Georgia faith leaders lament environmental policy harms on local communities and call for a better path forward

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 15th, 2025
ATLANTA, GA  – Monday, September 15th, local faith leaders gathered outside the State Capitol to lament rollbacks on environmental policies, including clean energy incentives and disaster recovery,  and the resulting harm to Georgia communities. 

Organized by Creation Justice Ministries and co-sponsored by Georgia Interfaith Power & Light and fourteen national faith-based organizations, the event was a powerful public witness calling for urgent moral action from our elected leaders. 

Statement from Rev. Jay Horton, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light Communications Manager and clergy in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church: 

“As Christians, we are called to speak out when policies put profit over people and neglect our care for Creation. Rising energy costs and worsening climate disasters are not abstract concerns—they are already harming families and communities across Georgia. Today’s public witness demonstrates that people of faith are united in urging our leaders to act with moral courage and protect both our neighbors and future generations.”

Statement from Rev. Dr. Tiffanie Lanelle Mackey. Georgia Interfaith Power & Light Board Member: 

“There is an African proverb that says, ‘If you sell your father's land to buy a trumpet, where will you stand to blow it?’ I am saddened by the constant selling of our resources and disgusted by the capitalism of our rights. It would appear that some of our leaders believe our air, water, and land rights should be for sale today without concern for tomorrow. We must all live in harmony with Mother Earth, which means we must work collectively to protect her gift of abundance and resources. Right now, we are failing at this protection.” 

Statement from Rev. Dr. Jordan Thrasher, Senior Pastor, Embry Hills UMC:  

“Basing his quote on the Golden Rule, Wendell Berry says, “Do unto those downstream that you would have those upstream do unto you.” We are using up resources and polluting the environment to immediate satisfaction without thinking of who is truly bearing the weight of our actions. It is those who are downstream. Those who are physically downstream as we continue our fruitless water wars, those who are downstream of our economy who get just a trickle, and those who are downstream of our lineage, who will not have much left. Creation is a gift, and we should treat it as such. We should stop deluding ourselves into thinking it is a commodity that we get to buy and sell.” 

Statement from Jamaar Pye, NGUMC Disaster Response Associate on the Conference Connectional Ministries: 

“As people of faith, we are called not only to walk alongside communities as they recover from devastating storms, but also to confront the root causes of these disasters. United Methodists in Georgia are committed to working together with partners to care for God’s creation.”

Statement from Rev. Krystle Moraska, Pastora at Faith Lutheran Church, Southeastern Synod, ELCA
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“God's Creation, in its wisdom, has been crying out in lament. God's people, in their wisdom, have been crying out in lament. It is our call as people of faith to take these cries seriously and allow these cries to shape legislative actions to address climate justice. We must hold one another accountable so that there is justice, compassion, and care for one another.”

For questions, please contact Madison Mayhew: [email protected], 770-359-8417.