This year’s theme, “No Faith in Fossil Fuels”, is an opportunity to dig deep, ask hard questions, and dream together of what we want our collective future to look like. Our keynote speaker is Sharon Lavigne of Rise St. James, a leader in the environmental justice movement and a person of faith. At each of our in-person locations, curated workshops will happen all afternoon-long. Come eager to learn and ready to leave inspired.
Sunday, November 5th 2023
1pm-5pm
Virtual Keynote & In-Person Locations
Philadelphia, PA - Lancaster, PA - State College, PA - Scranton, PA - Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light inspires and mobilizes people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change. We educate, we advocate, and we lead conservation efforts across the state.
We see climate change as a moral issue, one that demands a response from people of faith.
Learn more about us and our work: https://paipl.us/
Sharon Lavigne is the founder of Rise St. James, a faith-based grassroots organization fighting for environmental justice. Its goal is to defeat the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Rise St James galvanized community opposition and successfully defeated the construction of a $1.25 billion plastics manufacturing plant in 2018, and has continued to be a force against fossil fuel expansion in the region known as “Cancer Alley”. Sharon is the recipient of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize.
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden
Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
Cherry Valley Borough, Butler County, PA
First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh
East Chestnut Mennonite Church, Lancaster Global Shapers
Discerning Eye Community Agriculture
Mennonite Central Committee
Order of Interbeing; Earth Holder Community
Discerning Eye Community Agriculture Farms
East Chestnut Mennonite Creation Care Committee
Philadelphia Energy Authority
Climate Witness Project
Family Promise of Philadelphia
PennEnvironment
Sunrise Movement Philly Chapter
Protect PT
Unitarian Universalist Congregation Of Wyoming Valley
Clean Energy Co-op
Breathe Project
Germantown Jewish Center
Native American House Alliance
Lancaster Global Shapers
Philadelphia, PA - Panel Discussion: Sustainable Faith Communities: Making Environmental Values a Reality
2:20pm-3:15pmGiven the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, faith communities find themselves in a moment of great potential to make positive strides in implementing innovative sustainability projects and reducing carbon emissions. Join us with a panel of local leaders that will share perspectives on how values-driven faith communities in Philadelphia are implementing innovative solar projects. Explore pathways for funding, and further progress on cost-effective solar and energy efficiency projects for your faith community.Speakers: Lisa Shulock, Allen Drew, Robert Bryne
Philadelphia, PA - Building Climate Engagement
Workshop A1: 3:20pm-4:05pm Faith groups are uniquely positioned to have immense influence in the fight for a sustainable future due to their value based lifestyles, as well as the tight knit communities they build with one another. Come learn about how we, as people of faith, can build climate engagement within and between faith communities from the passionate and experienced interfaith organizer and faith leader, Allen Drew!
Philadelphia, PA - The nuts and bolts: installing solar in your faith community
Workshop A2: 3:20pm-4:05pmThis workshop will provide some very practical advice for faith communities who are interested in installing solar arrays in their faith community. Drawing from the experience of solar projects in Philadelphia, presenters will share some different approaches that include direct fundraising and installation, shared fundraising and installation among non-profits in the same utility area, and also information around financing and other resources. There will also be some information around funding and financing for energy efficiency projects as well.Speakers: Lisa Shulock, Larry Moyer, Sherman Aronson
Philadelphia, PA - Rethinking our Connection to Fossil Fuels as Individuals of Faith
Workshop B1: 4:10pm-4:55pmMany of our traditional ideas and practices need to be reconsidered to facilitate the swift transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy. We will consider the impact of our built environment, transportation, the natural environment, food, our stuff, disinformation, and individual actions on carbon pollution. We will rethink more sustainable practices that are more consistent with our faith values. Speaker: Phyllis Blumberg
Philadelphia, PA - Making Your Moral Voice Heard in Public Policy
Workshop B2: 4:10pm-4:55pm The passing of policy, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, is crucial if we are to make our green dreams a reality, and it is our civic duty to make sure our value focused voices are represented in the decision making process. Come learn from two experienced advocates/activists how we can work to make our moral voices heard in the public policy process! Speakers: Flora Cardoni, Erica Brown
Lancaster, PA - Indoor Worm Composting: It's Easier than you Think!
