Editor,

A climate challenge booth at the Whidbey Island Fair? Thanks to three local organizations, the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, the United Student Leaders and Langley’s Climate Crisis Action Committee, yes – and we had many good conversations with interested people about our predicament of extreme weather.

We also met people who said: “It’s God’s will” and “The climate is always changing.”

This brought to mind two stories.

There was a preacher in a town where flood waters were rising. The water reached his front porch. A man in a rowboat said, “Hop in preacher” who replied, “God will save me” and stayed put. Well, the water rose to the second story. A motor boat came by. “Hop in preacher,” who replied, praying at the window, “No thanks. God will save me.” The water rose to the attic and the preacher climbed on the roof. A helicopter came by. “Climb up, preacher,” who replied, “No thanks, God will save me.” The water swallowed the house. The preacher went to heaven, and complained to God, “I trusted you! Why didn’t you save me?” and God said, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”

In the Noah story, God tells him a flood was coming, build an ark. He tried to warn his neighbors, but they laughed at him. “Never happened here. Never will.” So, he built his ark while people laughed, and he did God’s will, loading up seeds and mating pairs of animals. The waters did rise, and the people perished, but creation, thanks to Noah, lived on.

These stories remind us that, however mighty, God is practical and speaks to us through the events of our lives. Some of our booth visitors were well aware of the climate challenge and making changes, metaphorically building arks, or getting rowboats. I hope those deniers might see God speaking through the rising seas and the floods, and join in adapting, fast, as acts of faith. Our three organizations are happy to help.

Vicki Robin

Langley