Climate Change Protest Unites Different Religious Faiths In Montclair

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A diverse coalition of activists and religious leaders in Essex County held a protest decrying climate change on a sweltering Sunday in Montclair amid the summer’s first major heat wave.

Nearly 100 people gathered for a march against climate change in Montclair, an effort led by clergy and members of 16 houses of worship in North Jersey – representing Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The protest took place as temperatures soared throughout New Jersey last weekend.

Gathering in the extreme heat, the demonstrators called for divestment in fossil fuel and a move to clean energy sources, urging an end to “business as usual,” organizers said.

Participants also filled out postcards that they plan to send to Sen. John McKeon, who represents Livingston, Millburn, Montclair, Roseland, West Orange and Clifton in the state’s 27th legislative district.

“Climate change is a moral issue,” the Rev. John Rogers of First Congregational Church said.

“It threatens the sacred web of life and worsens the injustices we are working to overcome,” Rogers continued. “Congregations have a role to play in calling us to action based on respect for creation and faith in our collective ability to bring about social change.”

“We cannot continue to act as we have in the past,” agreed the Rev. Anita Wright of Trinity Presbyterian Church, adding that New Jersey and the rest of the nation needs to “reach for new ways of being” and new systems that work in harmony with nature.

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman of Bnai Keshet said that many people in the community are feeling despair in the face of climate change.

“We acknowledge our grief at the damage we have already done, but also claim hope that we can still come together to change course,” Tepperman said. “After today, we will continue to take action together, growing our numbers and insisting that the change we need is possible.”

This event was co-sponsored by: Bnai Keshet, Brookdale Reformed Church, Congregation Beth El, Congregation Shomrei Emunah, First Congregational Church, First Lutheran Church of Montclair, First United Methodist Church, Montclair Monthly Meeting (Quakers), Peace Islands Institute, Petra Baptist Church, St Luke’s Episcopal Church, St Paul’s Baptist Church, Temple Nir Tamid, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Union Congregational Church, Unitarian Universalist Church at Montclair. It was also supported by the Montclair Bike Bus, Empower NJ, and Greenfaith.

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