At town hall young Christian confronts Congressman who said God will ‘take care of’ climate change
For Immediate Release
August 7, 2017
Contact: William Lawrence, Sunrise Lansing, 517–648–4558, [email protected]
At town hall young Christian confronts Congressman who said God will ‘take care of’ climate change
LANSING, MI — Earlier today, a young Christian who is part of the Sunrise movement confronted Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) at a town hall about his widely-publicized statement this June that God would “take care of” climate change if it turned out to be a “real issue.” [Video here]
After the Congressman barred all but pre-screened questions, William Lawrence, 26, stood up at the town hall and said that Walberg’s statement was offensive to him as a Christian and asked to speak to Walberg “Christian to Christian” about climate change. Walberg flatly denied ever making such a statement.
As Walberg’s staff member tried to drown him out with a microphone, Lawrence asked the Congressman if his statement had anything to do with the $200,000 in campaign contributions that he has taken from the fossil fuel industry, including $50,000 from the Koch Brothers. Then police led Lawrence out of the room. Congressman Walberg did not respond to the questions.
“I was so offended when I heard Walberg’s comment about God and climate change,” said Lawrence. “This contradicts scripture, which calls us to take care of the earth and our fellow human beings. I did some research and it turns out Walberg is worshiping at ‘the church of Koch’ instead. I felt called to make sure people knew that.”
“Politicians who are beholden to the wealthy fossil fuel CEOs who bankroll them instead of the people they’re supposed to serve have no place in office,” said Varshini Prakash, a spokesperson for Sunrise. “We could create tens of millions of jobs for working people cleaning up our environment, but politicians like Mr. Walberg and the corrupt CEOs backing them are holding us back. If they don’t clean up their act, we will replace them with real leaders.”
Throughout the Congressional Recess this August, Sunrise members around the country will be at town halls and fundraisers to #ShineALight on the corruption and negligence of elected officials and call on them to take bold stands against Trump and fossil fuel CEOs attacks on our environment and health.
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Sunrise is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. We’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who will stand up for the health and well-being of all people. For more information, visit sunrisemovement.org.
