New York Interfaith Power & Light

The People’s Climate March will be held on September 21st in Midtown, New York City, and will be the largest climate march in history.  This will be a peaceful, family-friendly event.

Update Sept 13, 2014: 

Below are some details that you may find helpful about the People’s Climate March. 

The march will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 21^st from the Columbus Circle of Manhattan. The route and other logistical information can be found here: www.peoplesclimate.org/logistics.

Please note that signs “on wooden stakes or metal poles” will not be allowed! They are encouraging us to instead use cardboard rolls.  One idea is to go to a fabric store and ask for the cardboard from inside the fabric rolls.

The faith contingent will be gathering at 58^th Street between 8^th and 9^th Avenue. Please join up with NYIPL folks at the Subway Restaurant near 314 West 58th Street (on the block between 8th and 9th Avenues)! Look for our yellow IPL pole, banner, balloons and signs. 

From 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., there will be a pre-march prayer “service” on our block. Musicians and faith leaders will help us reflect and prepare for the march. The faith contingent will be the last of the large contingents to enter the march, probably stepping off at about 1:00, after the Moslem community has had time for their 12:50 prayer. It’s possible that we will enter the march a little earlier (so be prepared!) but this is the thinking at this point.

If you need transportation, go to www.peoplesclimate.org/transportation. If you want to ride the NYIPL bus from Albany, New York, you can click here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-interfaith-power-light-pcm-bus-from-albany-tickets-12614611643

Please feel free to bring small bells or another simple instrument, as we will be sounding them together at 1:00 p.m.

If you are interested in going to the interfaith service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 6:00 p.m. after the march, click here to register http://religionsfortheearth.splashthat.com/.  They suggest that you get there at least by 5:00 p.m. because it will be packed.

The march is timed to occur two days before a UN summit on climate change. We want people of faith to turn out in record numbers to show the world that climate change is a moral issue.

With our future on the line and the whole world watching, let’s take a day and use it to bend the course of history.

Feel free to download our Sample Announcement and Newsletter Article (PDF), our Bulletin Insert (PDF) and our Poster (PDF) if you would like materials that you can use to get the word out to your congregation or group.

The march will begin at Columbus Circle, time TBA. Click here for general information or here for information for people of faith if you want more information on the march.

Ride to the march with NYIPL! If you’re in the Capital Region, please join us on our bus from Albany. Or, if you’re coming from other locations and need a ride, click here. Questions about transportation? Call (315) 256-0078.

We look forward to marching with you in September!

For faith communities who can’t attend the march, you can still participate!

There are still things your faith community can do if you can only be at the march in spirit.

“Sound off” outdoors at 1:00 p.m. – houses of worship and others will be ringing bells, sounding shofars, chanting mantras, and offering public calls to prayer at 1:00 p.m. their time in solidarity with marchers. Organizers are suggesting you make your sound for 5 minutes and 50 seconds (350 seconds to signify 350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide – the highest amount for a stable climate).

Check here for more actions you can take from home!

 

 

One of our newest congregations, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, has been very involved with eco-friendly activities.

The NYSEC recently hosted the PCM’s Faith and Clergy breakfast, a gathering of faith leaders of all denominations from all parts the city, to inspire the climate movement as a spiritual and moral imperative in their congregations.

NYSEC is hosting the New York City screening of “The Future of Energy” on Tuesday, Sept. 16th which will feature a Q & A with the writer/producer Max DeArmon (thefutureofenergy.org) and we are thrilled to be co-hosting along with 350NYC an amazing event on Saturday, September 20th titled: “A Global Climate Treaty: Why the U.S. Must Lead” featuring Bill McKibben, Mary Robinson, Amb. Marlene Moses, Lester Brown and more. Tickets can be purchased at https://climate-treaty-event.eventbrite.com.

Their members will be marching on September 21st and for those not able to march, they will be showing “Do the Math” with a discussion to follow, at our weekly Sunday morning Platform meeting which begin at 11:00 a.m. All are invited.

For the past year, they have partnered with 350NYC to promote programs, speakers and provide access to monthly meeting space. They host 350’s General meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month, their Sustainability working group on the third Wednesday of the month and their Divestment working group on the second Wednesdays -all from7-9 pm.

During this time a growing number of local and regional environmental groups have formed what is known as the New York City Grassroots Alliance which also meets monthly on the first Mondays.

