ECOPREACHER
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade (To view this resource in Spanish, click here.)
Modern day environmental prophets are fighting for justice in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” to protect their communities against polluting industries.
Here are ideas for reading and preaching Jeremiah 20:7-13, a prophet’s lament in the face of derision, and Matthew 10:24-39, Jesus’s teaching about facing persecution. This is part of the EcoPreacher 1-2-3 series to equip preachers and congregations for engaging the Bible through an ecological lens. These texts are assigned as part of the Revised Common Lectionary for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A.
Eco-Exegesis
Eco-exegesis is a method of interpreting the biblical text through a green lens using the principles of ecological theology.
Jeremiah 20:8
For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’
For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
When God calls a prophet to bring attention to corruption and destruction, people rarely welcome the message. More often, they are targeted with ridicule, accusations, shunning, and even violence. This was the case with Jeremiah. From a young age, he answered God’s call to announce the consequences of unfaithfulness to the covenant by Israel’s leaders. But no one wanted to listen to him. Even his friends wished for his failure. So, Jeremiah did not mince words about his anger and frustration.
Yet, he could not turn away from his mission. Even if he tried to stay silent, God’s warning would become “like a burning fire” within him (v. 9). Surprisingly, however, his lament concludes with unexpected faith and praise: “Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers” (v. 13).
Today, there are environmental prophets fighting for justice against corporations and governments causing suffering to both Earth kin and human communities. For example, two faith leaders in Louisiana, Deacon Joseph M. Clavijo and Rev. Gregory Manning, have been sounding the alarm about toxic pollution of their communities. They pastor in the area known as “Cancer Alley,” an 85-mile industrial corridor along the Mississippi River. They publicly oppose plans for plastics and chemical plants and have been arrested for their protests. They initially won a major 2022 state-court decision canceling air permits for a massive petrochemical complex. But the victory did not last. In January 2024, a Louisiana appellate court vacated the decision on procedural grounds. Yet, like Jeremiah, these environmental prophets have not given up. In fact, they have created an interfaith coalition that connects with Indigenous groups to protect fragile ecosystems and vulnerable human communities. They help residents and advocates resist the plant on multiple legal and regulatory fronts.
Matthew 10:26-27 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the rooftops.
The church can amplify voices that have only whispered their pain. This includes those who live in the shadow of industrial pollution and environmental racism. Some churches in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley are sounding the alarm about polluting industries that manipulate zoning policies and harm their communities. Black residents of St. James Parish, including members of St. Michael Catholic Church and Mt. Triumph Baptist Church, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. Their suit calls for a moratorium on chemical plants. They allege that companies intentionally site these plants in Black neighborhoods – a clear example of environmental racism.
According to an article by James Bruggers in Inside Climate News, parishioners from the churches, along with members of community organizing groups, have been ignored and dismissed by their local leaders. However, Shamyra Laigne with RISE St. James responds, “We will not be ignored. We will not sacrifice our lives.”
Added Barbara Washington, co-founder and co-director of the faith-based group Inclusive Louisiana, “This is the day that the Lord has made, and we shall rejoice and be glad therein because we smell victory. Every one of us has been touched by the [leaders’] decisions to expose us to toxic plants. We all have stories about our own health and the health of our friends. It’s time to stop packing our neighborhoods with plants that produce toxic chemicals.” In January 2026, the Center for Constitutional Rights reported that the case is moving forward in federal court, with plaintiffs arguing that the siting pattern violates the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:24-39 speak to the struggle that often accompanies the work of justice. Like Jeremiah, and like Jesus himself, environmental prophets may find themselves at odds with family members, friends, co-workers, and government leaders. Yet those who lock arms to advocate and non-violently resist racist environmental oppression find solidarity and even kinship.Jesus assured his followers that toxic secrets will eventually become known and the work of justice will be vindicated. As environmental prophets know, this work often requires sacrifice and always demands the highest commitment to ethics and integrity. For churches and synagogues that provide space, leadership, and moral framing for resistance, this is holy work.
The Eco-Idea is one succinct statement that tells us who God is and/or what God does in relation to Creation and how we should respond as people of faith.
God’s power accompanies environmental prophets who face ignorance, mockery, arrest, and persecution as they fight for justice.
Eco-Questions are what we can ask to help a congregation draw out the implications of the Eco-Exegesis and Eco-Idea.
- What stories about environmental suffering are only being told in whispers in your community? How might your congregation listen and then “proclaim them from the rooftops”?
- What environmental advocates and activists in your area need support? In what ways can your congregation show up for them as they are doing the essential work of facing down powerful entities?
Eco-Actions are ways that a congregation might respond to the Eco-Idea and Eco-Questions. One of these possibilities may have salience for your ministry context.
- Invite individuals or families who have suffered from environmental racism, water pollution, poor air quality, or climate-driven natural disasters to speak at your church. Listen, then ask what support they need. Do they need resources for legal challenges? Clean water? People to write letters on their behalf?
- Invite environmental activists who are on the front lines of advocating for justice to speak at your church. Do they need volunteers to call legislators? People to show up at peaceful demonstrations? Donations for protecting a threatened habitat or community?
- Look for stories from news sources that are covering climate and environmental issues and share them with fellow church members, friends, and family. Visit Inside Climate News and sign up to receive their informative and inspiring stories.
*Featured image source
