Programs | Interfaith Power and Light | Mission Statement | Goals | History
We’re working with faith communities to address
the causes and consequences of global climate change.
NC IPL offers many resources at no charge to faith communities:
¨
Hope Workshops on Global Warming offer practical, hope-filled solutions
available to individuals and congregations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
suitable for youth and adult religious education classes and fellowship circles
¨
Energy Audit Programs examine ways in which your congregation can
save money on its energy bills while helping to protect God’s Creation
¨
Video Lending Library offers films such as Kilowatt Ours, Power Shift, and
God’s Creation and Global Warming; discussion guides are often available and
we can also provide speakers and help facilitate discussions
¨
Monthly E-Newsletter informs recipients of energy policy advocacy opportunities, information on renewable energy and energy efficiency,
and new resources on global warming and its consequences
¨
Useful Written Materials include:
Ten Simple Things You Can Do (To Stop Global Warming)
Advent, Hanukkah and Lenten Creation Care Reflection Guides
Creation-Conscious Congregational Checklist... and many more
¨
IPL Shopping Cart enables congregations which submit a completed
NC IPL Certificate of Participation, available on our website, to purchase
Energy Star appliances, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other energy-efficient devices through our online volume-purchasing arrangement with Michigan IPL
If you’re interested in any of our program offerings and services,
please call us at (919) 828-6501 or send an e-mail to info@ncipl.org.
 |
North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
a program of the NC Council of Churches
|
|
INTERFAITH POWER AND LIGHT: Interfaith Power and Light is an interfaith ministry devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and faith. Our goal is to help people of faith recognize and fulfill their responsibility for the stewardship of creation. IPL's "The Regeneration Project" campaign is mobilizing a national religious response to global warming while promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. People of faith have an opportunity to put their faith into action and help reduce the devastating effects of global warming. Click here for more information.
MISSION: We work with faith communities to address the causes and consequences of global climate change through education and public policy advocacy.
GOALS:
Understanding
To explore the scientific, spiritual and social dimensions of the ecological crisis.
Reflection
To nurture reverence and wonder toward the Creation and our interconnected Earth community
Action
To apply these understandings and reflections in the conduct of our lives, as individuals, families and congregations
Advocacy
To work for public policy that supports the health of Earth's ecosystems and serves justice and respect for all life.
We focus on the climate crisis as the most serious of the many current environmental concerns and one too often ignored or misrepresented by U.S. mass media. We recognize that efforts to mitigate global warming will also address many related environmental concerns, including biodiversity and clean air and water. We present ecological information within the context of the religious teachings of various faiths, connecting scientific data with its social and spiritual significance. Climate and other environmental problems, in our view, are opportunities for people of faith to deepen their religious experience, because to acknowledge its seriousness while at the same time attempting to practice love of God and neighbor encourages spiritual growth. Our work affirms that the circle of concern includes the whole Creation.
We concentrate on reaching congregations and individuals affiliated with faith groups, expecting that the institution will be in place for years to come to carry the work forward. We also work with leaders at the denominational level, where the effort may generate even more leverage. As we encounter individual environmentalists, we encourage them to serve within their home congregations as advocates for their concerns. When care of Creation is endorsed by a faith group's leaders and programs, people who previously have not made these connections are made aware of them, and people who are already committed receive support.
We also serve as a link between people of faith and the scientific community that is now united in its message of climate crisis. Through events such as the Earth Day 2005 training conferences, we bring together environmental advocates, scientists and the general public. By connecting the science and impact of climate change with the faith perspective and with solutions that individuals and institutions can implement, we hope the faith-based public will increasingly address environmental concerns.
HISTORY:
In May of 2000, the first meeting of the NC Interfaith Campaign on Global Climate Change (now called NC Interfaith Power & Light) took place at St. Matthews United Methodist Church in Greensboro. This group was called together by our beloved Sister Evelyn Mattern, now deceased, who was working under the auspices of the North Carolina Council of Churches. The meeting was in response to an initiative of the Eco-Justice Working Group of the National Council of Churches (along with partnering organizations representing Jews, Moslems, Roman Catholics, and others) to bring an awareness of global warming to our faith communities and to make connections between the spiritual imperative of caring for creation and the grave threat that is posed by climate change. This was a part of a broader national effort also funded through National Religious Partnership for the Environment, and NC was to be the 14th or 15th state to be brought into the program. As I recall, there were about 20 people from all around the state gathered at the table that morning. Although Sister Evelyn and other organizers had worked diligently to include non-Christian participation, almost all attendees were representatives from Christian denominations.
The revelation that was shared with us that day originated in the science community, and it spoke convincingly of the threat of global warming, and how it was happening, and what is needed to reverse its course. It was evident that world wide, the scientific community was much concerned about the possible consequences of global climate change. They spoke in unison regarding the core problem, which is the build-up of "greenhouse gases" in our atmosphere, resulting primarily from the burning of fossil fuels in the production of electricity, and in the powering of our automobiles and trucks.
Much energy came out of that meeting. About half the group began work on a religious leaders' statement that was eventually adopted by our group, and was then signed by religious leaders around the state. The other half of our group organized a conference, the purpose of which was to attract members of our congregations to come and learn the science story of global warming, and to be exposed to a spiritual perspective that might inspire them to bring the message back to their own congregations. This conference was held in February 2001, at Camp Caraway in Randolph County. It was a big undertaking, but was viewed as a success. There were presenters from academia and state government who made powerful presentations from a scientific viewpoint, and Sister Miriam Theresa McGillis and others made an excellent presentation from the faith perspective. Approximately 80 members of faith congregations were in attendance.
Other efforts of our group have included presentations made to faith communities, the printing of brochures, the publication of newspaper articles and op-eds, and the formation of a speakers' bureau. In 2002, the group sponsored a visit by the Rev. Sally Bingham, founder of Interfaith Power and Light, to speak in Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte about "green power." Rev. Bingham is an Episcopal priest and environmental minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. In 2005 we became the 16th state to affiliate with the national organization, Interfaith Power & Light, founded by Rev. Sally's The Regeneration Project, based in San Francisco.
Written by Tom Berry
Climate Connection Steering Committee
Greensboro
We welcome people of all faiths to join us in the work of caring for Creation. If you are interested in serving on our steering committee or in meeting other faith-based Creation care advocates in your area, please contact (e-mail) Alice Loyd.
