Norfolk faith leaders call for climate action to protect places of worship from flooding
Local leaders in Norfolk are calling on the U.S. Senate to approve billions in climate change relief to protect places of worship in Hampton Roads from worsening coastal flooding.
Several local faith leaders, alongside Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Norfolk, and Norfolk Councilwoman Andria McClellan, held a press conference outside Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk’s Hague District on Tuesday morning to address the issue. The ground was still damp from flooding the day before.
In November, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $550 billion investment package for climate and environmental protection solutions. But it has stalled in the U.S. Senate.
“The growing impact of floods in the Hampton Roads region is a constant danger to vulnerable communities. It attacks our homes, our public infrastructure, our livelihoods, and even our ability to practice our faith,” Clark said at the press conference. “This $550 billion is essential in our fight against this crisis.”
The Hague, a low-lying neighborhood that borders the Elizabeth River, is sometimes called “ground zero” for sea-level rise in Norfolk because of the persistent flooding that occurs there.
Ray Gindroz, a longtime parishioner of Christ and St. Luke’s, said the church recently closed the bottom floor of its parish house because of chronic flooding issues. “As the water rises, we get more and more water on the property and in the building,” he said.
Sea levels in the Hampton Roads region are anticipated to rise 1.5 feet by 2050, and 3 feet by 2080, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
Reverend Mark Byrd, a pastor at New Life Metropolitan Community Church in Norfolk, said at the press conference that an estimated 229 churches, mosques and synagogues in Hampton Roads will be impacted by sea-level rise and extreme weather caused by climate change in the coming decades.
“Every single faith community is going to be at risk,” Byrd said. “The intensity of flooding is expected to increase in intensity and in frequency. And it is our responsibility to ensure that churches throughout this region have a viable future.”
McClellan called climate change “the challenge of our generation,” noting that increased funding from local, state and federal governments would be needed to address the problem locally.
“There are many parts of Norfolk that suffer from nuisance flooding and sea level rise because of previous decades of redlining and lack of infrastructure investments in our communities,” McClellan said. “Oftentimes it’s our disadvantaged communities, underserved communities that feel the brunt of this.”
Daniel Berti, daniel.berti@virginiamedia.com
