Adding liaisons in all congregations to help “co-create and nurture a climate-conscious and creation-attuned diocese” is a key goal affirmed by the Bishop’s Commission on Climate Change (BCCC) during its Feb. 28 retreat meeting at St. Paul’s Commons in Echo Park.
The in-person meeting brought together 12 participants from across the Diocese of Los Angeles, including scholars, scientists, and other professionals, all committed to widening the commission’s work through a network of liaisons in each of the diocese’s 132 congregations. Parishes and missions that do not yet have liaisons may email names, contact information, and inquiries here.
The Rev. Payton Hoegh and the Rev. Daniel Tamm, co-chairs of the commission, said the retreat was designed to build relationships and clarify purpose as the group prepares for strategic planning in the weeks ahead, deepening the work of the commission’s subcommittees on advocacy, education, disaster resiliency, and convention resolutions.
“It feels like it’s time to have an opportunity to pause, reflect, prayerfully, and discern our shared purpose, in terms of caring for God’s earth and doing climate justice,” Tamm said.
The first half of the day was devoted to a SOAR exercise—an activity meant to highlight the Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results of the commission. With Tamm encouraging “unedited, unbridled imagination,” members wrote reflections on large sheets posted around the room and then discussed themes that emerged. Amongst many ideas, participants noted that climate work intersects with other diocesan priorities.
“None of these issues are in a vacuum,” said Grace Wakelee-Lynch, the diocesan missioner for disaster recovery and resilience. “Disaster is directly tied to race, gender, financial status, immigration status, and all the other areas in our society where people are living in unequal circumstances.”
Participants also expressed a desire for concrete results and practical momentum. Dr. Lucy Jones, an internationally known seismologist and a lay leader at St. James’ in South Pasadena, said that one of the commission’s biggest opportunities was to turn “endless discussions into real action.”
Even with a sense of urgency in the room, there was light-heartedness and laughter. “This is a relational gathering,” Hoegh said, “The design of this is not for maximum productivity. The design is for maximum relationship, which we think leads to maximum impact.”
After the SOAR exercise, the commission shared another centering moment—a meditation on Paul’s letter to the Romans, which invoked an image of creation “longing for the revealing of the children of God.” The group then began drafting a mission statement, using mission statements from other climate-focused faith organizations as examples.
The new planning builds on the commission’s work since its founding in 2022, led by the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, diocesan canon to the ordinary, as initial chair.
For Kate Varley Alonso, a parishioner of St. Martin in-the-Fields, Winnetka, the commission is about discipleship and shared formation for the care of creation. Referencing the commission’s Climate Change Summit in 2023, Alonso stated that people attended because “they wanted to gather in community, learn, and develop loving formation around this topic.”
The commission plans to reconvene March 10 to continue strategic planning. As the retreat came to a close, Hoegh expressed gratitude and joy about the gathering. Tamm said the day had been everything he desired—a day of “imagining, dreaming, and arguing together—and being inspired.”