19 Faith and a Sustainable Pacific
387
waste. This leads to the throwaway disposable culture. These kinds of waste and degradation
happens because we don’t acknowledge and appreciate what we’ve been gifted…. (p. 5)
But in addition, the problem also traces back to a false notion of economy and what
progress looks like. Pacific Island leaders meeting in Nauru in 2018 also “emphasised
how the negative externalities of consumption-based economic growth are undermining the health of our oceans and the safety of our climate” (Bhagwan 2019). Or
in the words of Meg Taylor DBE, General Secretary of the Forum: “Pacific Leaders
presented a united stance on the pressing need for accelerated and ambitious global
action on climate change as they joined world leaders recently for the 72
nd Session
of the United Nations General Assembly” (2019a).
At some point in the not-distant future, there needs to be a serious discussion on
neoliberal capitalism, the sometimes-unspoken assumptions that are expected of us,
and the implications of an economic model which appears to require an unquestioned
and almost faith-like acceptance. For their part, Pacific peoples have justifiably been
noted for their generosity. An example of that, which also speaks into the global
household theme, emerged in the context of Australia’s bushfire emergency. In a
Press Release (2020), Act for Peace (an agency of the National Council of Churches
in Australia) quoted Vanuatu’s Acting Prime Minister, Jotham Napat as saying, “As
a neighbour and friend, we offer whatever assistance we can to Australia”, despite
the fact that “The people of Vanuatu are some of the poorest in the Pacific”.
Faith-Based Opportunities
If the locus for theology is the world, it should be clear that the change in behaviour
patterns I and many others are seeking is not for the sake of the Church, but indeed for
the world. That has local and immediate implications, since there is no local situation
that is devoid of global implications. As Bosch argues, “missiology means globalisation”, and that “in order to achieve globalisation, it needs specificity, concretisation”
(Bosch 1991, p. 496).
The importance of a faith perspective in the Pacific region is underscored in
research on “Spirituality and attitudes towards Nature in the Pacific Islands” by
Nunn et al. (2016a). Based on a sample of 1226 students from the University of
the South Pacific, the study established that the students shared a “high degree of
concern for the global environment and a sizeable majority considered their future
would be affected by climate change” (2016a, p. 491). More than that, Nunn et al.
concluded not only that faith-based communications are likely to be more effective
than secular ones, but also that the quality of the information needs to be upgraded and
expressed in a culturally appropriate manner. This might offer both encouragement
and a challenge to faith groups wishing to be involved.
At a practical level, many of the faith-based opportunities for engagement on
behalf of a sustainable Pacific region will involve revisiting, and revising if necessary,
the regional goals set at the Green Churches event in 2014; but as I have suggested,
387
waste. This leads to the throwaway disposable culture. These kinds of waste and degradation
happens because we don’t acknowledge and appreciate what we’ve been gifted…. (p. 5)
But in addition, the problem also traces back to a false notion of economy and what
progress looks like. Pacific Island leaders meeting in Nauru in 2018 also “emphasised
how the negative externalities of consumption-based economic growth are undermining the health of our oceans and the safety of our climate” (Bhagwan 2019). Or
in the words of Meg Taylor DBE, General Secretary of the Forum: “Pacific Leaders
presented a united stance on the pressing need for accelerated and ambitious global
action on climate change as they joined world leaders recently for the 72
nd Session
of the United Nations General Assembly” (2019a).
At some point in the not-distant future, there needs to be a serious discussion on
neoliberal capitalism, the sometimes-unspoken assumptions that are expected of us,
and the implications of an economic model which appears to require an unquestioned
and almost faith-like acceptance. For their part, Pacific peoples have justifiably been
noted for their generosity. An example of that, which also speaks into the global
household theme, emerged in the context of Australia’s bushfire emergency. In a
Press Release (2020), Act for Peace (an agency of the National Council of Churches
in Australia) quoted Vanuatu’s Acting Prime Minister, Jotham Napat as saying, “As
a neighbour and friend, we offer whatever assistance we can to Australia”, despite
the fact that “The people of Vanuatu are some of the poorest in the Pacific”.
Faith-Based Opportunities
If the locus for theology is the world, it should be clear that the change in behaviour
patterns I and many others are seeking is not for the sake of the Church, but indeed for
the world. That has local and immediate implications, since there is no local situation
that is devoid of global implications. As Bosch argues, “missiology means globalisation”, and that “in order to achieve globalisation, it needs specificity, concretisation”
(Bosch 1991, p. 496).
The importance of a faith perspective in the Pacific region is underscored in
research on “Spirituality and attitudes towards Nature in the Pacific Islands” by
Nunn et al. (2016a). Based on a sample of 1226 students from the University of
the South Pacific, the study established that the students shared a “high degree of
concern for the global environment and a sizeable majority considered their future
would be affected by climate change” (2016a, p. 491). More than that, Nunn et al.
concluded not only that faith-based communications are likely to be more effective
than secular ones, but also that the quality of the information needs to be upgraded and
expressed in a culturally appropriate manner. This might offer both encouragement
and a challenge to faith groups wishing to be involved.
At a practical level, many of the faith-based opportunities for engagement on
behalf of a sustainable Pacific region will involve revisiting, and revising if necessary,
the regional goals set at the Green Churches event in 2014; but as I have suggested,