"Call Me Ishmael" or "Gore-d Again"

Shrimp here. Back on board this (for-a-time derelict) blog, having been caught by Cap'n Bill along with some other shellfish. Some say that global warming caused her to toss me overboard in the first place. Don't know about that. While amongst them, other sea creatures said the Artic ice melt is offset by more ice on the other pole. And some dolphins going away on another journey (while crying, "So long, and thanks for all the fish!)" mentioned something about Mars and Neptune and Pluto and Jupiter and... maybe you get the point? All we shellfish know is that nobody's climate models describe what we've been experiencing lately.

So, what does this have to do with the ELCA? In this case it's the PB's other job, head of the Lutheran World Federation, where his enthusiasms seem to have infected some of the bright lights in Geneva, as highlighted in this LWF news release from last week. Remember, it's all your fault, your own fault, your own most grevous fault.

LWF General Secretary Lauds Nobel Peace Prize Laureates for Focus on Climate Change Challenges

Noko Underlines LWF Assembly Commitment to Further Action

GENEVA, 15 October 2007 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has congratulated former US Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for being jointly awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement issued today, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, commends both the IPCC and Gore for “increasing public awareness about the gravity of climate change and promoting political commitment to addressing the challenge it represents.”

On 12 October, the Norwegian Nobel Committee named the IPCC and the former US vice-president as co-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”

In his statement, Noko mentions the role of religious leaders in responding to the climate crisis, and cites the LWF’s commitment, as underlined by the Assembly, its highest governing body. “The LWF made the commitment to ‘work against climate change and the greenhouse effect, by acting to decrease the consumption of fossil fuel and use renewable energy resources,’” the general secretary notes, referring to commitments of the July 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada.

Noko points out that the 11th Assembly, to be held in July 2010 in Stuttgart, Germany, would provide a forum to deepen these commitments and further such actions. (248 words)

The full text of Dr Noko’s statement follows:

Statement by Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko
General Secretary, The Lutheran World Federation

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) warmly congratulates former US Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr Gore and the Panel have taken a leading role in increasing public awareness about the gravity of climate change and promoting political commitment to addressing the challenge it represents. They richly deserve the recognition they have received.

I agree wholeheartedly with Mr Gore when he says that “the climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity.” The dimensions of this crisis transcend politics. It calls for engagement at the most fundamental ethical level. Religious leaders have essential roles to play in responding to the crisis, alongside political and other community leaders.

At its Tenth Assembly in 2003, the LWF made the commitment to “work against climate change and the greenhouse effect, by acting to decrease the consumption of fossil fuel and use renewable energy resources.” The Lutheran communion has repeatedly supported “international agreements [such as the Kyoto Protocol] that seek to preserve the environment and the integrity of creation.” The 11th Assembly to take place in 2010, in Stuttgart, Germany, will provide a forum to deepen these commitments and further such actions.

All faith traditions acknowledge the sacredness of creation. The threat of climate change demands that our common respect for creation be recognized as a basis for interfaith cooperation to protect and preserve the earth and to assure just, sustainable life for all.

Geneva, 15 October 2007

Jesus' blood never fails me. Some of his servants, though, make my head swim.

Thanks, Cap'n Bill, for your rescue. And the rest of you shellfish, say ahoy. Shrimp out.