GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2024

The biblical sage Qoheleth observes the perpetual cycles of creation:

The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow (Ecclesiastes 1:5-7). 

Although he had no inkling of Earth’s rotation around a stationary sun, Qoheleth’s observations point to the primary sources of renewable energy: sun, wind, and water.  They’ve been there for over four billion years, always generating energy, but we have yet to harness their power fully.  The one critical difference today is that the seas are getting “full.” They are rising and warming due to melting ice caps driven by mounting greenhouse gas emissions and other factors, threatening countless coastal communities and natural habitats.  We must make the switch to renewable solar, wind, and water power as quickly as possible as experts warn we must do this by the end of this decade to prevent damage irreversible on human time scales.  Divestment from industries that profit from fossil fuel extraction is a critical step in making that switch.  Please consider endorsing this overture on behalf of God’s good creation.

“On Removal of Investments in and Subsides for Fossil Fuels”  [Click here for overture text to 226th General Assembly (2024) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ]

Sponsor: Presbytery of Susquehanna Valley
Concurrence: Presbytery of the Highlands of NJ, Presbytery of New York City, National Capital Presbytery, Northwest Coast Presbytery, Boston Presbytery, Presbytery of Western North Carolina, San Jose Presbytery, Southern New England Presbytery, Twin Cities Area Presbytery, Presbytery of Sheppards & Lapsley, Presbytery of San Gabriel, Albany Presbytery

For more information and PEC resources related to the overture,  visit our GA Overture Resource Page CLICK HERE

William P. Brown
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament
Columbia Theological Seminary

Patricia Tull
A.B. Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Thomas John Hastings
Executive Director (Retired) of the Overseas Ministries Study Center
Princeton Theological Seminary

Paul Galbreath
Emeritus Professor of Theology
Union Presbyterian Seminary (Charlotte, NC)

Tim Hartman
Associate Professor of Theology
Columbia Theological Seminary

Christine Roy Yoder
Senior Vice President and Dean of Faculty
Columbia Theological Seminary

Anna Carter Florence
Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching
Columbia Theological Seminary

Wendy Farley
Rice Family Chair of Spirituality
San Francisco Theological Seminary

Christopher Ocker
Professor of the History of Christianity
San Francisco Theological Seminary

Tyler Mayfield
Interim Dean of the Seminary
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

James Taneti
Director of the Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center and Assistant Professor of World Christianity
Union Presbyterian Seminary

Anna Case-Winters
Professor of Theology
McCormick Theological Seminary

Lis Valle-Ruiz
Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Worship 
McCormick Theological Seminary

Please email Presbyterians for Earth Care to have your name added to supporters list: presbyearthcare@gmail.com