Churches asked to observe Green Sunday in India

(June 02, 2011) Churches in India are being encouraged to observe June 5 as ‘Green Sunday’ in commemoration of the World Environment Day. The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) is urging churches to conduct special prayers, sermons and intercessions on World Environment Day which falls on Sunday. World Environment Day (WED) which began in 1972 by the UN to stimulate worldwide awareness of environment, is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. As the apex body of Protestant and Orthodox churches in India, NCCI is urging churches to have special events like exhibitions, candle vigil, essay and pamphlet distributions after the worship to contribute to environmental awareness. India will be hosting the celebrations for this year’s World Environment Day for which the theme is: ‘Forests: Nature at your service’. Commenting on the theme it was said that God almighty has created forest to liberate the human and other cosmic communities from ecological and climate catastrophes. Forests serve as life giving and life caring agent of God. This is the first time ever India has been a global host of World Environment Day. Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said that in the 40-year history of WED, India’s cities and communities have been among the most active with a myriad of events undertaken across the country each and every year.