NEWS
from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
138 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111
Telephone: 617-482-4826, ext. 506 • FAX: 617-451-6446 • Email: karnold@diomass.org
The Rev. Kenneth Arnold, Director of Communications
ADVISORY
EPISCOPAL BISHOPS IN NEW ENGLAND ISSUE FIRST
PASTORAL LETTER ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Press Conference announced for February 27, at 2 PM, 138 Tremont Street, by the
Diocese of Massachusetts and three local leaders in environmental affairs: Dr. Kevin
Knobloch of the Union of Concerned Scientists; Stephen MacAusland of the Episcopal
Ecological Network and Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light; The Rev. Margaret
Bullitt-Jonas, author and environmental activist from All Saints Church Brookline.
“The religious community needs to speak out on the environmental crisis,” say the
Episcopal bishops of New England, and to underscore their concern they have issued a
pastoral letter, the first of its kind. The letter, “To Serve Christ in All Creation,” is being
mailed to all of the Episcopalians in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont,
New Hampshire, and Maine.
“This letter comes at an important, even pivotal, time in our nation and region,” said The
Rt. Rev. Bud Cederholm, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts. “Our national leadership,
as we write in this letter, ‘is failing to acknowledge the urgency of the planetary crisis in
which we now find ourselves.’ Our letter calls for us to repent of our greed and waste and
commit ourselves to energy conservation and the use of clean, renewable sources of
energy. All around the country we are seeing religious leaders beginning to talk about our
environment—for example, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment—and
one of the results is that we are putting more pressure on our governmental leaders to
meet their commitments to us and to the future.”
This unprecedented pastoral letter comes as a strong scientific consensus has emerged
that global climate change is underway and threatens to dramatically alter, for the worse,
the world we leave our children if we do nothing to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Present national leadership, however, is waging an unprecedented assault on the
environment and environmental protections and laws. At the same time, there is
important environmental leadership from Governor Mitt Romney and other New England
governors.
Accompanied by a list of resources, suggested practical actions, and a proposed
curriculum for churches to use in raising congregational awareness of environmental
issues, the letter is designed to educate Episcopalians to be proactive stewards of
creation.
On behalf of the Episcopal Bishops of New England, Bishop Cederholm has scheduled a
press conference for February 27, beginning at 2 PM, at the Episcopal Diocese of
Massachusetts, 138 Tremont Street, Boston.
Joining Bishop Cederholm to comment on the importance of this pastoral letter in terms
of national and regional environmental policy will be Kevin Knobloch, Executive
Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Stephen MacAusland New England
representative of the Episcopal Ecological Network and founder of Massachusetts
Interfaith Power and Light, and The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, an author and
environmental activist from All Saints Church in Brookline.
Copies will be made available to the press on request and at the press conference itself.
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