About 150 miles northeast of here, in the high country alongside the Fraser River, is the town of Lytton, British Columbia. Last year a devastating wildfire completely destroyed the town. All of the city buildings and homes were destroyed. The only homes remaining were those that were out of town, including the homes on the west side of the river, across the Fraser from the main town. The town is located right on Canada Highway 1, north of Hope, and is home to members of the Lytton First Nation, a recognized indigenous tribe.

Now, just 1.7 kilometers northwest of town, on the west side of the river, a fire that has been burning since Thursday has forced the evacuation of two dozen families. At least six homes have burned and the total number of residential structures destroyed “could be upward of nine,” according to Lytton First Nation deputy chief John Haugen. As many as 31 additional homes north of the fire are on evacuation alert, with residents advised to be ready to leave on short notice. Electricity to the entire community, on both sides of the river, has been cut off due to the fire.

Despite a crew of 80 firefighters, three areal tankers, and six helicopters, the fire continues to burn out of control. It doubled in size yesterday. The fire has been named the Nohonim Creek fire and it has been aggressive. At one point on Thursday, the fire jumped the Fraser River, but firefighters were able to control the fire on the east side of the river.

And it isn’t just fire that threatens the people who live in what once was a beautiful mountain setting. Last November, the Fraser River and tributary creeks flooded. Mudslides tore down the hillsides blackened by last year’s fires. One of the problems facing those who are evacuating due to the fires is that not all roads and bridges have been repaired from the winter’s flooding.

Fires and floods and mudslides are a lot to face. I can’t imagine what it is like for those who are evacuating for a second time, or for those who lost their homes a year ago, yet returned to rebuild their town only to see it threatened once again.

Thoughts and prayers seem insufficient in the face of the scope of this tragedy.

The circumstances that have led to Lytton becoming the hottest place in British Columbia are clearly the result of human caused climate change.

In the southwestern United States the water level in Lake Mead continues to drop. The region has experienced a decades-long drought while water demands across the southwest have increased. Currently the level of the water in the reservoir is at 1,000 feet above sea level. If the water level were to continue to drop a little more than 100 more feet, the hydro generators at the Hoover Dam would no longer be able to produce electricity. It is a condition that the original designers of the dam believed would never occur.

Human caused climate change has exacerbated the conditions that are causing the lake to dry up.

Yet there are still those who deny that climate change is a reality. There are those who believe that there is nothing we can do about our circumstances.

In recent weeks, I’ve had several conversations with people in the church where a deep despair about the world and the conditions we face has been expressed. People are disheartened by the political situation in our country and the rising power of a vocal minority whose only purpose seems to be deconstruction and disruption. From local school boards to the United States Supreme Court, public servants seem to be determined to subvert the will of the public. Poll after poll has shown the increasing distrust of government to provide solutions to large scale problems.

We are facing large scale problems. Climate change is just one of them. The Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be more persistent than any of us expected. Just when we think it might be safe to let down our guard a little and end the isolation that has marked the past two and a half years, another variant emerges. Even with the ready availability of rapid testing, there is no way to be certain that we aren’t transmitting disease to others. We follow protocols and wear masks. We’ve stopped shaking hands and instead gesture from a distance or bump elbows when passing the peace in church.

All of this has a deep impact on the mental health and sense of well being of the people in our communities. We can look at a community like Lytton and be grateful that our community is not similarly threatened, but there is no joy. There is no real assurance that we won’t face similar devastation in the future as the earth continues to deal with the excess carbon built up over the use of fossil fuels by our generation. We have been consuming the earth’s resources like there is no tomorrow for so long that now it seems there may be no tomorrow. At least the future will be vastly different than the present.

Our grandchildren will not be able to see some of the grandeur and beauty of this world that has inspired us. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. Climate refugees are clogging communities. Housing shortages are becoming more and more rampant.

In the midst of all of this the business of the church remains. We are a people of hope. Our hope is not based in the hard facts that appear before us, but neither is it a blind-eyed optimism. Hope is a powerful force that recognizes that change is possible even when we do not see the way ahead.

When people are grieving there is often a thin line between hope and despair. The role of the community to support and minister to the needs of those in grief is critical to their ability to get through the grief and rise from the depths of despair. We need to be the bearers of hope even when others cannot see it.

Now, more than ever before in our lives, our faith is needed. Our hope is needed. Our love is needed. There is much work to be done.