Faith leaders, community group hope to unite Morden residents in fighting climate change
Residents in a southern Manitoba city hope faith leaders and a new citizens action group can help in the fight against climate change.
Morden, a city of about 10,000 people in the Pembina Valley, has already declared a moderate drought amid a drier-than-normal winter, with city officials asking residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve water.
Lake Minnewasta, from which Morden gets its drinking water, is currently about a metre and a half lower than it should be for this time of year.
Rev. Carrie Martens, the minister at Morden’s United Church, said the notion of climate change is not off limits in her church.
She and other faith leaders hope the need for change is a message that resonates with their parishioners.
“Faith and life in the world and faith and science don’t have to be at odds with each other,” Martens told CBC. “This can all be one of the same.
“I know that this can be challenging with different theologies, but I think the common ground we have is our common ground.”
The city is located in the heart of Manitoba’s Bible Belt, a region where the majority of people are Christian and some churches played a role in challenging COVID-19-related public health restrictions and vaccine mandates.
But faith leaders like Martens say they hope churches can use their influence for the good of the environment and unite people in the process.
“We all actually share this planet and we all actually love it,” she said. “We all love the land, we love our lake, we love our yards.… I think that can be what brings us together.”
That’s a sentiment shared by Sandy Plett, who serves as the climate action co-ordinator with Mennonite Church Canada.
Part of her work involves speaking with Mennonite church congregations across Canada.
“Churches actually are built communities,” Plett said. “What better place to start doing action with people who already share a purpose?”
Plett and Martens have helped form a new local group called the Pembina Climate Action Network.
While it was borne out of their faith and their churches, both say the group is intended to be a community effort, not tied to any faith or church.
“I have children, they’re teenagers, and I want them to enjoy a natural world that I enjoyed as a kid,” said Plett. “I want them to see that their parents and their parents’ generation took this seriously.”
During Morden’s last severe drought, in 2021, Plett helped run a rain barrel fundraiser at her church.
“We advertised in the community and we sold like 200 rain barrels,” she said. “So that’s just … a tiny little response.”
Earl Dyck has lived in the city of Morden for nine years, moving to the city after living in a rural area.
He said he’s on board with the new climate action group.
“I think there’s a little bit of fear about what’s happening with the environment,” said Dyck, who said he already has taken a number of measures to conserve water in his home, such as reusing dishwater for his garden plants.
“Together we can do a good job,” he said.
Plett says while there are still doubters, there are ways to address the climate crisis without inflaming tensions.
“If it’s polarizing to say ‘climate change,’ talk about love, talk about the vulnerable, talk about being thirsty, talk about gardens,” she said.
WATCH | Morden faith leaders want to be part of climate change solution:
CBC’s Riley Laychuk visits Morden, Man., where climate science and faith are coming together in the community’s churches, as drought conditions persist.
She and Martens said the new action group is meant to help area residents navigate drought and climate change in their own homes.
“It’s not just, you see this thing pop up on your social media and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m supposed to conserve water …’ and ‘what next?'” said Martens.
“We’re not expecting people to completely, like, drop their entire lives,” she added.
The group will host its first meeting in early April.
Plett and Martens hope the new climate action group can not only brainstorm solutions, but connect the community.
“Unless we all come together to do something, it’s not going to work,” Martens said.
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