, neighborhoods, environmental and social justice groups, faith communities and indigenous groups, as well as families and individuals \u2014 began assembling Sunday morning on Central Park West.<\/p>\n A few blocks away, Rosina Pohlmann \u2014 the energetic \u201cGreen Team\u201d coordinator at the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, United Methodist \u2014 had worked with the pastors and church staff to arrange for four days of housing at the church for up to 60 young people attending the march.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a spirit of maturity and peace at the core of this movement, and I think that spirit is issuing in great part from the active participation of so many religious and faith groups,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Rev. Jenny Phillips of Seattle was among a group loosely organized through United Methodist Women and the United Methodist Boards of Global Ministries and Church and Society who gathered at Saint Paul and Saint Andrew before the march.<\/p>\n She had come to promote\u00a0Fossil Free UMC<\/a>, a project calling upon the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits and other United Methodist institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean energy.<\/p>\n Phoebe Crismo had extended a U.S. visit from the Philippines to attend the march and other climate action events. As staff of the Philippines Central Conference, she helped produce a campaign on climate change for children, youth and local churches. She is concerned about the impact of deforestation and open-pit mining on her country.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the forest gone, when the monsoons come, down comes the mud as well,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Michael Black, a member of Decatur First United Methodist Church in Georgia, and an active participant in\u00a0Caretakers of God\u2019s Creation,<\/a>\u00a0is a veteran of similar, if smaller marches and considers such activities as essential to his faith. \u201cIf you\u2019re not speaking out about the problems, you can\u2019t complain (when) there aren\u2019t solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A group from United Methodist-related Drew University gathered near the \u201cseminaries\u201d pennant in the interfaith block. The group included Tyler Kaufmann from Nebraska, part of a student group called Transforming Ecological and Religious Resources into Action, and Laurel Kearns, an associate professor of the sociology of religion and environmental studies who helped found the\u00a0Green Seminaries Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nikki Edelman, a part-time Drew student and a New York Conference member from Pawling, New York, said she was motivated to march by her background in chemistry and her concern as the mother of an 8- and 10-year\u2013old.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in the ecology and biology of the earth,\u201d she added. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s totally wrapped up in faith.\u201d<\/p>\n Not far away, the Rev. Carol Windrum and Tim Fickenscher, a United Methodist couple from Omaha, Nebraska, were preparing to walk, shaking off the fatigue of a 27-hour Greyhound bus ride.<\/p>\n Both expressed concern about how climate change will impact younger generations. Windrum directs the\u00a0Micah Corps<\/a>, a 10-week summer internship program for young adults focusing on social justice issues, for the Great Plains Annual Conference. Flickenscher is a high school teacher.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t do something now, it will be too late,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bill Ewing, who had a shorter journey, was one of the congregational members carrying the large banner of First United Methodist Church of Germantown in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in the process of doing real damage to the planet,\u201d he declared. \u201cWe need to get people\u2019s attention to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pat and Dave Herber, members of Calvary United Methodist Church in Frederick, Maryland, simply showed up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were in the city for the weekend and didn\u2019t know about this until we saw the news coverage and decided to join in,\u201d explained Dave Herber, who teaches environmental science to high school students. \u201cI do look at this as caring for God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n Education about climate change is a personal and vocational priority for Tim Emmett-Rardin, who stood with Gerry Felix, a fellow member of Calvary United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, and Gabriel, who was hoping the parade would begin soon.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really feels like we\u2019re at a crisis point, at a major crossroads,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Emmett-Rardin is starting a new job promoting wind energy in Pennsylvania that will have an educational component. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the easiest way to help congregations evaluate renewable energy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a small step but it\u2019s an easy one for people to take and it makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, shortly after 2 p.m., it was time to march, with the Cross and Flame held high and the banners of the Germantown church, United Methodist Women and Saint Paul and Saint Andrew following.<\/p>\n Pohlmann of the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew hopes other United Methodists will feel inspired to connect with faith-based climate action groups and join what she considers to be a \u201chistoric push\u201d for change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe march created a huge, unprecedented opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cBut an opportunity only matters if it is seized, and in order to seize this one we need to start now.\u201d<\/p>\n Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/twitter.com\/umcscribe<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or contact her at (646) 369-3759 or\u00a0<\/em>newsdesk@umcom.org<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The Book of Discipline, which contains the denomination\u2019s laws and teachings, includes multiple statements on being caretakers of God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0On Water, Air, Soil, Minerals and Plants: We support measures designed to maintain and restore natural ecosystems.Crashing the party<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Intertwining faith with action<\/h4>\n
At a crossroads<\/h4>\n
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\nWHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES<\/h5>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0On Energy Resources Utilization: \u201c\u2026We call upon all to take measures to save energy. Everybody should adapt his or her lifestyle to the average consumption of energy that respects the limits of the planet earth.\u201d
\n\u2022\u00a0On Global Climate Stewardship: \u201c[We] support efforts of all governments to require mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and call on individuals, congregations, businesses, industries, and communities to reduce their emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n