The following updates were published in Earth Ministry’s print and digital newsletter, Earth Letter. Click here to read the full edition of our Summer 2020 Earth Letter, which focuses on the theme of sustaining community. Enjoy reading what is going on in the Earth Ministry community, your support makes this work possible!
A Vision for the Future:
Earth Ministry’s 2020-25 Strategic Plan
The Earth Ministry board recently approved a new 2020–2025 strategic plan that sets out an exciting and ambitious vision for the future.
We’ve updated our mission, vision, and values to better reflect our commitment to community, collaboration, and justice. We recognize that environmental, social, and racial justice are interlinked and that the faith-based movement is strongest when all people bring their unique strengths and diverse experiences to the table.
Our new strategic plan commits us to formally transition from an organization based in the Christian tradition to a multifaith organization that encompasses diverse religious identities in programs, outreach, board and staff leadership, and partnerships. We’ve begun that process by welcoming our first Jewish board member and rebranding Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light with a new, more inclusive logo. We will fully live into this multifaith commitment over the next five years, learning and growing with all of you.
Looking forward, Earth Ministry/WAIPL will continue to educate, support, and strategically mobilize the faith community to protect the health of our communities and the environment. We will connect with people of all faiths through outreach and education that inspires action, assist houses of worship in taking on efforts that protect both people and the planet, train and organize people of faith to engage in advocacy for environmental justice, and foster systemic change through adoption of strong environmental policies. Our full strategic plan can be found at bit.ly/EMStrategicPlan.
Outreach and Education
Before the pandemic began, Earth Ministry/WAIPL made presentations in houses of worship across the state. We spoke at Shalom UCC in Richland, First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Olympia, First Congregational UCC in Walla Walla, Peninsula Lutheran in Gig Harbor, and First Lutheran Church of Bothell. In Seattle, we taught adult education classes at University Temple United Methodist, Seattle Japanese Baptist Church, Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Seattle Unity, Queen Anne Lutheran, and Epiphany Parish. Last fall, staff hosted a clergy gathering and Colleague happy hour in Walla Walla, met with clergy in the Tri Cities, and supported a meeting of the Capitol Hill Earth Ministry Colleague Connection.
Earlier this year we were glad to co-sponsor Nigel Savage of Hazon as the keynote speaker for Seattle’s Jewish Climate Festival, organized by the Kavana Cooperative. We led advocacy trainings for Interfaith Advocacy Day, Environmental Lobby Day, Eastern Washington Legislative Conference, National Interfaith Power & Light Conference, and University Unitarian’s Justice Summit. We also presented to Whitworth University’s Calling Community, an ethics class at Pacific Lutheran University, Bellingham Multifaith Network for Climate Justice, Jesuit Volunteer EnCorps, and the Faith Forming Faith Pastoral Conference.
Earth Ministry has now begun offering online meetings and presentations for congregations, starting with First Congregational UCC in Bellevue and St. Mark’s Lutheran in Spokane. Contact jessica@earthministry.org if you would like to schedule a time to meet via Zoom.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL Community
In response to our new reality of social distancing in the time of COVID-19, Earth Ministry is providing avenues for our community to remain connected. We invite you to send a photo that captures creation, caring, or community which we will share on Earth Ministry’s social media. You are welcome to send your photos to emoffice@earthministry.org.
Early on in quarantine, we shifted our plans for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day to go online. We hosted two Zoom calls on Earth Day, during which nearly 70 Earth Ministry members gathered to connect with one another and share sources of hope for creation. We also worked with faith leaders from local Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Unitarian Universalist communities to produce a short multifaith Earth Day video message, which can be viewed here.
In the last six months, Earth Ministry hosted two events based on the book Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone (see cover article). Last fall, community members gathered for an experiential event called Active Hope, Embodied Hope where we processed our climate grief and envisioned the future we want to bring into being. Earth Ministry brought the event to a broader audience this May by hosting an online webinar. Together, we are fostering spiritual resilience so that we may put our faith into action toward a more just and sustainable future.
2020 Washington State Legislative Session
Thank you to everyone who put their faith into action in Washington State’s 2020 legislative session. Together we passed three bills that will protect our health and Earth’s air and water.
The Climate Pollution Limits Act (HB 2311) will update the state’s greenhouse gas limits to reflect current science and lay groundwork to reach net zero carbon emissions and beyond. The Safer Firefighting Foam Act (HB 2265) will remove exemptions for oil refineries and chemical plants in Washington’s first-in-the-nation-ban of firefighting foam containing toxic PFAS chemicals. The Reusable Bag Act (SB 5323) will eliminate thin carry-home plastic bags at all retail establishments to help us address a growing recycling crisis.
