Religious Communities Affirm Senator Kyrsten Sinema's New Efforts to Protect the Grand Canyon

Religious communities of the Arizona Faith Network and Creation Justice Ministries applaud Senator Sinema’s introduction of the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act (S. 3127). It serves as a companion bill to the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act (HR 1373) introduced by Arizona-3 Congressman and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva. The House version was passed by the House of Representatives on October 30, 2019 with bi-partisan support. The legislation is necessary due to threats of new uranium mining in the area.  

Arizona Faith Network Executive Director Rev. Katie Sexton said of the legislation, "One of God's greatest creations - The Grand Canyon - has been under threat from uranium mining that would pollute the air, water, and land, as well as risk the health and livelihoods of people throughout the region. Senator Sinema's bill would protect this sacred land and renew our ability to commune with God's creation as God intended. I thank her for her work and commitment to protect the Grand Canyon."

Creation Justice Ministries Executive Director Shantha Ready Alonso noted, “Senator Sinema and Chairman Grijalva have now both demonstrated they are responding to the holy call to responsibly steward God’s creation in the Grand Canyon, thereby defending all living beings who depend on it for bodily and spiritual sustenance. It is my hope and prayer that every member of Congress also understands this call to protect the profound cultural, historical, sacred, and natural heritage that is at stake, and act accordingly.”

Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act passed by the House protects 1,006,545 acres of federal lands in Arizona from toxic mining, including any future land acquired by the Federal government.  Previous mining activities have already contaminated the watershed, poisoning drinking water for nearby Native communities. Abandoned mine site clean-up has already cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

For more information, please contact:
Rev. Katie Sexton, Arizona Faith Network (602) 468-3818 katie.sexton@azfaithnetwork.org
Shantha Ready Alonso, Creation Justice Ministries (202) 618-2501 shantha@creationjustice.org

Arizona Faith Network is a Multi-faith Organization dedicated to bringing people together to promote peace and understanding through interfaith education and dialogue as well as healing of the world through collaborative social action. We are made up of people of different faiths who covenant with each other in solidarity and mutual respect. We recognize that our diversity makes us stronger and while we seek to find common ground, we also lift up our differences as unique individuals and communities. Together we are committed to both civil dialogue and transformational action while we seek to keep our faiths and beliefs as an inspiration and direction for all that we do.

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Creation Justice Ministries represents the creation care and environmental justice policies of major Christian denominations throughout the United States. We work in cooperation with 38 national faith bodies, including mainline Protestant, historically Black Church, Baptist, Peace Church, and Orthodox communions.