I love you my son. You are waking up now. Hopefully tomorrow, more of us will, too.

It’s never too late to make a difference. Our actions have very real consequences. We can educate ourselves, learn from our mistakes, and take action. We can hold companies like big oil and big plastic accountable for their negative impacts on the environment. We can educate ourselves and others about what causes climate change and what actions we as individuals can take to lower our carbon footprints.

My mistake was thinking I needed to give you more to be a good Mom. Recently your aunt asked me what my favorite toy was growing up. I gulped, I didn’t have one- it was the outdoors, sliding down a ravine of leaves with my Dad, skiing and camping. Today is October 12th, 2021 and I am still going to be giving you a lot, it’s going to look a little different – love, experiences, education and a healthy planet.

I pray that you are having a happy life and that you have contributed each year of your life into helping to make our planet healthy, cleaner, thriving and greener- a better place for all people and animals to live.

I tried to teach you of the importance of being satisfied with what you had within your hands.

All you can do is your best. You can encourage the same in others. You can admit your mistakes and those of your ancestors. You can learn from them, and help however you can. I’ll do the same. I promise.

I promise to make as many changes to my life as possible to make yours as great as mine.

As a minister, I have preached that we are here to be of service to others and to be care takers of this wonderful planet that God has given us.

Climate change right now is really bad, I’m writing this during the COP26 conference in Glasgow (which is an hour away) and I’m listening to politicians talking about promises for the future. “If we fail, future generations will never forgive us.” -Boris Johnson

Our future is being made now, and I promise to do everything in my power to make yours safe.

We’re presenting at conferences, writing articles, and organizing events with the goal of mobilizing our profession to act on climate, and to help them understand that it will deeply impact our mission to preserve history for future generations.