Unfortunately, our top priority, Clean Fuels Now (HB 1110), did not pass this year. This statewide clean fuel standard would reduce pollution of transportation fuels by 20% by 2035. While we are disappointed that it did not pass, we are grateful that the Washington State Catholic Conference joined us in supporting the bill with an official endorsement from the Bishops. We plan to pick up this important policy for climate justice as part of a transportation package in the longer session next year.
Fossil fuels
Earth Ministry/WAIPL is standing with the Puyallup Tribe and working with local activists and the Power Past Fracked Gas coalition to halt Puget Sound Energy’s fracked gas facility in Tacoma.
Last December we were disappointed that the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) granted the Clean Air Permit, the last required for the LNG project. In response, two legal appeals were put in motion: one filed by the Puyallup Tribe and another by environmental partners. Our coalition asked for a stay motion to halt construction during this legal process, but that request was denied. The appeal hearings are scheduled for October 2020, so plan to join us to speak out. Disregarding the Tribe and investing in fracked gas is a moral issue!
This spring, Tacoma’s interim regulation regarding fossil fuel development on the Tideflats was once again up for renewal. Earth Ministry and our partners in the Protect Tacoma Tideflats Coalition asked for this protection to be expanded to not only prevent new facilities but also halt expansion of existing facilities. In preparation for the hearing, Earth Ministry co-hosted an advocacy webinar and facilitated the testimony training portion with example video testimony from a local pastor. Unfortunately, the City Council did not strengthen the rule but did renew it in its current form.
Restoring Salmon and Orcas
The faith community is envisioning a future for Northwest rivers that honors treaty obligations, saves salmon and orcas, and ensures the health of farming and fishing communities.
Columbia & Snake Rivers
In Southeast Washington, Earth Ministry continues to stand with the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce Tribe) in calling for a free-flowing lower Snake River. In a stance of solidarity and support, we attended the Nimiipuu River Rendezvous in Lewiston, ID last fall where we hosted a prayer and action table. We also were honored participants at Lummi Nation’s Netse Mot: One Mind for Xw’ullemy, focused on our shared responsibility to protect Northwest waters, salmon, and qwe’lhol’mechen (orcas).
Earth Ministry hosted another Loaves and Fishes gathering at Spokane’s Episcopal Cathedral last October to foster dialogue and work toward solutions that will benefit all stakeholders. We brought together a panel with a tribal representative, a local priest, wheat farmer, and fisherman who shared their perspectives and held space for community input about a collaborative path forward.
In January, faith leaders participated in a series of three workshops and submitted online comments as part of the Governor’s Stakeholders Process about the future of the lower Snake River. Earth Ministry also delivered over 100 postcards from Eastern Washington residents to US Senator Maria Cantwell asking for her support. Our message is that we want a path forward that works for both fish and Northwest communities.
This spring, Earth Ministry engaged people of faith during a federal draft environmental impact statement comment period on future management of the entire Columbia River Basin. Though it was at the beginning of our state’s shelter-in-place order and hearings were moved to teleconferences, we mobilized clergy and lay leaders to testify at six public hearings and sent in over 120 comments from people of faith.
Chehalis River
A new dam has been proposed on the Chehalis River, the ancestral homeland of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis. This river also supports vital salmon and steelhead runs that are a treaty-protected resource for the Quinault Indian Nation and a food source for endangered orcas.
Earth Ministry is following the lead of these Tribes and our partners in the Chehalis River Alliance who are opposed to building a new dam. We are calling for common-ground solutions to manage the Chehalis River system for both wild fish and flood reduction. In response to a draft environmental impact statement, 140 people of faith across the state signed on to an Earth Ministry letter asking the Department of Ecology to deny the proposed dam and seek more inclusive solutions.
Safe Chemical Reform
Earth Ministry continues to advocate for strong safe chemical policy in Washington State. Our focus is on the class of chemicals called PFAS, which, though deemed toxic “forever chemicals” tied to many health issues, are widely used for their nonstick properties.
Throughout the fall and winter, we partnered with 25 congregations to host 13 screenings of the documentary, The Devil We Know on the topic of PFAS chemicals. Having connected the moral issue of these toxic chemicals to faith values, the Earth Ministry community then spoke up in state agency processes regarding PFAS in consumer products and drinking water.
Faithful advocates attended hearings and commented in response to a draft drinking water standard for PFAS. We also sent over 150 comments to Department of Ecology regarding implementation of the Safer Chemicals for WA Act that we passed last year. Our advocacy led to selection of carpet as a priority product to address for PFAS contamination, due to high exposure for children who spend more time on the floor. In addition, our efforts to add upholstery as an additional product category was successful.
Washington is leading the nation in phasing out these dangerous chemicals that contaminate our homes and ecosystems. Thank you for helping to create momentum toward toxic-free and sustainable consumer products!