A ROCHA AND SEL CALL FOR PRAYER FOR THOSE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS..
Pray for the COP29
Dear Friends,
From November 11th to 22nd, representatives from around the world will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. This event is an opportunity for world leaders to address the growing impacts of climate change—effects that affect all of us, but particularly those living in poverty. As part of our joint campaign, “Loving the Poorest Is Also Protecting Creation”, we are sending you this message to work together to protect creation and support the most vulnerable.
Why we are mobilizing
God, through the Bible, calls us to care for all creation and to show compassion to our neighbor, especially the “widow and the orphan.” Today, climate change is “loading the dice” and worsening the situation of the most destitute, who are unable to defend themselves against the consequences of floods, droughts, and weather disturbances. The Bible also encourages us to pray for those who govern us, so that God grants them wisdom and discernment to make just decisions. Justice, in our context, notably involves limiting the harmful effects of climate change on vulnerable populations. Climate change is an environmental crisis but also a humanitarian one, which profoundly affects the most vulnerable.
Our expectations
At COP29, we expect concrete commitments on the loss and damage fund – essential to support countries already hit by climate disasters. We are grateful for the progress made at recent COPs, but much more needs to be done to finance the pledges already made. This commitment is part of a broader perspective, linked to COP16 on biodiversity and COP16 on desertification, as ecological restoration is essential for resilient communities and ecosystems.
Join us in prayer
We invite you to pray with us during COP29: for God to grant wisdom to our leaders, for generosity and justice to guide climate action, and for us to be encouraged to care for creation and our neighbors. Below are our resources and prayer requests for this campaign.
In Christ,
Rachel Calvert, President of A Rocha
Daniel Babiak, President of SEL
Patrick Guiborat, Executive Director of SEL
Jean-François Mouhot, Director of A Rocha
With the support of the CNEF.
Who are we?
SEL – SEL is a Protestant international solidarity association, created in 1980 by the French Evangelical Alliance (now the CNEF). SEL works to help populations in need in some forty developing countries, in partnership with local Christian organizations.
CNEF – To express and deepen their unity in Jesus Christ, make evangelical Protestantism more visible in French society, and promote the witness of the Gospel in word and deed, church unions and evangelical Protestant organizations are mobilized within the CNEF, at the national and regional levels. Its missions are to connect, inspire, inform, and represent.