Besides serving on Green Faith, I also serve on Stewardship this year. On behalf of the Stewardship Commission I would like to thank this congregation for its generosity in pledging and giving.

Each year our church sends over $35,000 to the larger church to carry out programs……I want to tell you about one of these missions your money makes possible.

Many organizations in the United States work with international partners. For example, Interfaith Power & Light is an organization that describes its mission “to be faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.” Our Presbytery is a member of NY Interfaith Power and Light.

The Carbon Covenant is a project of Interfaith Power and Light. This program connects churches in the United States with faith communities in the global South. The Carbon Covenant currently has programs in Cameroon, Cambodia, Ghana and Tanzania. The Presbyterian Church of Cameroon is part of the Carbon Covenant program.

Why Cameroon? According to the Carbon Covenant project description, “Cameroon is already suffering from the impacts of climate change. Water supplies are drying up, the dry season is longer and hotter and is followed by more floods and longer rains. Already poor communities are now faced with higher prices for food and water due to shortages and are simply unable to make ends meet.”

The solution is to plant trees. The Presbyterian Church of Cameroon plans to plant 100,000 trees over three years. This work will ensure that water catchments in rural areas are protected and improved. “Operation Green, Plant a Tree Now” is an interfaith project working with the Roman Catholic Church and Muslim communities in ten areas of the country. The goal of this program is to stop desertification in Cameroon. These trees are a way of resurrecting the creation that has been destroyed through deforestation, primarily by timber companies.