submitted by Sarah Paulos, Community Engagement and Program Manager, Interfaith Power & Light
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet. That first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event.
In 2020, the Presbyterian Hunger Program is joining with Presbyterians for Earth Care in partnering to promote Interfaith Power & Light’s Faith Climate Action Week.
Faith Climate Action Week is IPL’s annual program of climate-themed worship services and sermons that spans ten days of activities in celebration of Earth Month. This year IPL’s premier event to create a movement of people of faith making the moral call for climate action takes place April 17 – 26.
This year’s theme is “Love Made Visible: Engaging in Sacred Activism” to protect the people we love who are most impacted by climate change.
This year the Faith Climate Action Week kit of resources for planning events includes a Sacred Activism Guide on the importance of congregations take part in civic engagement and a Sacred Activism Art Guide to create eye-catching banners and placards with faith-based messaging and other evergreen materials. Download the free Faith Climate Action Week kit here.
Out of our love for the most vulnerable members of our society who are more susceptible to the COVID-19 virus many faith-based organizations are conducting their events virtually. Join Faith Climate Action Week – the nationwide movement of people of faith and conscience acting on climate April 17-26 – by creatively using your digital networks and the Faith Climate Action Week resources to make your love visible.
Go virtual with your Sacred Activism event by encouraging members of your congregation to post pictures of themselves with their placards with faith-based messages with the moral call to act on climate to social media using the hashtag #FaithClimateActionWeek Find suggestions for messages and images from IPL leaders from across the nation in the kit.
Pin your virtual Faith Climate Action Week event on the IPL map to show the world that people of faith are leading the climate movement!
Plant trees virtually through the “For Love of Trees” campaign by donating to IPL’s Carbon Covenant program to plant trees in the Global South through faith-based programs. $5 will plant one tree that will live to maturity and offset one ton of carbon emissions. Add your trees planted to the IPL tally here.
Collect Faith Climate Voter pledges during Faith Climate Action Week to vote with the climate in mind from members of your congregation through IPL’s Faith Climate Voter campaign using this online form.
Print the postcard included in the kit that says, “I’m a Faith Climate Voter” and post a photo of yourself holding the postcard to social media with the hashtag #FaithClimateVoter
Join the National Earth Day Climate Prayer – invite members of your congregation to download the prayer to recite at 12noon local on Earth Day. Click and pray along that day with the videos on IPL’s Facebook page of Rev. Susan Hendershot, President of IPL and religious leaders from various traditions saying prayers for the earth that you can share to your social media using the hashtag #FaithClimateActionWeek.
Download the prayer here. Download prayers from various traditions here.