wfn.org | Moderator Prepares to Deliver Climate Change Message to Canadians

["General Council Office" <generalcounciloffice@united-church.ca>]

For Immediate Release -- Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Moderator Prepares to Deliver Climate Change Message to C anadians

Toronto: On Sunday, January 17, 2010, Mardi Tindal, the  Moderator of The
United Church of Canada, will be issuing an open letter  to all Canadians
regarding the issue of climate change.

This letter arises from the Moderator's recent travel to  Denmark to
attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which  took place in
Copenhagen December 7-18, 2009. Tindal attended the confere nce as part
of a World Council of Churches delegation, and was the  only North
American denominational church leader present.

As such, she says she feels a compelling obligation to  bear witness to
what she describes as "one of the most urgent moral c hallenges in human
history."

Tindal will first read her letter, "Where Is the Hope  after Copenhagen,"
during the Sunday morning worship service at Sydenham Str eet United
Church in Brantford, Ontario, on January 17. Sydenham Str eet is Tindal's
home congregation, and the place she sought comfort immed iately
following her return to Canada from Denmark.

"The day after I returned home from the climate change  talks, I needed a
place to go where I could safely cry tears of lament, " says Tindal. "I
needed somewhere where I would be supported as I wrestl ed with the
bitter disappointment I felt with the result of the Cop enhagen talks."

She says it is fitting to return to Sydenham Street U nited Church this
Sunday to deliver a message that she hopes will be a  source of
inspiration and hope for those who, like her, were hear tbroken by the
missed opportunity of Copenhagen.

In addition, the Moderator will also be inviting former  Moderators and
many others to read her open letter in United Church  congregations in
communities from coast to coast to coast.

On Monday, January 18, 2010, Tindal will travel to Otta wa to personally
deliver the letter to the Governor General, the Prime M inister, and
other party leaders. The letter will also be mailed to  all
Parliamentarians.

Tindal will be accompanied in Ottawa by the Hon. David  MacDonald.
MacDonald is a United Church minister and a former Memb er of Parliament
who chaired the House of Commons Committee on the Envir onment from 1989
to 1993. He also travelled to Copenhagen as part of t he World Council of
Churches delegation.

The timing for the release of the Moderator's letter wa s chosen for two
reasons. First, January 18 is the one-month anniversary o f the
conclusion of the Copenhagen talks, and secondly, it is  also Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.

Tindal explains that King served as a primary source of  inspiration for
her when she was writing this letter, which is addresse d not only to the
people of the United Church, but to all Canadians. In  particular, King's
1963 letter from a Birmingham jail galvanized Tindal's se nse of purpose
when she returned to Canada from Copenhagen.

The Moderator says her motivation for writing the letter  also arises
from her long-standing involvement in addressing environmenta l issues
from the perspective of faith. This initiative is also  in keeping with
the commitment Tindal made when she was elected Moderator  in August 2009
to focus much of her time and energy on matters relat ed to the care of
creation.

The text of Tindal's letter will be posted on The Uni ted Church of
Canada's website (www.united-church.ca) on Sunday, January 17 , 2010.

For more information, or to arrange media interviews, ple ase contact:

Mary-Frances Denis

Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
The United Church of Canada
Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
E-mail: mdenis@united-church.ca

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