Earth Justice

Earth Justice

St Michael’s is passionate about ecological justice. Planet Earth is our one and only home! As guardians of this remarkable creation, we understand earth Justice as rooted in loving and understanding the whole world and all its inhabitants.
We belong to a world which is intimately interconnected.
We are exploring what we can do to enhance the environment in this time of climate crisis through learning, liturgy and action.

St Michael’s Environmental Action Group (EAG)

In September 2022, the St Michael’s Church Council developed an Environmental Action Plan for St Michael’s to support Uniting Church Australia’s Action Plan, which aims achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

Our Environmental Action Plan aims to:
• Reduce its carbon footprint
• Encourage the St Michael’s congregation to take positive and urgent action on climate change
• Seek opportunities to collaborate with inner city congregations and the City of Melbourne to support actions on addressing climate change.

The plan was developed by the EAG and adopted by the St Michael’s Church Council. The EAG is now overseeing its implementation.

Season of Creation – a banner, a media event and ‘Faiths 4 Justice’ Week of Action

On Sunday 15 September we were thrilled to reveal a colourful, distinctive and recyclable banner as a finale of St Michael’s ‘Season of Creation’ services.

The Environmental Action Group (EAG) was pleased to have the support of St Michael’s people who agreed to be in a photo in front of the banner that was sent to our local federal government representative. This coincided with the beginning of the ‘Faiths 4 Climate Justice Week of Action’ organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC).

St Michael’s supportive banner was one of many, when places of worship across the country took similar action. On Tuesday, 17 September, banners were revealed, and media events were held in major Australian cities. St Michaels united with multi-faith communities and leaders at St Paul’s Cathedral to take a stand and call for a fossil fuel phase-out.

Mohamed Mohideen OAM, Vice-President of Islamic Council of Victoria and National ARRCC Spokesperson, challenged the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to commit to a timetable to achieve phasing out of fossil fuel usage in Australia, while acknowledging the difficulties we will all face with this process, but also looking forward to future benefits of such a transition, including responding to the urgent needs of our common home, and economic benefits to be obtained by moving to a low carbon future in an inclusive manner.

Dean Andreas Loewe of St Paul’s Cathedral acknowledged the involvement of faiths besides the Abrahamic faiths represented at the meeting in the work of ARRCC, and reminded participants that the meeting was the start of ARRCC’s non-partisan political engagement leading to the upcoming federal election.

Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli was quoted in the ARRCC media release and was also featured in a faith leaders video released by the ARRCC.

Congregational awareness and education

Throughout the year, St Michael’s holds church services which are explicit in addressing climate change and our responsibility to care for the environment. These include raising awareness of special days such as Earth Day, World Environment Day and the Season of Creation during September. On other Sundays, environmental issues are included in reflections and prayers.

We encourage and build the capacity and capability of our congregation to take individual and collective action on climate change by running educational and self-reflection sessions in after-church programs. We invite our congregation to participate in environmental events and sessions to hear and learn from environmental/climate experts and those taking action on climate change.

Eco-theology

Reflections offered in our services draw on eco-theology, which is grounded in the belief that religion and nature are deeply interconnected. It embraces both science and religion as different, not conflicting lenses through which we view our world. Christian eco-theology recognises that our faith has contributed to the damage that humans have done to nature.

There are now many theologians and teachers who seek to redress the harm by developing theologies that lead to a new religious ethic. Their vision embraces the well-being of the earth and all its diverse creatures.

Our buildings and operations

The EAG has reviewed how St Michael’s can continually improve our environmental performance, including financing options.
We have audited our energy use, installed energy-efficient lighting, and have sought a carbon-neutral electric power provider.
We continue to audit our waste and develop systems to better manage and reduce our waste.
We continue to investigate St Michael’s purchasing to support social enterprises/businesses that contribute to social and environmental justice.

Engagement with wider faith and community group activities

St Michael’s actively seeks opportunities to collaborate, support or partner with inner city congregations, the City of Melbourne and other groups to address climate change.

We routinely display large climate-action-related posters in front of our building on Melbourne’s busy Collins Street. We also advertise notices for events such as prayer gatherings and climate marches in our weekly eNews.

St Michael’s is a member of the multi-faith organisation Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC)