Sr. Jessica Zimmerle, Earth Ministry/WAIPL’s Advocacy Director, was interviewed by Seattle University’s Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability as an alumni from the SU School of Theology and Ministry. Below are sections of her interview, which you can read in full here..
Meet Jessica Zimmerle
Sister Jessica Zimmerle (’21, M.A. Theology and Ministry) serves as the Advocacy Director for Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light. In her role, she participates in environmental justice action in the local community and encourages people of faith to engage in conversations and advocacy surrounding environmental justice policy. She does this work as a sister in the Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and will be ordained as a Minister of Word and Service in the ELCA in November 2022. Read on to learn more about Jessica and Earth Ministry/WAIPL’s campaigning around salmon and orca recovery, climate justice, toxic chemical reform, and the halting of fossil fuel infrastructure. Her advice: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the work, focus on your piece of the puzzle!”
You have been working for Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light (WAIPL) since 2013, first in the role of Program and Outreach Director and you recently transitioned to serving as Advocacy Director. How would you describe the local environmental work that Earth Ministry/WAIPL does and that you do in your role day-to-day?
Earth Ministry/WAIPL is a statewide, multifaith nonprofit with a mission of transforming faith into action for the well-being of communities and the environment. We organize people of faith to advocate for strong environmental policies and provide strategic guidance to religious communities for working toward environmental justice.
We often describe the work of Earth Ministry/WAIPL as a three-legged stool. First is faith formation, helping people of diverse faith traditions connect their spirituality to environmental justice and clearly articulate the core religious values that guide their actions as stewards and advocates. Second is to lean into those values in community life. Earth Ministry/WAIPL provides flexible structure to support houses of worship through our Greening Congregations program and supports congregational green team leaders through our Colleague Connections calls. Third is faithful advocacy, providing training and opportunities for people of faith to bring their values into the public sphere and create systems-level change. We do this work through coalition partnerships, ensuring our advocacy is strategic and bringing a unique moral depth and breadth to the environmental justice movement.
In my role as Advocacy Director , I organize the faith community to show up in environmental justice policy conversations. The work varies day-to-day but might include translating secular environmental information into a values-based multifaith framework, teaching advocacy trainings in houses of worship, and mobilizing people of faith to take actions like testifying at public hearings, meeting with their elected officials, and attending rallies or community events. We are primarily focused on grassroots advocacy, equipping everyday people of faith to share their stories with decision makers, but also engage clergy and high-level religious leaders, in addition to myself doing some lobbying on behalf of the Earth Ministry/WAIPL community. Woven throughout our organizing is an intentionality to hold an environmental justice lens that seeks to listen, follow, and benefit those most vulnerable. Ultimately, I seek to demystify advocacy by providing the tools and encouragement for people of faith to contribute a unique moral message within the environmental justice movement.
What are some of the critical environmental and climate justice issues in Seattle and Washington State? Currently, what are the main advocacy issues Earth Ministry/WAIPL is focusing on?
Earth Ministry/WAIPL’s current campaign issue areas include salmon and orca recovery, climate justice, toxic chemical reform, and halting fossil fuel infrastructure.
Of paramount concern to our community is how we work toward solidarity with Native Nations as the original and ongoing stewards of these lands and waters. Restoring abundant salmon, which in turn can feed starving orcas, is a moral issue. The United States has made treaty promises to Sovereign Nations that are not being upheld and this is especially harmful since salmon are sacred cornerstones of the many different Indigenous cultures across the Pacific Northwest. We are currently following the leadership of various Native Nations and tribal leaders calling for a free-flowing Lower Snake River that has been proven to give salmon their best chance of recovery. That’s a challenging conversation in many parts of the state and, through Earth Ministry/WAIPL, the faith community is acting as a mediating presence that builds bridges toward solutions that honor everyone’s needs while first and foremost prioritizing our obligation to tribes.
This summer we’ve also organized advocacy around climate action that centers equity and justice. People of faith submitted comments to support the strongest possible implementation of a Clean Fuel Standard, a bill we helped pass in 2021 to reduce transportation pollution. We also advocated for updated residential building codes that require clean energy heating, mirroring the most climate-friendly building codes that Washington passed earlier this year for larger buildings. Nearly half of our state’s climate pollution comes from transportation and buildings are the largest growing source of emissions so these are really significant victories!
Coming up this winter Earth Ministry/WAIPL will be engaging in the next round of our state’s program to ban toxic chemical in consumer products, halting expansion of Washington’s largest fracked gas pipeline, and working with coalition partners to pass environmental justice policies in the Washington State Legislature.
What would be the top 3 actions individuals can take to move these issues forward?
1. Learn about local, statewide, and federal environmental issues and opportunities through a justice framework. That said, you don’t need to learn it all! People often don’t engage because they think they don’t know enough. You don’t need to be a policy expert, you just need to know your values! Learn the basics of what’s going on, the inequities at play, and the solutions being called for by those most impacted.
2. Talk about it! At an event Earth Ministry/WAIPL recently co-hosted, Dr. Katherine Hayhoe (whose books I highly recommend!) noted that nearly a quarter of the county acknowledges global warming is happening but only 35% are talking about it. Talking helps us care more deeply, which propels us toward action. When talking about it, focus less on far away global impacts (ie: polar bears) and more on how its impacts your community (ie: wildfires and smoke here in Washington.) Talk about why environmental stewardship and justice matters to you and if you’re a person of faith tie it to your spirituality. Most importantly, talk about what real solutions look like and how they can contribute to more healthy, stable communities.
3. Take action, doing more from your heart than your head. A good story has the power to really connect with people, including decision-makers, and resonate on a level that can spark change. Plenty of others will speak to the science and economics, as people of faith we can cover the home base of the heart and ground an issue in shared values. The basic story recipe we share is to say who you are, what you value, and what you want.