Curt Collier, one of the three Leaders of the Ethical Society, is also Deputy Director of Groundwork USA – an environmental organization founded by the National Park Service and the EPA.  As part of his work Leader Collier travels around the US helping communities remediate brownfields through community action.  He is a frequent speaker on environmental issues and on environmental justice, and heads up the youth programming for Groundwork USA helping inner-city and disadvantaged youth gain valuable work experience in environmental careers.

Congratulations, New York Society for Ethical Culture, on all you do!

In an editorial, the National Catholic Reporter stated that “The Catholic church should become a major player in educating the public to the scientific data [about climate change] and in motivating people to act for change.”

The Pope, in a speech following a six-day conference on climate change and sustainability at the Vatican, said “…when we exploit Creation we destroy the sign of God’s love for us.”

Over more than two decades, thousands of New Yorkers have participated in Earth Day Lobby Day – and we want you to join us for this year’s event!

On May 5, for the 24th year in a row, members of NYIPL and our partners in the environmental community will descend on the state Capitol in Albany to advocate for environmental protections.

Register by April 30^th by emailing jswatkins@nyipl.org or calling (315) 256-0078.

It’s the personal and direct advocacy Earth Day Lobby Day provides that has helped keep fracking at bay, updated New York’s bottle recycling law, protected habitats statewide, advanced renewable energy and green jobs, and much more!

The 2014 agenda includes:

• Child Safe Products Act
• Climate Change
• Fracking Moratorium
• Toxic Waste Cleanups
• GMO Labeling

Politicians have a way of saying one thing to constituents each election year, but doing another once inside Capitol doors. Let’s open those doors to the public and make this Earth Day Lobby Day another great success – register now by emailing jswatkins@nyipl.org or calling (315) 256-0078.

by Rev. Jacob Bolton

Over the midwinter school break, Huguenot Memorial Church in Pelham, New York, held a three-day eco workshop with youth. We screened the film Chasing Ice and learned about global warming; assessed our own eco-footprint and conducted a full eco and energy audit of all properties the church owns including office and worship space, a nursery school, gymnasium and two residences.  Although Huguenot Church now heats and cools the entire church building with geothermal energy, and we’ve achieved recognition as an Earth Care Congregation and, we still found plenty of opportunities to reduce our impacts.  In addition, we’re taking our experience to other faith communities to help them conduct an eco-audit too.

“My favorite part was the waste audit,” said youth participant Thomas Horowitz.  “People threw away so much paper that should have been recycled.”

“If we had better signs and clustered our garbage and recycling bins, it would be easier for people to just put the paper where it should go,” Thomas’s brother Robert noted.

Some of the post audit recommendations included the installation of interior light sensory timers, further expansion of the composting system, turning off large refrigerators when not in use, claiming the parking lot as an “idle free” zone, and enhancing the church green space by fabricating bird houses and creating wildlife habitat.

“There are all kinds of birds all over our town,” said Ben Jones. “Let’s make this their home too.”

Rev. Jacob Bolton is Associate Pastor Huguenot Memorial Church and a graduate of the GreenFaith program.

Additional resources:

• Ecological Footprint. Learn more about the science of ecological footprinting. Did you know that if everyone lived like the average American, we would need five planets to support the world’s population.
• Geothermal heat pumps: Learn more about heating and cooling using the constant temperature of the earth.  Find out about economic incentives in New York.

If you would like to share your congregation’s “green” news, please call (315) 256-0078 or email jswatkins@nyipl.org.

We want to hear from you!

Earth Day is right around the corner. Here is a list of things you can do to call attention to climate change:

• Hold a worship service around climate change. Sample sermons and other materials can be found here www.preachin.org
• Show the film “Chasing Ice.” Get a license to screen the film online here http://www.preachin.org/sermons-by-faith/chasing-ice/, or If you need a physical copy of the film, (or if you have a copy of the film to share) call (315) 256-0078.
• Attend Earth Day Lobby Day – this will be held in Albany on May 5th. No lobbying experience needed! Come talk to your state Assembly Members and Senators about climate change and hydrofracking. Call (315) 256-0078 for more information
• Add your name to a full-page ad on climate change that will appear on Earth Day in the Syracuse Post Standard. www.greeningusa.org/climate-change-action
• Climate Action Across America: From April 21st to 25th citizens across the country are asked to speak up as part of “Climate Action Across America.” If you can, please try to meet with your Member of Congress or Senators (or their staff) during this week.