Brisbane faith communities to pray for Pacific neighbours battling climate change and leadership in energy transition

FAITH leaders will gather in Brisbane this month to pray for people experiencing the negative effects of climate change as well as decision-makers gathering in Colombia for the first conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels – an offshoot of COP30. 

Archdiocesan Ministries inclusion project officer Emma Beach said climate change was “at a crisis and we need action”. 

“Prayer is just so instrumental in fuelling that change,” she said. 

While previous Church vigils and climate-change events have included other Christian denominations, this event marks a significant expansion across faiths.  

Leaders from the Baháʼí, Buddhist, Sufi and pagan communities will join in with prayer events across the week to coincide with events held by the Catholic and Anglican traditions. 

Ms Beach said the interfaith action offered a united voice for “our common home”. 

For organisers, the movement is not just about environmental policy but the people already living on the cusp of a rapidly changing world. 

Ms Beach highlighted the “horrific situation” facing the Torres Strait and the inundation of ceremonial spaces on Palm Island.  

She pointed to the extreme heat in the Kimberley, where remote communities often live without air conditioning and the plight of Pacific neighbours in Kiribati and Tuvalu battling rising sea levels. 

“It’s not just about our earth, but it’s about people,” Ms Beach said. 

For Ms Beach, her children were always front of mind when thinking about the future of the planet. 

“Every little bit you do makes a difference,” she said. 

What started as a local Brisbane initiative has picked up pace with groups in Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne signing on as well as international interest in New Zealand, the Philippines and South Africa. 

Ms Beach said the wisdom to solve the climate crisis was held “in community” and “listening to a variety of viewpoints”. 

The prayer vigil will be held at the Francis Rush Centre in the St Stephen’s Cathedral precinct on April 21. 

To register for the Brisbane event, click here.