Global Warming Faithful Flock to Greenland, to Pray for Earth

Leaders from major world religious traditions joined together to pray for the Earth and future generations of humans yesterday, as they expressed their concerns about global warming from one of the planet's most vulnerable spots: Greenland's Ilulissat glacier, which has receded nine miles in four years.

The Muslim sects familiar for their ongoing feud in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, Sunnis and Shiites, were represented by leaders. Other religions present included Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Shinto, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

They came at the invitation of "the Green Patriarch," Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has made environmental protection a cornerstone of his senior role in the Orthodox Christian church. Among the leaders present:

• The Grand Rabbi of Paris, Rene-Samuel Sirat
• Bishop Sofie Petersen of Greenland
• Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington
• Rev. Jim Ball, founder of the Evangelical Environmental Network

Their participation in such an event is yet another indication that the religious faithful are joining forces with secular environmentalists around the common cause of global warming. Drawing on scientific evidence that global warming will decimate the Creator's masterwork and threaten the most vulnerable people, they focus on the ethical and moral imperative to do what is possible to heal the earth's over-heated atmosphere.

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