Our world is layered in climate-related calamities, looming ecological collapse, and political chaos, with a pandemic amplifying it all. Many who take these crises seriously cannot help but grieve with a deep sense of distress and even helplessness. We, as Christians, can certainly hold on to the hope that the resurrected Christ will heal and restore everything. We could cry to the Lord for relief and rescue while lending a hand to the hurting.

Now we have an opportunity to do so, joining many Christians from around the world in continuous intercessory prayers on the climate crisis.

The Climate Intercessors is a global initiative organized jointly by a number of international Christian organizations, including A Rocha International and Tearfund. Monthly online prayer events for different time zones will be held, focusing on lamenting in the midst of these crises, while pleading for the Lord’s presence in the global and local efforts for mitigation, adaptation, and reduction of suffering.

Such prayers also open the doorways for the participants to see more clearly the challenges and needs at hand, perhaps starting their journeys of actions in life, whatever that might be as led by the Lord whom we direct the prayers to. Prayer never means to escape into a “more spiritual” realm and relinquish our responsibility to act (although prayer is considered an action), but always initiate and empower us to change and put our physical lives (social, economical, political, psychological, etc) in a proper Christ-centered order.

This initiative is organized in anticipation to the COP26, and beyond.

What is COP26, and why? In addressing the climate crisis, 2021 would be a crucial year on the related global governance and collective efforts. The 26^th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is to be held later in November in Glasgow, Scotland. This conference will bring together official representatives as well as civil society from 190+ nations in order to consolidate and finalize the implementation mechanisms of the Paris Climate Accord, adopted in 2015. Essential milestones and decisions will have to be reached during the conference, with significant impacts in the global efforts addressing climate change in many years to come.

This initiative of continuous and focused prayers is part of our “faithful presence” as Christ’s followers manifesting his presence, full of grace and truth, in the world (c.f. John 1:14). Such presence, particularly concerning the climate crisis, could be seen in a variety of ways, ranging from reducing our energy consumption, reducing carbon emissions, transferring to renewable energy, changing our lifestyles, planting trees and restoring wetlands, to engaging in the corporate decisions, local or even national politics, and the global governance dealing with the climate related mitigation and adaptation challenges. As Christians, we also see a missing link, as one of our international colleagues puts it: continuous intercessory prayers.

Would you be interested, or even compelled to join us in prayers? The next global prayer event will be on May 25 (with the following one at the end of June). Please register here for more details.