Earth Care News
October 2019
In this newsletter:
VTIPL’s Annual Conference Happening Soon – Register Now!
Address Correction – Please Note
VTIPL Appreciates Congregational Sponsors of Our Conference!
VTIPL Seeks a Coordinator
Pledge to be a Faith Climate Voter
Vermont Climate Change Policy Priorities
Sierra Club/Action Circles Advocacy Training
George Lakey to Speak on “Creative, Holy Vision”
Support Local Farms & Food Access for Vermonters with Low Income
Vision for Vermont – Addison County Independent Article
Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot on Natural Climate Solutions
Hello From the Year 2050 – Article by Bill McKibben
VTIPL’s Annual Conference Happening Soon – Register Now!
The conference, Envisioning and Acting for the World We Want, will be on Saturday, Oct. 26 at The Congregational Church of Middlebury, UCC, from 9:30 – 3:30. Participants will begin checking in at 9:00 am. The link to the Fall Conference page on our website where you can register is here. Scroll down on the conference page to register and pay online or to find the link for printing out a registration form. The bios of the conference leaders, including the Keynote Speakers, The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal and Professor Molly Anderson, and much more info will be posted on the page very soon – check it out! Questions? Contact VTIPL to learn more. Don’t miss this conference — Register now!
Address Correction – Please Note
If you received information in past weeks or months with the address for The Congregational Church of Middlebury, UCC, where the conference will be held, there’s been a correction. The correct address for the church is 30 North Pleasant Street in Middlebury. Please recycle/discard information you’ve received with a different address. Thank you!
VTIPL Appreciates Congregational Sponsors of our Conference!
Congregations are encouraged to sponsor VTIPL’s Fall Conference. For a sponsorship of $50 or more, the congregation’s name will be listed on our website and in the conference program. For the Sponsorship Form for Congregations scroll down on the Fall Conference page on VTIPL’s website. You can print out this form and mail it in. Many thanks to our congregational sponsors – we are grateful!
VTIPL Seeks a Coordinator
VTIPL is seeking a Coordinator to assist with administrative tasks of the organization, including: communication, fundraising, event planning, membership, growth, and other support activities. This role is part-time and remote, but does involve some travel. $20/hour/12 hours/week. VTIPL is a non-profit organization that provides a religious response to climate change via education, advocacy, and working with faith communities and their members to reduce their carbon footprint and energy use. Please send cover letter and resume to Jane Dwinell by October 31, 2019.
Pledge to be a Faith Climate Voter
This campaign from national Interfaith Power & Light will help get out the vote – specifically those voters who are concerned about climate. Here’s the text of the pledge: “I pledge to vote with climate and Creation in mind. I am pledging to be a Faith Climate Voter to put love into action for every living creature and for every vulnerable community suffering the impacts of our changing climate, from sea rise, to extreme heat, to devastating droughts, to supercharged storms.
I believe that our nation’s elected leaders and our public policies should reflect our shared values. By pledging to be a consistent voter and vote with climate in mind, I am communicating the values of caring for God’s Creation and our children’s future.” Click here to sign onto the pledge.
Vermont Climate Change Policy Priorities
Vermont Natural Resources Council’s website has “very brief summaries of some potential meaningful policy priorities that may be explored this legislative session,” and help from the public – all of us! – will be needed to get them passed into law. The priorities include: a “Global Warming Solutions Act” for Vermont; instituting a 100% Renewable Electricity Standard; modernizing Vermont’s Energy Efficiency Utilities by having a new metric to guide their work – reduction of carbon pollution; and participating in a strong and equitable “Transportation & Climate Initiative” to reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector. Read more about this.
Sierra Club/Action Circles Advocacy Training
These advocacy trainings will be in Burlington on Wednesday 10/9 and in Montpelier on Tuesday 10/15. Sierra Club with Amy Shollenberger of Action Circles is hosting this advocacy training to help the grassroots better understand the Vermont political process. It is free and will include a dinner and casual conversation. RSVP is required; space is limited. Contact Robb Kidd for more information.
Burlington: Wed. Oct. 9, 5 – 8 pm at Main St. Landing, RSVP required.
Montpelier: Tue. Oct. 15, 5 – 8 pm at Unitarian Church, RSVP required.
George Lakey to Speak on “Creative, Holy Vision”
George Lakey – Keynote Speaker at VTIPL’s Annual Conference last year – will present a program on “Creative, Holy Vision” at the Claremont, NH Community Center (152 South Street) from noon – 1:30 pm on Friday, Oct. 11. The program is free and open to the public. It’s sponsored by Claremont-based Action Collaborative for Transformational Spirit Now (ACTS Now).
George Lakey is a Quaker visionary who has been active in direct action campaigns to create a more just and sustainable world for six decades. He has facilitated over 1500 workshops on five continents and led social justice projects on local, national and international levels. He is the author of many articles and books including How We Win: a Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning. For more information, contact ACTS Now here.
Support Local Farms & Food Access for Vermonters with Low Income
Join Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) to help increase food access in Vermont! NOFA-VT’s Farm Share Program, now in its 25th year, provides limited-income Vermonters with 50% off the cost of a season’s worth of produce from their local CSA farm. In the past year, NOFA-VT worked with 35 farms to provide over 200 households in all corners of the state with subsidized CSA shares. If you’d like to talk with someone about sharing more information with your congregation, contact Erin Buckwalter or call 802-434-4122. Learn more and contribute here.
Vision for Vermont – Addison County Independent Article
The second annual Vision for Vermont Summit was held at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf campus in Ripton on September 14. Seventy-one people gathered, including a four-person panel that brought not-so-often heard voices. Together, they further refined the Vision that was begun at the 2018 Summit. This article has details.
Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot on Natural Climate Solutions
Watch this video (3 min., 39 sec.) of Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot speaking about how trees and natural systems are very effective climate solutions if given a chance. If you like this video, pass it on!
Hello From the Year 2050 – Article by Bill McKibben
In this Time magazine article, Bill McKibben imagines that we’ve reached 2050, and have avoided the worst effects of climate change, but everything is different. For sure, life isn’t easy, but it could have been much worse. Read it here.
VTIPL helps people of faith and spirit better understand the climate crisis and take action to care for Earth.
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light
P.O. Box 209, Richmond, VT 05477
info@vtipl.org 802-434-3397 www.vtipl.org
