Stopping to Give Thanks

In 2010 I began a chapter in my faith journey as an Episcopal priest. I accepted a call to be the 18th rector of Emmanuel Church, Newport. Part of that chapter has included involvement with the RI IPL board. At our Annual Meeting, I am going off the board as both director and as President. The end of my term has come.

When I came to Rhode Island, RI IPL beaconed. It is one of the first organizations in Rhode Island that I wanted to get to know, besides my new parish of course! I had been a member of Vermont IPL and had been an active environmentalist in my parish, as well as in the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, in particular, founding the Diocese of VT's environmental committee, "Earth Stewards," and leading the 2008 Convention "Tending God's World: - NOW!" which featured climate activist Bill McKibben. Upon my move to Rhode Island, I was eager to continue my work.

Since 2012 I have been engaged in the vital work of RI IPL, made lifelong friendships, learned so very much about the science of climate change (particular thanks here to outgoing officers Ray Frackelton and Christine Muller who have also taught me so much about listening) and shared and benefitted from others the practices from many faith traditions, especially Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Unitarian Universalism and Baha'i. I have learned that support of colleagues is invaluable, and never to be taken for granted. Thank you to officers: Vice President Ray Frackelton; Christine Muller, Secretary; Chris Cassels, Treasurer, and to Directors: Sarah Atkins, Marty Davey, Tim DeChristopher, David Helfer, and Steve MacAusland, my husband, an inspiration in this work to which we are all called.

I will miss my weekly check-ins with our Executive Director Kristen Ivy, who is exemplary in the way she supports the board with resources, and me in particular as I am forever challenged by technology.

I remember fondly those with whom I have worked who are no longer directly connected to RI IPL: Executive Directors Liz Marsis, Kathy Black, and Donna Childs; and former board members: Kim Caron, Marty Cooper, Rich Evans, Allison Hubbard, Michelle Hughes, Karriem Kanston, Beth Milham, Mark Kravatz, Paola Lois, and Rabbi Pearlman. What a wealth of experience and deep compassion is in this group of committed citizens of our planet!

More is not always better, particularly for an environmentalist, but in these instances RI IPL benefitted from increasing the number of board members as well as RI IPL membership, adding new categories for membership as well as advisory board members: Paul Alexander, The Rev'd Janet Cooper-Nelson, Priscilla De La Cruz, Seth Handy, J. Timmons Roberts, and Mary Jane Sorrentino. I have delighted in partnerships we have created with People's Power & Light, Advanced Energy Panels, Smart Power in the Interfaith Solar Initiative, as well as ongoing relationships with Citizens Climate Lobby, and Energize RI.

I consider one of the greatest achievements we made as an organization to be the creation and implementation of our strategic plan, which continues to guide our work in 3 intersecting ways: advocacy, education and energy conservation and implementation. With Kristen Ivy Moses as our Executive Director, we have significantly increased our online presence and use of social media platforms, as well as ways in which we fundraise - including our participation in 2017 in "Giving Tuesday." We have also been increasingly called upon to issue statements of support and join in conferences, been more active than ever in letter writing campaigns and testimonials at both the local and state levels, workshops, webinars, and speaking engagements. I have been particularly impressed by the work of the RI IPL South County Action Team. I see such regional programming as a model in all our communities throughout the state. One way to decrease our carbon footprint is certainly to work most closely with our geographical neighbors.

These things I have learned or had underscored these past years as President. We need people. Who really wants to do such work alone? We need courage and a deep and abiding sense of purpose and focus. Working in the field of climate change is not a sprint. We need hope, as much as we need love, for without hope there is little to keep us going. We need to be inspired and to continually look to be inspired and enlightened. We need joy. We need more young people to inspire us and give us courage, hope, and joy. We need to continue to embrace models that are both local and interfaith, savoring the rich religious traditions and spiritual practices that have always held creation care at their core and in their scriptures, even if they were not recognized as such. Above all, we need one another - in community.

The key word is community. Community is at the heart of all our religious and environmental work - people thinking, living, breathing and working together to build a cleaner, safer, kinder, gentler, and slower world. In the Christian tradition, the roots of such community are found in the command that Jesus, gave his followers, "to love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). How then do we love all of God's creation? We have our traditions and one another to show us the right way to both get on and stay on paths of holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. We already have all that we need.

To love means to care for all we have been given, the love that we have known from our birth, the love we see in God in giving us this wonderful world. Courage, hope, faith, and love are our methodologies as we live in God's world, the only one we have. May RI IPL and the good people in this state continue to lead the way in caring for this blue planet and all its inhabitants. I have been honored to lead RI IPL these past four years. Thank you.

Climate change is the foremost social justice issue of our time. Many people all over the globe are already suffering from severe climate-change impacts. Poor people and people of color suffer the most. These impacts include more severe storms, floods, droughts, and water scarcity. Moreover, climate change poses an existential threat to future generations.

As people of faith, we must work together to address this issue in our personal lives, communities, and houses of worship .  That's why we are planning an interfaith gathering.

The gathering will begin with a brief talk by Tim DeChristopher. Tim is a co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center and a Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light board member. Table discussions will follow. We'll discuss concrete actions we can take in our personal lives, in our houses of worship, and as a community. Action areas will include food, waste and recycling, transportation, and energy. 

Thursday, April 5th

Parachutes for the Planet   is a collaborative art project  inviting kids all over the world to express their concerns about climate change. Their original parachutes will be displayed in massive exhibits around the world to amplify youth voices and inspire action to protect the future of our planet. The display will begin in Washington DC this fall.

The project was started by Kallan Benson, a 13-year-old climate activist in Maryland. She is hoping  to  get   banners from each of the states and territories of the US. She's already collected 85 parachutes from states and countries all over the world, but she still needs one from Rhode Island. This would be a great Climate Action Week project for your congregation's religious education team. Click the video below to hear more from Kallan.

• Advocacy
• Education
• Membership
• Energy Conservation and Implementation
• Climate Action Summit Planning Committee