I'm walking because this walk invites both the individual and systemic transformation that the huge challenge of climate change requires. On a personal level, I expect that walking many miles in the company of others will make me mindful of the creative possibilities of using less fossil fuels. And I will be thinking of people who are already walking -- out of necessity, not choice -- because of climate change: women who must devote hours each day to haul water for their families and people whose homes are threatened by rising oceans and changing climate systems.  And the collective part of the walk  -- the fossil fuel divestment overture to the General Assembly -- reminds me that the vast scope of climate change means that we must work together to change whole systems.

It’s time for the denomination to put its money where its faith is. The PC(USA) must join the divestment movement that has already taken trillions of dollars out of the fossil fuel industry. By doing so, the denomination will no longer  profit from an industry that has contributed to climate change. Hurricanes in Puerto Rico, drought in California, rising sea levels along the global coasts — natural disasters exacerbated by climate change which affect Presbyterians and all creation.

Our faith calls us to love God, creation, and neighbor with our whole selves, and June 1-16, 2018 we will love creation with each step we take. The PCUSA Walk for a Fossil Free World will take us from Louisville, Kentucky (the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church [USA]) to St. Louis, Missouri, in time for the PC(USA)’s 223rd General Assembly. Our goals are to: 

1. Call upon the PC(USA) 223rd General Assembly do divest from fossil fuels
2. Center the voices and experiences of people already affected by climate change
3. Reduce our own carbon footprint as we travel to GA

You're invited to join! More details about the Walk can be found at PCUSAwalk.org