Workshop A1: 2:10PM-3:00PMHave you always wanted to start composting but feel like you don’t have the land to do it? Or perhaps you don’t think you have the strength or endurance to turn over heavy piles every couple months? Or maybe you just don’t have the patience? Good news: vermicomposting, also known as worm composting, is an easy entry point into the land of composting. Join Coral Rites as they explore practical information on how to get your very own worm bin started. They will highlight the benefits of worm composting, potential obstacles, and also explore how worm composting can be a gateway to reducing the fossil fuel foot print of our food systems and beyond.Speaker: Coral Rites
Lancaster, PA - Women Will Renew: Climate, Gender, & Moving Towards Equity
Workshop A2: 2:10PM-3:00PMThis short film documentary, “Women Will Renew,” follows Caroline Pugeni and Tariro Cynthia Mutsindikwa, two community leaders who hold a powerful vision of finding solutions to the overlapping challenges of climate change and gender inequity in Mwenezi District, Zimbabwe. The themes for the film include women’s empowerment, climate change, and promoting clean energy solutions. It will offer a clear and practical story to open up dialogue about climate justice, effects of climate change on women and girls, and the importance of practical, local solutions for both mitigation and adaptation in individual contexts.Speaker: Christy Kauffman
Lancaster, PA - Where Tradition Meets Innovation: Urban Farming for our Modern Lives
Workshop B1: 3:10PM-4:00PMDECA’s Founder and Managing Director, Hawa Lassanah, will present DECA’s past as well as how we are progressing towards our future. She will also demonstrate simple, virtually free methods of food propagation and crop fertilization that take up very little space, very few resources, and that any person or family could use to fortify their daily nutrient intake and create the potential to participate in the billion dollar fresh food industry here in Lancaster County.Speaker: Hawa Lassaneh
Lancaster, PA - Ride, Roll, & Stroll Towards a More Just Future
Workshop B2: 3:10PM-4:00PMJoin young adult volunteers from the Global Shapers Lancaster Hub to explore how active transportation — like walking, bicycling, and public transit — helps to care for God’s creation, both human and non-human. Learn about the Ride, Roll & Stroll Lancaster campaign that Global Shapers launched in May 2023 to encourage Lancaster County residents to explore the county using active transportation using a passport available in 6+ languages. Bring your ideas and questions about ways that your faith community can engage in climate justice work by reducing your reliance on fossil-fueled transportation and advocating for robust active transportation options within your community.
Lancaster, PA - Creation Care Commuting
Workshop C1: 4:10PM-5:00PMIs your faith community ready to take direct climate action and have fun at the same time? In this interactive session, you’ll hear how East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church (downtown Lancaster, PA) launched a year-round, monthly Creation Care Commute Sunday. The initiative, launched in August 2023, encourages Sunday worship attendees to connect with other households to bicycle, walk, or carpool to church – simultaneously reducing the congregation’s carbon emissions and deepening relationships. This session is a great hands-on opportunity for faith communities who gather for worship in urban or bicycle-friendly settings.Speaker: Laura Pauls-Thomas, Marlisa Yoder-Bontrager
Lancaster, PA - Getting into “Good Trouble” 101
Workshop C2: 4:10PM-5:00PMA short overview of Non Violent Direct Action (NVDA) for climate activists, nonviolent direct action theory, practice (role play nonviolent direct action scenarios), wisdom on risking arrest with arrest role play and debrief, democratic decision making, and building a campaign for the long-term.Speakers: Rev. Tim Seitz-Brown, Michael Badges-Canning
Scranton, PA - Greening the Sanctuary: The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wyoming Valley Partnership with Clean Energy Co-op
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wyoming Valley has gone "Green". Out of concern for the environmental catastrophe unfolding all around us, congregation members came together to create a Green Team with the purpose of: establishing short and long range objectives, developing a plan for property use, and exploring energy conservation measures. Since that time the congregation has completed numerous projects aimed at making our property energy efficient, building resilience to the climate crisis, and enjoying the outdoors. Green Team members will be joined by a representative from the Clean Energy Cooperative to discuss the various projects and share how the Cooperative can help you install solar panels as well.Speakers: Brian Dugas, President of UUCWVRob Lewis, UUCWV, Building and GroundsChristine Weigand, President of Clean Energy Co-op
Scranton, PA - Remembering Our Future: Ecological Connections through Art, Poetry, and Music
This workshop will be an experiment of contemplative ecology, nurtured with art, music, and poetry, in order to reach into our past and re-member, imaginatively regenerate, even "sing into existence," a shared and flourishing future.Speaker: Dr Melinda Krokus
State College, PA - Native Plantings: The What, Why, and How to Help Counter Climate Change
