Multiple Faiths Rally For Justice, Climate Change

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By John Burton
RED BANK –
Different faiths, different religions but one message—we must work to save our planet.
“I never protested in the ’60s,” said Judy Reichard, a Manalapan resident. “So, I’m doing it in my 70s.”
Reichard, joined an estimated 100 from a wide array of area churches, as they came together Sunday evening on the front lawn of the United Methodist Church of Red Bank, 247 Broad St., for a prayer service and candlelight vigil. The purpose was to raise awareness for social justice issues and what the participants believe is the growing threat posed by climate change, in preparation of the United Nations’ climate change conference scheduled for Paris in December.
It was interfaith but the timing also coincided with the arrival of Pope Francis, who stepped foot on American soil for the first time as his plane touched down at Andrews Area Base Tuesday. Pope Francis called on Catholics around the world to make social justice and global warning a moral imperative.
The Rev. Jessica Brendler-Naulty, the Methodist church’s pastor, was responsible for organizing the event, said she had been an environmental science teacher for about a year before attending the seminary.
In addition to Brendler-Naulty, the gathering featured comments from a Roman Catholic priest, a Baptist minister, a Muslim woman, a Sikh man and others, who offered their shared views about expressing the importance of informing the public about the issue, which for them has taken on a moral dimension.
Brendler-Naulty said she was encouraged by Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment, with its pronouncements about the dangers of climate change and the impact wealthier nations are having on the environment of poorer ones. “He set the moral compass that we’re all in this together,” was Brendler-Naulty’s takeaway from the pope’s words. “And we can take strength from it.”
“It’s for us to all work together,” said Red Bank resident Patty Casey who participated in the service. “We’re all on this planet together.”
“We are the stewards,” of the planet, said Esmat Mahmoud, a board member of the Monmouth Center of World Religion and Ethical Thought, a Lincroft-based group that celebrates cultural and religious diversity. On our environment, “It is up to us for its safe keeping,”
Mahmoud added. “God has given us the ability to take care of this earth.”
Reichard said her children and grandkids would describe themselves as environmentalists. She embraced the message one day accompanying her son to a Starbucks for coffee. Her son asked Reichard if she remembered to bring her reusable cup. She didn’t, she recalled, with her son telling her she really didn’t need the coffee.
“That’s what I would like people to understand,” Reichard explained, “that we can all make a difference. Even the little stuff helps.”
“We’re hoping for a continued conversation,” on this topic, is Brendler-Naulty’s wish.
For Amy Goldsmith it’s about getting the message out. Goldsmith, who lives in Red Bank and is executive director of Clean Water Action, a statewide environmental group, asked participants to take to social media and spread the word, to inform others. “Information is power,” she told the gathering.