Three churches in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area are raising awareness of climate change and ecological justice during Earth Month.
They’re holding “Three Saturdays for the Environment Documentaries and Discussion.”
The Knox United Church, St. Edmund’s Anglican and St. Stephen’s United Church will each feature environment films and documentaries, followed by discussions to give people an opportunity to learn and engage locally about the environment and our relationship with nature.
St. Edmunds will show “Stories of Mt Arrowsmith Biosphere Region,” a 2017 Canadian documentary, on Saturday, April 15 from 1-3 p.m. It features Vancouver Island University students interviewing 21 people about their connections to the lands and waters within the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere on Vancouver Island. Guest speaker is Catherine Watson.
Then on Saturday, April 22 from 1-3 p.m., Knox United Church will show “The Future is Now - 2040”, a 2019 Australian documentary, that looks at the effects of climate change over the next 20 years and what technologies that exist today can reverse the effects.
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St. Stephen’s on Saturday, April 29 from 1-3 p.m., will show the film, “Tree Line: A Story Written in Rings,” a 2019 Canadian/Japanese/US documentary that celebrates the forests on which species have always depended. It features a group of snow-seekers, scientists and healers exploring the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada.
“What we need is an economic, social and justice model that respects the ecosystems of earth and appreciates there are limits to growth,” said Brenda Riley of St. Stephen’s United Church. “For even if we rid the world of carbon, and human rights were guaranteed for all, unless we have that further understanding that we are all part of the web of life and that all the beings that make up the web of life have needs that must be respected too, we will be in trouble… it is an Indigenous perspective, or as some would say, what we humans all knew at one time.”
Folks at St. Stephen’s United Church. Riley said, are learning the real meaning of stewardship as mentioned in scriptures.
“We are part of creation and the ecosystem and have a definite role and responsibility in how we then should live,” she said. “This films series of thought-provoking ideas will hopefully kindle a greater interest in active concern and engagement starting with our biosphere.”
The events are by donation and there will coffee and tea served.
— NEWS Staff, submitted