MCM Climate Action Working Group
Read a written version of Karla Braun's speech from our November 23 event, "the Upside-down Economics of Jesus: household action and global Change," where she discusses More-with-less, the value of holding onto envelopes, and the magic of biking.
Our Mandate
To ignite the imagination of MCM congregations in generating personally and societally transformative actions in response to the climate crisis. The CAWG will serve as a network and resource for congregational engagement in public policy and capacity building work toward a Just Transition here in Manitoba.
Who is the current MCM Climate Action Working Group?
Back row: Josiah Neufeld, Chris Regehr, Doug Dyck, Marilyn Houser Hamm, Sandy Plett
Front row: Nathaniel De Avila, Kenton Lobe, Marta Bunnet Wiebe, Connie Hoeppner Mueller
Consider donating today!
The CAWG is empowered by MCM to raise funds to support climate action work with MCM congregations. Please note CAWG in the notes.
What is the CAWG offering to MCM congregations?
Engagement With MCM Congregations
- Visitation and conversation: Invite a member of the CAWG to share about what the CAWG is about
- Workshops to build climate awareness and encourage action in the church
- Encouraging transformative action in response to the climate crisis by curating resources and offering visits
- Marta Bunnett Wiebe and Sandy Plett talked with Kyle Rudge for the MCC Threads podcast summer 2022. https://mcccanada.ca/stories/threads-july-2022-climate-conversations
Connecting MCM Churches For Inspiration & Collaborative Climate Action
- Sharing stories
- Hope and Courage: Mennonites Gathering for Climate Action. See Events.
Pathways To Engagement
Through broader advocacy work through endorsements and letters of support
- Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty
- For the Love of Creation
- Supporting Land Defenders - We look to partners like MCIS and MEJC for guidance on how to support Indigenous-led Climate Action and Land Defense
- March 2022 Day of Action
What are some MCM church families doing about Climate Change?
Every time we visit a MCM church someone asks what others are doing around climate. We see a great opportunity here to share stories of actions of all sizes, as a way of building our collective imagination of what’s possible, and challenging ourselves to lean into the work together. Please contact us to add your story!
What can I read to learn more and get inspired?
Here are some suggestions from CAWG members
Sandy's Picks
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katherine Hayhoe
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
Kenton's Picks
Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being by Alastair McIntosh
Great Tide Rising: Towards Clarity and Moral Courage in a time of Planetary Change by Kathleen Dean Moore
Connie's Picks
I'm Right and You're an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up by James Hoggan
CBC's What on Earth hosted by Laura Lynch
Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred by Victoria Loorz
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Nate's Picks
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein
Prosperity without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow by Tim Jackson
Building a Better World in Your Backyard: Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys by Paul Wheaton and Shawn Klassen-Koop
Living More with Less: 30th Anniversary Edition With New Stories and Suggestions for a Sustainable Life by Doris Janzen-Longacre
Environmental Ethics Anabaptist: A Review Essay by Peter Dula
How to Want Less article by Paul Spella
Chris' Picks
Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change by Jim Antal
Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father Francis On Care For Our Common Home by Holy Father Francis
Josiah's Picks
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein
The Sacred Universe: Earth, Spirituality, and Religion in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Berry
More Powerful Together: Conversations With Climate Activists and Indigenous Land Defenders by Jen Gobby
A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency by Seth Klein
In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things: The truth is new and counterintuitive: we have the technology necessary to rapidly ditch fossil fuels by Bill McKibben
Marta's Picks
Environmental Ethics Anabaptist: A Review Essay by Peter Dula
Climate Atlas of Canada interactive website by Prairie Climate Centre
Germinating Conversations: Stories from a Sustained Rural-Urban Dialogue on Food, Faith, Farming, and the Land edited by Marta Bunnett Wiebe
Current Climate Action Resource Feed via Commonword
Where Can I Go To Learn More And Get Involved?
Advocacy initiatives that CAWG has endorsed and encourages you to throw your weight behind
Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Land Defense – for more details check out https://mennochurch.mb.ca/get-involved/mcis
Faith-based organizations we are connected to:
Mennonite Creation Care Network
- Other organizations we lean on and you can lean on too!
Get Involved
We'd love to connect with you!
We can help you think things through and see how the CAWG can support your ideas and initiatives as a church or as an individual.
We do a bi-monthly email newsletter. Contact us here and we would be happy to sign you up.
Check us out @mcm_cawg