June 5 marked World Environment Day. It is the United Nation's primary vehicle for promoting awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It has been observed for more than four decades.
In the 31 days leading up to it this year, the world's greatest rain forest (the Amazon) - which is a critical provider of oxygen and carbon sequestration - lost 739sq km of vegetation. That is two football pitches every minute. It is also twice the deforestation recorded three years ago. 
The United Nations says this: Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.
It is little wonder that our young people are so passionate about this issue. It should be no great revelation that they are walking out of school to protest. You can no longer be shocked by the failure of so many first-world leaders to take responsibility. But you should be surprised if your church is doing nothing.  
This Sunday is Pentecost. For Christians it is one of the most important feasts of our calendar - the day on which we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. For Jews it is still an agricultural festival. So this year we invite you to celebrate the Spirit's arrival and our church's responsibility to care for creation. As you celebrate 50 days since Passover, remember the Jubilee and help to give our world a sabbath.
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For practical advice on the differences your church can make please download, "read and inwardly digest", this little book from the Diocese of Oxford: For Creed and Creation.