Page 17 - IBs November 2022

Climate Change

LESS PRAYER, MORE PRESENCE

TUVALU DELEGATE'S MESSAGE TO CHURCH LEADERS

By Netani Rika “We are sinking right now. I’m not questioning the power of
prayer and the blessings of our (ancestors) until now. Thank
It’s not every day that a young Pacific islander tells regional you for your prayers.
church leaders to stop praying about climate change and take “My point is that we cannot turn a blind eye to what is go-
firm, practical measures which people can see. ing on around us.”
Fresh off the flight from COP27 in Egypt, Tuvalu’s Maina Talia said Tuvalu and Kiribati - very low-lying atolls in the
Talia walked into a meeting of Pacific church elders and told Central Pacific - had no mountains nor land (to which) to
them that in the battle to save sinking atolls, the time for move.
prayer was over. He said Fiji had the option of moving inland to higher
There was a stunned silence. ground, Samoans and Tongans could find refuge in New
“We cannot keep praying,” Talia said. Zealand, while the United States would care for its Northern
“We really need the support of the churches and their Pacific territories.
presence (at climate change talks) spaces so that we (stop) “But we are vulnerable - Tuvalu. Just a strip of land - it’s
making this a sexy issue or trying to romanticise it. We need a very scary situation and I wonder how we will navigate this
to come up with a new narrative which grounds the work we situation.”
do in these international forums.’’ Fiji’s Methodist Church recognised the seriousness of the
Given that the leaders had invited the Tuvalu delegation to situation.
COP27 to update them, they had not expected Talia’s message General Secretary, Reverend Dr Semisi Turagavou, said
and were quick to respond. churches needed to address climate change urgently.
“Never discount the power of prayer,’’ Reverend Dr Etuati “We need to generate questions on climate change within
Eti of Samoa’s Methodist Church said. the church meeting system,” Turagavou said.
Over the last 30 years, regional churches have been at “That means every month finding out which communities
the forefront of climate change talks at international level are seeing changes, who is in a vulnerable position and then
through their Suva-based Pacific Conference of Churches the church can generate measures to help those who are in
secretariat. need.’’
But in reality, there has been a deafening silence from lo- Turagavou said churches needed to be in step with their
cal churches - especially from the pulpits where millions of congregation and in touch with issues which affected their
islanders seek divine inspiration at least once a week. lives.
In some cases, local preachers have gone as far as to tell “We cannot help the people if we do not know their fears
congregations to pray for a solution. and frustrations,” he said.
Others have quoted from the Biblical story of the flood and “To be an effective and meaningful situation, the church
God’s promise that the world would never again be flooded. must ask the climate change questions, understand the situ-
In the worst cases, churches fail to speak out against cli- ation and then respond in a practical way by offering real
mate change because they concentrate on driving up mem- solutions.
bership through a message which is a mix of fear of eternal “This is a journey in which we must be in the community,
damnation and the guarantee of earthly prosperity through walking with them through what can be a frightening time.’’
cheerful giving to the church. Tuvalu’s Director of Climate Change and Disaster Manage-
Talia - with close links to the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (Tu- ment, Perpetua Latasi, acknowledged the role of the church.
valu Christian Church) - was the last person expected to speak “As a civil servant working for government, I can see the
forcefully to religious leaders. important role churches play in the fight in our country to
When his outburst was questioned by the Samoan represen- help the people to cope with the challenges they are facing
tative and the discomfort in the room was palpable, Talia first due to climate change,” she said.
offered an apology for the manner in which he had spoken “We are thankful for that.”
before launching a second phase attack. While Talia arrived at the Pacific Church Leaders Develop-
“I would never question the power of prayer in our commu- ment Meeting calling for an end to prayers, it is quite possible
nity,’’ Talia said. that his prayer for more meaningful involvement by the
“What I’m saying is that most of the churches around the church in climate change issues might just have been an-
world are investing in banks which are opening new coal swered.
mines and then we come to the church and pray while people
in Tuvalu are sinking. publisher@islandsbusiness.com
“The media is telling us that in 50 years time, Tuvalu will be
gone. It’s a lie.

Islands Business, November 2022 17