2pm-3pmHumans have introduced many plants from different locations in the world, accidentally orpurposefully, with some alarming results. Our native insects, particularly caterpillars, can't eat many of these plants, and their populations are plummeting. In this workshop, we will explore how you personally can replace these introduced plants with beautiful and interesting native plants. By doing this work in our gardens, wood lots, and churchyards, we can bolster our native insect population, increase biodiversity, strengthen our local ecosystems, and sequester the carbon causing climate change. Free native plants from the PA IPL and Chesapeake Bay Foundation partnership will be discussed and distributed.Location: Canterbury Hall at St. Andrew’s Episcopal ChurchSpeaker: Greg Williams
State College, PA - Faith in Action: Pulling & Planting at Walnut Springs Park
3:15pm-5pm Seven years ago, on the day before an earlier PA IPL conference in State College, a group of volunteers started a habitat restoration program at the Bird Blind at the Marsh in this park. Since this inaugural event, hundreds of volunteers, including many faith communities, have removed introduced plants and replaced them with native trees and shrubs. In this hands-on workshop, we will see the results of this work and get our hands dirty clipping, pulling, and planting. Dress for the weather and for getting dirty. You can bring your own favorite garden tools and gloves, and extras will be available.Location: Walnut Spring Lane at the Walnut Springs Park sign, one block east of University Dr., State College. Participants are encouraged to car pool.Speaker: Greg Williams**In case of inclement weather, an alternate indoor workshop on how to reduce building carbonemissions will be held at St. Andrew’s. We will make a decision how to proceed by noon onSunday, Nov. 5 and notify you via your contact information if there is a change.
Pittsburgh, PA - Regional Fossil Fuel Impacts
Workshop #1 (2:15-3:15)Join our panelists to receive updates on the regional human & environmental impacts associated with air & water pollution, wildfire, fossil fuels, and lead, to name a few. Learn how you can take action to lessen and/or eliminate these impacts. Speakers: Sister Kari Pohl, Gillian Graber & Matthew Mehalik, Ph.D.
Pittsburgh, PA - Called to Protect
Workshop #2 (3:30-4:30)Learn how our various faith perspectives provide common ground for climate action. Learn how to craft a friendly conversation, based on your faith, to lead others to take action. Speakers: Imam Chris Caras, Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker & George Hoguet
SPECIAL BONUS!!
We are thrilled to be joining with a number of partners to offer an exclusive screening of
The Oil Machine
as it debuts for American audiences. Join us for one of the following options:
Virtual, Saturday Nov 4th 6PM
Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse, Sunday Nov 5th 7PM
Registration for these is separate from your Annual Conference registration, so please follow the links above to save your seat!
Offered in partnership with Twin Seas Media, Zoetropolis, PennEnvironment, Solar United Neighbors, & PA Sierra Club
https://www.theoilmachine.org/
Why is there a cost?
The price of each ticket helps us cover the expenses associated with hosting our Annual Conference each year. It covers things such as rental fees, speaker honorariums, and coordination costs. Any additional proceeds from this event go directly back into supporting our critical climate work.
Is my ticket or sponsorship tax-deductible?
Donations to our organization are tax-deductible. Program fees and sponsorships are not since they are given in exchange for value. If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, you should do so via our website.
I'm attending in-person. Can I watch the virtual keynote at home?
Our virtual keynote will be livestreamed in all 4 in-person locations. We encourage you to view the keynote in community with others at your location to allow for seamless transition to the rest of the afternoon programming at your location.
Keynote followed by in-person workshops
Tickets are offered on a sliding scale. Please choose the option that fits your ability best. Use the coupon codes reflected below on check out to automatically apply the discounts reflected below.
Friend - $8 (USE CODE FRIEND23)
Builder - $15 (USE CODE BUILDER23)
Supporter - $25 (ACTUAL COST, NO CODE NEEDED)
If these prices are still prohibitive to your attendance, please reach out to [email protected]. A limited number of scholarships are available. If you would like to contribute more than $25, please consider choosing a sponsorship option below.
Paid Sponsorship
Support our work and promote your organization! 4 levels of sponsorship available: Bronze $50, Silver $100, Gold $250, & Photovoltaic $500. For more information on what is included in each level, please reach out to [email protected]We have a limited number of food & drink sponsorships available in addition to these levels. Please reach out to [email protected] to discuss.
Wall of Supporters
Give an additional $50 or $100 to have your name added along with a short message (25 characters or less for $50, 50 characters of text or less for $100) to our conference booklet on the "Wall of Supporters" page. This option is available to individuals, and not organizations.
Yes, it's okay to send me text messages including confirmations, changes, and updates. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. View our terms of service & privacy policy.
