Declare.
​
​Recognise, declare or acknowledge an emergency in a way that engages your community and amplifies the need for leaders everywhere to act.
This is a critical step. Whether you ‘recognise’, ‘declare’ or ‘acknowledge’, the crucial part is making a clear, public and formal statement that communicates that your church or organisation understands the urgency of climate change and will not be silent in the face of injustice.
For your statement to have integrity, it also needs to include a commitment to future action. As part of your declaration, commit to a timeframe for making a plan of action to reduce emissions and have an impact.
If you’re already working through Eco Church or Eco-Congregation, you might find starting with Declare will be most beneficial for amplifying the need for action and building momentum for your existing work.
‘In November we held a Climate Sunday where we made
a statement of "climate emergency recognition" during the service. We see ourselves at the very beginning of a
journey [and] now hope to mobilise the whole church in
this initiative.’
​
John Davy
Gateway Church Leeds
About the Declare step
Download the full toolkit for more details on each step and the tools you’ll need along the way.
