VT Interfaith Power and Light newsletter

GREEN MOUNTAINS, BLUE WATER:
Earth Care News from
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL)
September 2015
In this newsletter:
Register and Come to VTIPL Conference!
Saving Our Common Home Symposium
Pope Francis’s September Trip to the U.S.
Climate Revival in Middlebury – October 3
A New Awakening: Prophetic Climate Witness
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
A Day to Care for Creation
Methane Standards: Supported by Faith Commuity
Muslim Leaders Speak Out: Push for Climate Action
The Pope and the Planet by Bill McKibben
REGISTER and COME to VTIPL CONFERENCE!
You can now register for VTIPL’s 2015 conference, “Leading
Action on Climate: Tools for Faith Communities.” To either
register online or print and fill out the registration form and
mail it in, click here: https://www.vtipl.org/node/299
Tim DeChristopher, a climate activist who’s attending Harvard
Divinity School, is the Keynote speaker. The conference is
on Saturday., Oct. 17, 9:30 – 3:30 at Christ Episcopal Church
in Montpelier. In addition to the keynote, there will be four
workshops, catered lunch, “bookstore”, sponsors’ exhibits, and
music. There’s more information on the flier (link below) –
help us spread the word!
SAVING OUR COMMON HOME SYMPOSIUM
This symposium on Tuesday, Sept. 8 from 6 – 9 pm will be an
exploration of Pope Francis’s encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care
for Our Common Home,” about the environment and the
connection with other issues. The event will be at McCarthy
Arts Center, St. Michael’s College. John Allen, Boston Globe
Associate Editor and a leading voice on the Catholic Church,
will give the keynote. Three Vermont experts will be part of a
panel, looking at the encyclical from different perspectives.
Several organizations, including VTIPL, will be there with
displays, and refreshments will be served. The event is free
and open to the public. For more details, see this article:www.timesargus.com/article/20150807/NEWS01/708079939/0/SEARCH
POPE FRANCIS’S SEPTEMBER TRIP TO THE U.S.
The Pope will be in this country for six days at the end of
this month. He will be in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24 and
will address a joint session of Congress before traveling on to
NYC and Philadelphia. It’s the Pope’s first visit to this country.
A coalition has put together a toolkit, “In This Together:
Welcome Pope Francis Toolkit,” with many activities related to
CLIMATE REVIVAL in MIDDLEBURY – October 3
The Addison County Interfaith Climate Action Network is
having a “Climate Revival” on Saturday, Oct. 3, 12 – 3 pm;
location: the Green and at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church,
Middlebury. The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Conference Minister
and President of Mass. Conference, United Church of Christ,
is the keynote preacher.
The Rev. Daniel Cooperrider, pastor of the Congregational
Church in Weybridge, says the event will have elements of a
classic religious tent revival meeting, adapted to stir people
to deepen their commitment to earth stewardship. It will
include: music, singing, art, poetry, prayer, meditation,
reflection, witness, testimony, and an alter (the future) call.
Also, the Climate Revival will feature a sustainable foods
potluck on the Town Green with activities for all ages.
For more info, contact Rev. Cooperrider: pastor_weybridge@gmavt.net
 
A NEW AWAKENING: Prophetic Climate Witness
The Season of Prophetic Climate Witness, Oct. 4 – Feb. 7,
is a transdenominational Christian movement for climate
solutions – through preaching, prayer, and practice. It’s
sponsored by New England Regional Environmental Ministries.
They ask that at least one sermon be preached on climate
change as a pressing moral issue during this season.
WORLD DAY of PRAYER for the CARE of CREATION
On Sept. 1, 1989, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios
called for the first Day of Prayer for Protection of the Environ-
This year, Pope Francis joined with the Orthodox Church in
asking people to pray for the care of creation on September 1.
 
A DAY to CARE for CREATION
Deb Markowitz, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary, wrote
this good op-ed; it was in the Burlington Free Press on Aug. 28:
METHANE STANDARDS: Supported by Faith Community
In August, the EPA released the first-ever proposed standards to
regulate methane emitted from oil and gas sites. Faith leaders
from around the country voiced strong support for the standards.
MUSLIM LEADERS SPEAK OUT: Push for Climate Action
Sixty Islamic leaders from 20 countries around the world urged
world governments to rely on renewable energy and phase out
fossil fuel use in order to confront climate change. At their
international Islamic Climate Change Symposium, they
released a statement that pushes officials to formulate a plan
this year to tackle climate change. More details are here:
THE POPE and the PLANET by Bill McKibben
In the August 13 issue of the “New York Review of Books,”
Bill McKibben writes about Pope Francis’s wide-ranging
critique of our times in his encyclical “Laudato Si’.”
VTIPL educates people of faith and spirit about the climate
crisis and actions to care for Earth.
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light
P.O. Box 209, Richmond, VT 05477