A small group gathered outside St Paul's United Church in Morden to light a candle, read some poetry, sing a song, and hear a message of hope from Minister of the St Paul's United Church in Morden and Darlingford and a representative of this newly formed group, yet to be named, Carrie Martens.
She outlined the purpose of the vigil.
"The Christmas season is such a busy season and even folks who have a concern for the environment, a lot of the nostalgia and the tradition and just sheer consumerism that has developed over time in our country around Christmas, a lot of our commitments to the climate just fade away. Given that this is the weekend of COP 28, when they're doing the UN conference discussing climate, we thought this was a really good opportunity to draw awareness to what's happening in our environment and really to connect with each other."
The Conference of the Parties (COP28 UAE) wraps up its weeklong annual conference in Dubai this week. Martens said 194 countries plus the European Union, the vast majority of the countries, took part in the event.
"They get together to have discussions on how we work with climate change across the globe. And there's also delegates that come from all different backgrounds, and expertise, and investments of indigenous groups, and youth, and journalists, and scientists, and everybody gets together to try to make sense of all of this."
Some of the recent impacts of climate change have prompted a group of concerned citizens in Morden to get together.
"In the Morden area, the fact that we had the drought a couple of years ago was just a really big call to action, an awareness of how much has actually happened here. In Southern Manitoba, we get to be relatively distanced from a lot of their severe results of climate change. We are not one of the islands that's actually sinking into the ocean, but we're starting to see the severity here too, in our droughts, in wells drying up. That's really concerning and that really does remind us there is a huge climate crisis happening."
Those in attendance stood outside, under the canopy of the church, holding candles as they listened intently to the message.
"I think we wanted to really focus on a message of hope that it can get really overwhelming. We get a lot of news about the destruction of the Earth and our part in it and a lot of what we receive just doesn't energize you or inspire you to move into action. To connect with others is what really helps us to work towards something, work towards a better future, but we really do have to make connections with other people to be able to make important changes. Individual action matters, but it is much more impactful if we do it together."
Some members of this group did make a presentation to Morden City Council in May 2023, to express their appreciation for the work of the city and to offer their partnership in making sure sustainable practices are a part of the growth of Morden.
"People have expressed interest in things like: What about the single use plastics that we have in our community? What about the events that we hold? Could they be more environmentally friendly? What can we do as homeowners? What can we do with development in the Community and with continuing to nurture the environment and not just rip it down for development, but to work with people? One of the most significant things the group has talked about is, 'How do we be in communication and work together with city councils?'"
Woven through the brief program was a Land Acknowledgement, an excerpt of "Braiding Sweet Grass" by Robin Wall Kimmer was read by group member Sue Nelson and the evening closed with a song by Molly Hartwell, sung by Nehemiah Luckett, "Put your Roots on the Ground."
"There is so much that we can learn from Indigenous Elders who have a deep connection to the Earth and have a very vested interest in making sure there is a a reclaiming of traditions that are actually more in harmony, more in connection with the Earth. There's so much that we can learn. A book, like braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer has just been inspirational for so many people, and how to actually regain a connection with the earth, and to recognize a relationship of reciprocity is really what's going to help us move forward."
Learn more about the climate action group by contacting Minister Carrie Martens at the St Paul's United Church in Morden.
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