The Beyond Fossil Fuels Initiative of EcoFaith Recovery invites us to organize teams from our faith communities to participate in the Portland Interfaith Pilgrimage for Climate Justice, an affiliate event under the “Our Voices” umbrella. Organizers of this event in which many from the EcoFaith network will participate describe this event as follows:
On December 6, 2015 at 1:45 p.m., we will bring the faith community together to share our common call to prevent dangerous climate change. We will call for bold moral leadership from all our leaders, with a special focus on the delegates meeting at the United Nations’ Conference of Parties in Paris, France to negotiate a replacement treaty for the Kyoto Protocol.The pilgrimage route will begin at Congregation Havurah Shalom in NW Portland at NW 18th and Kearney. It will end at First Unitarian Church of Portland at SW 12th and Main for an indoor, interfaith worship service. There will be stops at many houses of worship along the route. Host congregations will share , inspired words, music, dance, or other forms of worship from their traditions at each of these stops. Through this experience, we will find and claim our common ground as people of faith, working in community to seek just and comprehensive solutions to climate change.All our welcome.
Please organize a team from your faith community and join teams from other faith communities to make our voices heard in the global concern for bold international action at the Paris Climate Talks.
Where, When and How: We gather at 1:45 p.m. The walk will begin outside Havurah Shalom Synagogue at 825 NW 18th Avenue between Johnson and Kearney in Portland at 2:00 p.m. sharp. You may carry a banner from your faith community or other banner, but remember we must remain on sidewalks so make it easy to carry.  In addition, we will hope to have EcoFaith stickers for you to wear so you and your team can identify yourselves as part of the EcoFaith network.
The march will end at approximately 4:00 p.m. at First Unitarian Church on 1211 SW Main Street where we will enter Fuller Hall off of Twelfth Street between the buildings. A brief program and tabling is planned there along with some tea and water. (Materials for tabling may be delivered to Fuller Hall from 1-1:15 pm or again at 3 pm.) You may display banners in Fuller Hall.
People who cannot walk the entire route may come to Fuller Hall at 3:30 pm. There is access to an elevator at another door in the old church building on SW Twelfth St. Depending on the size of the crowd we hope to have everyone on their way home by 5 pm. (Please carpool or take public transit. It is l mile, about 20 mins ,walking distance if you will be walking back to the starting point to get a car after the pilgrimage and rally.)
Engaging in EcoFaith’s Practices: Those who are organizing the program are utilizing some of EcoFaith Recovery’s Practices for Awakening Leadership. The Practices are the way that volunteer leaders who connect with EcoFaith Recovery engage in the recovery of our spiritual and relational power in order to support our faith communities in organizing to take personal, interpersonal, community and public action for the recovery of human life and the healing of God’s creation. The originators of this pilgrimage are leaders from St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. Many of them are part of our EcoFaith Recovery’s leadership development network, and they know how important spiritual grounding and relational practices are! Printable booklets of EcoFaith’s Practices for Awakening Leadership are available here if you want to share them with your faith community in advance and engage your teams in the Practices in other ways before and after this event.
EcoFaith Beyond Fossil Fuels Song Leadership: The voices of those from the EcoFaith network are needed to help lead some singing at this event. If you can help lead or participate in the song leading, please RSVP to Emily Herbert. (Our usual song leaders will not be present so she could use all of the help from the EcoFaith network that is available!)
Inviting others: Please use this page to as a resource for organizing teams from your community of faith and inviting others to join us. Please also encourage people to join the Portland Interfaith Pilgrimage Facebook event at this link and to “like” the EcoFaith Recovery page at this link to receive information about future events in which EcoFaith Recovery leaders will be inviting their congregations to participate.
So gather a group from your fellowship or a group of friends (those not members of churches are also welcome) and come.
This is a great opportunity to engage people in one of the Initiatives of our EcoFaith Movement. Thank you for organizing a team from your community and inviting others who may be interested!!!
