Resolution on the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action

Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly

WHEREAS, the ELCA social statement, Caring for Creation, adopted 33 years ago by the 1993 Churchwide Assembly, acknowledged that we face dangerous global warming and emphasized that action to counter degradation is essential to the future of our children and the entire planet; and

WHEREAS, the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly reaffirmed the commitment of this church to engage in creation care and advocacy, and on Earth Day 2023, the ELCA Church Council unanimously adopted a social message, Earth’s Climate Crisis, stating that, “from a standpoint of faith, it is reasonable to conclude that the climate crisis is, indeed, a kairos moment” and challenged all expressions of the ELCA to “join with ecumenical, interfaith, and secular partners working to address the climate crisis;” and

WHEREAS, in his 2025 “Message on the Tenth Anniversary of the Paris Climate Accords,” ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry emphasized: “It is not too late to protect our climate. With God, it is never too late. Kairos means that this is an opportune and urgent time to address Earth’s climate crisis;” and

WHEREAS, on June 21, 2025, the World Council of Churches (WCC) launched the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, “an unprecedented commitment by the global church—a bold and prayerful response to the climate emergency.…(that) calls churches to ecological metanoia and systemic change rooted in justice, peace, and the integrity of creation;” and

Therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Synod Assembly urges every congregation, synod, and the churchwide office of the ELCA to commit to active participation in the WCC’s Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action guided by the ELCA Earth Climate Crisis Social Message; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Synod Assembly urges the ELCA Churchwide Organization to devote additional funds and staffing to lead the church’s work for climate justice, and to launch a fundraising campaign, “Climate Justice Action for the Life of the World,” seeking to raise at least $1 million for specific programs dedicated to greenhouse gas reduction and other efforts to address Earth’s climate crisis; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly urges the ELCA Church Council to adopt this resolution and work with the Conference of Bishops to implement these actions.

Proposed by: Rocky Mountain Synod Creation Care Team, March 14, 2026

Contact Person: Alena Lamirato, rmscreationcareteam@gmail.com, (720)256-3007

Supporting material

  • The 1993 ELCA social statement, Caring for Creation, expressed concern about “climate change;” acknowledged that, “according to the preponderance of evidence from scientists worldwide“ we face “dangerous global warming, caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide;” and emphasized that “action to counter degradation, especially within this decade, is essential to the future of our children and our children’s children. Time is very short;”[1]
  • In 2022 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted 672-45, “to receive with gratitude the memorials from 17 synods[2] concerning greenhouse gas emissions;” “to reaffirm the commitment of this church to engage in creation care and advocacy . . . ;” and “to encourage congregants, rostered ministers, and bishops to commit themselves to education about the urgency of the climate emergency . . . ;”[3]
  •  On Earth Day 2023, the ELCA Church Council unanimously adopted a social message, Earth’s Climate Crisis, stating that, “[f]rom a standpoint of faith, it is reasonable to conclude that the climate crisis is, indeed, a kairos moment”[4] and challenged all expressions of the ELCA to “[j}oin with ecumenical, interfaith, and secular partners working to address the climate crisis;”[5]
  •  ELCA social teachings have emphasized the ethical priority for the most vulnerable and marginalized, who have contributed least to the climate crisis and bear a disproportionate weight of its effects; and the ELCA calls on organizations to support strategies that enable adaptation to climate change, including protecting the land rights of Indigenous peoples, in whose care land, resources, and biodiversity are more likely to be protected;
  • ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry, in his 2025 “Message on the Tenth Anniversary of the Paris Climate Accords,” affirmed the 2015 United Nations agreement that committed all nations, including the U.S., to limit global warming to well below 2°Celcius (C) while also pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C,[6] and emphasized:

“It is not too late to protect our climate. With God, it is never too late. Kairos means that this is an opportune and urgent time to address Earth’s climate crisis. I am calling this church to be more connected and sustainable. This includes stewarding God’s creation as an expression of faith and seeking sustainability rooted in ways of living that honor everything God has called ‘good,’ including learning from and following the leadership of Indigenous communities. I commend to you the social message,” Earth’s Climate Crisis;[7]

  •  On June 21, 2025, the World Council of Churches (WCC)  began an Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, which is “a prophetic pilgrimage of repentance, transformation, and hope” that calls “churches to ecological metanoia and systemic change rooted in justice, peace, and the integrity of creation;” [8]
  • The ELCA is a leader in resourcing churchwide staff positions dedicated to programming for racial justice and gender justice; and the ELCA seeks to lead comparably in the work of climate justice, especially in light of its 2023 Social Message, Earth’s Climate Crisis, which calls us to see the climate crisis as a kairos moment, a moment when we recognize “God’s urgent call for decisive action in history; and the ELCA’s leadership in the call to decisive action will require bold resourcing of additional churchwide staff member(s) solely dedicated to climate justice.[9]
  •  The fundraising campaign, “Climate Justice for the Life of World,” is critical to our successful involvement in the WCC Ecumenical Decade for Climate Justice Action. As we discovered through the ELCA Malaria Campaign (2011-2015), the $15.4 million raised to fight malaria also generated increased awareness and stronger engagement across our whole church. (Sunday school children, college students, congregations, synods, camps, WELCA, and individuals were inspired by the goal of providing millions of malaria nets – a tangible effort that appealed to members of all ages). The success of the ELCA’s Good Gifts initiative is another example of this. Further, we have already received commitments of $200,000 from donors eager to support this work. The Climate Crisis demands such an engaged and generous response. (Imagine what it might mean if the ELCA could raise funds for 1 million solar panels for its congregations).

[1] ELCA Social Statement, https://www.elca.org/faith/faith-and-society/social-statements/caring-for-creation, 1993.

[2] Oregon Synod, Southwest California Synod, Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Minneapolis Synod, Saint Paul Area Synod, Southwestern Texas Synod, Northern Illinois Synod, Northeastern Iowa Synod, East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, Greater Milwaukee Synod, North/West Lower Michigan Synod, New England Synod, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Central States Synod, and Delaware-Maryland Synod.

[3] ELCA, Report of the Memorials Committee, 2022 Churchwide Assembly, July 15, 2022, pp. 13-28.

[4] ELCA Social Message, https://www.elca.org/faith/faith-and-society/social-messages/climate , approved on Earth Day, April 20, 2023.

[5] Id. p. 17.

[6] United Nations Climate Change, The Paris Agreement, accessed 20 December 2025.

[7] ELCA, A Message on the Tenth Anniversary of the Paris Climate Accords, December 9, 2025.

[8] World Council of Churches, https://www.oikoumene.org/what-we-do/care-for-creation-and-climate-justice/ecumenical-decade-of-climate-justice-action.

[9] The ELCA has a full-time Director for Racial Justice (Jennifer DeLeon) and a full-time Director for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment (Mary Streufert).

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