By Lucy Atkinson for The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development and photos by Gundula M. Tegtmeyer
The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) organized an Interfaith Climate Action in Jerusalem on December 7th, 2014, in which dozens of people participated. ICSD joined OurVoices’s global #LightforLima campaign in raising awareness about the urgency of acting on climate change, at the beginning of the UN Conference of Parties (COP-20) climate talks in Lima, Peru. #LightforLima built on the momentum from the People’s Climate March in September that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in Manhattan, and preceded the historic climate deal between the United States and China that took place in November.
The event in Jerusalem, as well as in twelve other locations around the world, gave an ecological twist to the traditional practice of lighting candles as a sign of hope, by using solar-powered lamps instead. Events also took place in Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Nigeria, the UK, and the USA. They were organized by a range of interfaith and faith-based groups, and involved the participation of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and secular people.
At the gathering in Jerusalem, dozens of people gathered at Jaffa Gate of the Old City. Some held a banner that stated, ‘We call for climate action.’ From there participants ascended the centuries-old walls of the Old City (known as the Ramparts Walk), aided by their solar lights and the full moon. The event continued at Jerusalem University College on Mt. Zion, where people shared their words, thoughts and prayers on key topics for discussion at Lima. Participants wrote ‘word storms’ on the topics of consumerism, water, energy and food security.
As Rabbi Yonatan Neril, founder and executive director of ICSD, said, “Jerusalem is tense, and the world knows it. Yet, here we are, religious people of different faiths, walking side by side in our Old City of Jerusalem. By marching with solar lights on these ancient walls together, we are showing that people of faith can come together to address our collective challenges.”
Senior religious leaders from several traditions wrote prayers specifically for the campaign, with Imam Zaid Shakir, H.H. Radhanath Swami, and Archbishops Desmond Tutu and Thabo Makgoba encouraging their followers to pray for world leaders during the Lima meetings.
For each solar lamp used in #LightforLima, SolarAid is delivering two lamps to African rural communities. The solar lamps will replace kerosene lanterns whose noxious fumes cause thousands of deaths annually.
©Photos by Gundula M. Tegtmeyer
