Artwork credit: © A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner, 2023 Starting Sept 23rd, 2023, the intertribal nonprofit Se’Si’Le’ will join with coalition partners, including Native Organizers Alliance, Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment, and KHIMSTONIK begin an eight-day journey across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho (September 23 - October 1). The journey starts…
Madison Mayhew from National Interfaith Power & Light spoke today at a press conference in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in DC on behalf of Earth Ministry/WAIPL and our partners Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon/OIPL and the #StopGTNXpress coalition. We MUST stop the GTN Xpress fracked gas pipeline expansion here in the Pacific Northwest and prevent Sen. Manchin's dirty permitting deal from gutting our nation's bedrock environmental law and making it easier to approve polluting projects without community input.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL was honored to join our partners at Toxic-Free Future at the bill signing of HB 1047, the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act. WA now has the strongest law on the books in the country regulating toxic chemicals in personal care products. Starting in 2025, PFAS, lead, phthalates, formaldehyde, and other toxic chemicals will be banned in all cosmetics and personal care products sold in WA.
From May 7-11, Earth Ministry/WAIPL staff Keah Calluccie and AC Churchill joined with Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) affiliates from across the US for our annual National IPL Conference in Washington DC.
The 2023 Washington state legislative session ended April 23. Thanks in part to the faithful advocacy of the Earth Ministry/WAIPL community we have a lot to celebrate! Here’s how our priority bills and budget items ended up:
On March 30, 2023, the Miami Seaquarium announced that it has agreed to partner with Philanthropist Jim Irsay and Friends of Lolita to bring Ska’liCh’elh-tenaut/Tokitae/Lolita back to the Salish Sea.
FERC will decide to approve or deny the GTN Xpress fracked gas pipeline expansion as soon as June 15. In this crucial time in the campaign to #StopGTNXpress, we are calling on Washington US Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to help protect our communities by speaking out publicly against GTN Xpress and join their colleagues in asking FERC to deny the project.
Bid on our online auction to raise funds to celebrate Earth Ministry/WAIPL's 30th birthday!
Our staff recently joined Earth Ministry/WAIPL community members and partners in Spokane to speak out faithfully for environmental justice and build connections. We held a Spokane Community GTN Xpress Teach-In and supported Catholic high school and college students from across the region at the Ignatian Advocacy Summit at Gonzaga University. The following weekend our staff gathered with partners at the Hope for Creation Conference, hosted by the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Whitworth University’s Office of Church Engagement, and The Fig Tree, to celebrate Earth Day.
Jay Julius, former chairman of Lummi Nation and president of Se'Si'Le wrote this piece for Earth Day in the Sierra Club magazine about salmon and orca extinction and the WA Catholic Bishops' Statement on Caring for Creation in the Lower Snake River Region. He writes,"We need to ask the question: According to what higher moral authority are these extinctions allowed? What is the price to be paid by the Salmon Nations, whose lifeway, cultural identity, and spirituality relies on our salmon relatives?"
Hundreds of faith and spiritual leaders, representing diverse communities and faith traditions, issued a sign-on letter this week that calls on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny a proposed expansion of the Gas Transmission Northwest XPress gas pipeline.
Restoring the Lower Snake River is the cornerstone of a regional salmon recovery strategy. By taking action during the 2023 legislative session, WA State can help lead this holistic effort which has the potential for far reaching impacts including the recovery of endangered salmon and steelhead, investment in transportation, agriculture, and clean energy infrastructure.
“The GTN Xpress fracked gas pipeline expansion goes against our values and threatens vulnerable communities and the environment. Faith communities across Washington are committed to caring for our neighbors, and we thank Governor Inslee for speaking out to FERC against GTN Xpress, joining nearly 300 Washington faith leaders who are also asking FERC to deny the project." - Rev. AC Churchill, Executive Director of Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light
The Inlander, a community magazine from Spokane published an article on March 2, 2023 about the role that environmental and faith groups have played in the campaign to stop GTN XPress pipeline expansion. Our operations manager, Maddie Smith and board member Naghmana Sherazi are quoted in this article.
Calling all faith leaders in ID, OR, and WA! The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will decide to approve or deny the GTN fracked gas pipeline expansion as soon as March 16. In partnership with our friends at Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light, we're collecting signatures of faith leaders in ID, WA, and OR on a letter asking FERC to protect our communities and deny the pipeline expansion.
