NMIPL IN THE NEWS

Celebrate the Summer of Certification with the National IPL

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If your congregation has taken steps to reduce your energy use and carbon emissions, apply to be a Certified Cool Congregation. Emissions reductions of 10% or more qualify.

Apply to be certified today!

If you’ve already been certified, and have made further energy saving changes to your facility, come back for a higher level.

Get certified here!

Achieving a national certification as a Cool Congregation demonstrates your leadership in your community by showing that it is possible to reduce emissions, care for our common home, and often save money in the process. It’s a way to re-energize your green team, and persuade your congregation to go even further in reducing their carbon footprint.

By getting certified, your congregation is building the movement of people of faith and conscience showing the world that we can take concrete and achievable steps to safeguard the climate for future generations.

People’s Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan is one of the latest congregations to be certified.

“It started in my first meeting with the Green Sanctuary Committee,” member Tom Hackley says. “‘I said, ‘Why don’t we pick something big like net zero by 2030?’ Thinking that everybody would say, ‘No we can’t do that,’ but everybody said, ‘Great, run with it!’”

People’s Church has reduced their emissions by 20% towards their goal of net zero with a detailed plan on how to finance and achieve net zero by 2030. Read their story here.

 

National IPL Releases ‘Faithful Voter Reflection Guide’

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On June 8, the national Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) released a “faithful voter reflection guide” in advance of the upcoming election season. The guide discusses many of the defining moral issues that are on the ballot, including faltering democratic institutions, too much wealth in the hands of a few, damage to the climate, and threats to global public health and security.

The guide, endorsed by other national faith-based partners and IPL state affiliates, will be distributed across the country for discussion in diverse faith communities. It includes discussion questions for reflection and sample questions to ask candidates.

IPL President Rev. Susan Hendershot, the Climate Reality Project’s William Barber III, NETWORK’s Mary Novak, and Georgia Interfaith Power & Light’s Gayla Tillman will discuss the guide on a webinar for IPL supporters on Thursday, June 9 at 7:00 pm ET, 5:00 p.m. MT. Register Here

New Mexico Represented at National Interfaith Power & Light Gathering

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By Arcelia Isais-Gastelum

(NMEPR-IPL board member)

In mid-May, Sr. Joan Brown and I traveled to Washington DC for the National Interfaith Power and Light Conference. This was the first in-person gathering since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were there representing the New Mexico and El Paso Region chapter of IPL. At the conference, we met with faith leaders from chapters in other states and learned about the great work being done across the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving with intention toward equity and inclusion

Sr, Joan was a panelist on board diversity

The gathering centered on equity and inclusion by intentionally bringing in diverse voices and uplifting historically disenfranchised communities. Several panels and discussions dug into what it means to encompass these important spaces. Sr. Joan was a member of a panel that addressed board diversity.  Other panelists were Faith Harris from Virginia IPL and Codi Nored from Georgia IPL The moderator was Rev. Susan Hendershot, president of national IPL.

Approaching community organizing stems from the intention to meet the existing needs. As one faith leader stated, if you serve the people who are hurting, you are addressing the same structures that are polluting and hurting our environment.

We in New Mexico have seen this firsthand from our work in the Permian Basin, where unregulated methane leaks exacerbating the worst impacts of climate change are also directly hurting the adjacent communities in the form of countless health impacts. As people of faith and conscience, we are called to address these same systems that harm our planet and our people.

Spiritual Foundations for Climate Action

One of the most important sessions of the conference was spiritual inquiry: How do we integrate our spiritual lives with our environmental activism? Panelists from Buddhist, Christian and Hindu traditions shared their own stories, challenges and questions yet to be explored as we maneuver into living an integrated life of action and witness rooted in deep spiritual paths.

with Sen. Martin Heinrich

On Capitol Hill

On the final day of the conference, the New Mexico team visited the House and Senate offices to speak with our congressional delegation about Interfaith Power and Light’s legislative priorities, including the budget reconciliation bill, a wildlife funding bill, and climate refuge bill. During these sessions we also delivered a letter signed by nearly 200 faith leaders across the state calling for stronger climate action.

“We need moral and ethical leadership at the civic level. We must move from reactive to proactive actions to shift from fossil fuels, transition into just energy systems, face the threat of an authoritarian world view that is preventing needed climate crisis actions and listen to creative ideas from young as well as old to slow climate pollution and increase adaptation and mitigation,” said the letter.

with Rep. Teresa Leger-Fernandez

 

Carlsbad Current Argus. Sep. 3, 2020 New Mexico finalizes oil and gas wastewater regulations, lawmakers hear testimony (Rev. Nick King Quoted)

Las Cruces Sun-News,  Aug. 19, 2020, Report on solving climate crisis brings hope (Co-authored by Michael Sells, Clara Sims and Edith Yanez)

Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug. 15, 2020 Vote your values this November  (Commentary by Larry Rasmussen and Tabitha Arnold)