A Plea from the Pope: A Free Webinar Hosted by the UCC

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As the feast day of Francis of Assisi is celebrated on October 4th, Pope Francis will release the “second part” of his encyclical on the climate crisis and inequality The new edition of the encyclical will provide an update to confronting “the senseless war on our common home.” A multi-faith panel of climate leaders will reflect upon Pope Francis’s plea for climate action. On Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time) the United Church of Christ is hosting a free webinar to reflect on the pope’s encyclical, which follows up and updates Laudato Si.

Panelists will include:

-Dan Misleh, Founder, Catholic Climate Covenant
-Rev. Susan Hendershot, President, Interfaith Power & Light
-Joelle Novey, Director, Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
-Imam Saffet Catovic, Director, United Nations Operations for Justice For All

Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.

This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcom who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People’s Justice Council.

Register here

National IPL President Susan Hendershot Joins Intefaith Coalition Seeking to Keep Government Funded

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WASHINGTON, DC – On September 26, 53 organizations representing people of faith across religious traditions and denominations delivered a letter to the U.S. Congress urging bipartisan action to keep the government operational or risk severe consequences on the most vulnerable members of society. Congress has until September 30, 2023 to pass a continuing resolution to avert a shutdown of the government’s most basic operations.

The signatories, which include NETWORK, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Interfaith Power & Light and the Franciscan Action Network, called on lawmakers to fund the government and work in a bipartisan manner to pass a stop-gap funding measure without harmful provisions. The complete letter and list of signatories is available below.

Here is a statement from Rev. Susan Hendershot, President of Interfaith Power & Light

 “As our beloved communities face growing threats from climate change through rising temperatures, wildfires, smoke hazards and rising sea levels, a government shutdown would further place our neighbors in harm’s way. People of faith fought to pass the historic clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act because we know acting on climate will create a more just world for all. It is a moral imperative that Congress protect these important programs to ensure a safe, equitable and clean future for generations to come.”

Read Full Piece from NETWORK  Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Bearing Witness to Extractivism, Colonialism: Day 6

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Interfaith Power & Light New Mexico & El Paso and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas are co-sponsoring an immersion retreat through some areas of New Mexico to bear witness to the damage #extractivism has inflicted on the people and the land of our state.  Tbe accounts and pictures come courtesy of Heather Scott-Molleda, senior director of communications for Mercy Sisters of the Americas.   Read Accounts for Days 1 and 2  Day 3, Day 4 Day 5

The Final Day

We begin the final day of our pilgrimage reflecting on the damage done by colonialism and extractivism which have treated God’s creation and Native people as disposable. New Mexico is suffering the consequences of that attitude.

 

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Day 6: A Prayer for Healing

On the sixth day, we ended our pilgrimage with a prayer for healing and call for new beginnings. We witnessed the beauty of God’s creation in Carlsbad Caverns, including the awesome sight of hundreds of thousands of bats flying out of the cave into the night. But we also saw evidence everywhere of the lack of care for people and for the Earth, farms turned into dumping grounds or new oil wells. This year is the centennial both of Carlsbad and of the first oil well in the Permian Basin. We are called to action. A dragonfly, the symbol of hope, change and love, joined us for the final gathering. We buried the “earthen treasure vase” that accompanied us on our travels, in the Permian Basin with the prayers of many, notably Pueblo and Diné (Navajo) elders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Marlys Jackson, Rochester, Minn., offers her impressions

A reflection from Bro. Ryan Roberts, a Lutheran Franciscan friar and member of the justice team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas