The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham contributed an essay in Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness. This new book by Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska is a collection of works by people who have been writing about simplicity for decades. Sally’s essay, “Religion and the Earth” explores the evolving nature of religion, which for thousands of years has adapted to changes in the world and instilled new values. From the Rev. Bingham’s essay:
How then are we to survive when so many millions of people are unaware or simply don’t understand the problem? I believe that in order to become sustainable our values have to change, and the place that will best encourage a value change is the faith community. This is where we find and instill hope – not without prayer and action, but hope is the glue that will hold people together when they see the potential catastrophic changes going on around the world due to our unprecedented contribution of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. And they will see it. Climate change, the focus of my ministry (the Interfaith Power and Light Campaign), is the most important moral challenge of our time.