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

/in , , , /by

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

Letter to the Editor in Las Cruces Sun-News: Consider electric vehicles

/in , , , /by

Here is an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor that Las Cruces resident Howard Dash wrote to the Las Cruces Sun-News.

I am the owner of an Electric Vehicle for over five years now. I just plug into my garage and I am ready to go the next morning. A simple 120 Volt outlet could give you 50 miles range overnight. With a 240 volt line (like your dryer uses) I can get a full charge in just a few hours. A stop to charge at a fast charger on the road can take as little as fifteen minutes. Finally, the cost of maintenance of an EV is significantly less than a gas powered vehicle and great savings at the pump.

Zero emissions vehicles are the future of transportation in New Mexico. The New Mexico Environment Department is hosting a virtual info session on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to discuss their proposed Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks statewide standards. Register to attend at https://www.env.nm.gov/ and look for the date on the event calendar.

Here is a link to the full piece (subscription required)

Bearing Witness to Extractivism, Colonialism: Day 6

/in , , , , , /by

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.

 

\

 

 

 

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