Faith on Fire: Courage and the Spiritual Power of Climate Action

By Anna Wagner, UU Justice Ministry of California Board Member & GreenFaith Staff

California—and the country—stand at a defining moment. While global climate impacts accelerate, powerful interests in Washington are rolling back hard-won environmental protections, undermining democracy, and enabling a massive expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. In the midst of climate breakdown, civil liberties are under attack. Environmental advocates are being surveilled and silenced. Public dissent is increasingly criminalized.

And the climate crisis isn’t a distant threat. It’s happening now. In 2024, global temperatures passed 1.5°C. In the U.S., we faced deadly hurricanes, relentless wildfires, and over two dozen billion-dollar climate disasters. The losses are real, compounding, and profoundly unjust.

As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to resist this injustice—not with despair, but with courage and conviction. Our faith affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and our seventh principle reminds us that we are part of an interdependent web of life. This is a time for moral leadership. A time to act with clarity, rooted in love, justice, and a fierce commitment to our values.

That’s why GreenFaith is helping to lead Sun Day, a national faith-based mobilization for climate justice and clean energy from September 19–21, 2025. In congregations across the country, people of all faiths will gather in worship, witness, and action to demand a just, rapid transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Click here to get involved.

A few weeks ago, in a powerful moment of interfaith solidarity, we gathered with Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish leaders to light a green lantern at Boston’s historic Old North Church. The mayor joined us, illuminating the city’s bridges in green—a symbol of moral courage and the promise of a clean energy future.

We’re calling on faith communities—Unitarian Universalists included—to preach, pray, and act for a just energy transition this September. We invite you and your congregation to join us.

We know that lasting change won’t come from one moment alone. It requires long-term, organized, spiritually grounded action. That’s why GreenFaith is investing in movement-building across the country. In 2024, we trained nearly 3,000 diverse faith leaders—from a wide range of traditions and backgrounds—to organize in their communities, speak with moral clarity, and take nonviolent action. We’re certainly not slowing down now. 

From Wall Street’s fossil fuel financiers to frontline communities in Nigeria and Indonesia resisting coal and oil, our message is clear: the Earth is sacred, and every person deserves to live with dignity.

Sun Day builds on this momentum. In cities and towns across the U.S., we’ll hold vigils, services, and creative actions calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, public investment in a just energy future, and protection for communities most impacted by environmental and economic injustice.

As Unitarian Universalists, we know that belonging, courage, and spiritual resilience are our strength. Let’s bring those gifts to bear in this fight.

We may not know exactly what lies ahead. But we know that we are not alone. We walk this path together—with faith on fire. Please join me in organizing or joining a Sun Day action in your community! 

Anna Wagner
UU Justice Ministry of California Board Member
GreenFaith Staff