12.01.2023

UEM Member Churches Active for the Climate

"Pulihkan Sumbar dari sampah": During the Environmental Action and river cleaning in Padang, activists call for West Sumatra to be cleaned of waste. Foto by: Ridho Simamora, UEM

Youth for climate: Towards the end of 2022, 50 young people met in Balikpapan on Kalimantan, Indonesia. Together with Petrus Sugito, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Asia Department of the UEM, they discussed strategies to overcome the climate catastrophe. GKE*, a member church of the UEM, had organized the meeting in order to engage in conversation with the young people about climate protection.

Near the new Indonesian capital "Nusantara", they planted trees that capture carbon from the air and so actively contribute to climate protection.

In a local church service, the congregation collected 652,000 rupiahs, parallel to € 35, which is equivalent to a quarter of a teacher's monthly salary (in Germany, this would be about € 800). These funds are dedicated to the United Action programme of UEM in the area of the GKE.

At the same time, in Padang, Sumatra, the GKPM* local church of Padang gathered together with the Interfaith Youth Alliance of Padang. Together they cleaned the river in Padang of waste and planted trees in front of a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple.

At the end of their day of action, they painted their hopes for a sustainable future for people and nature to give artistic space to their concerns.

*GKE = Gereja Kalimantan Evangelis (Evangelical Church of Kalimantan)

*GKPM = Gereja Kristen Protestan Mentawai (Christian Evangelical Church of the Mentawai Islands)