Vermont Interfaith Power & Light (VTIPL) works to educate
Vermont’s faith communities about the climate crisis and the
threat it presents to our planet. VTIPL’s goal is to move faith
communities toward responsible stewardship of Creation by
reducing greenhouse gas emissions through personal and
community action. VTIPL helps people take action in their
houses of worship, homes, and workplaces to conserve energy,
use it efficiently, and increase the use of renewable energy.
Please share this newsletter with others. To submit items
or give updates, send an email to info@vtipl.org

NEWS FROM GREEN MOUNTAIN MONASTERY
Sisters Gail Worcelo and Bernadette Bostwick of the
Green Mountain Monastery in Greensboro, VT have
recently returned from Australia where they attended
the Parliament of World Religions and report:
“The Conference brought together all the world
religions and the theme was ‘Hearing each other, Healing
the Earth.’ It became vividly clear to all participants that
awareness of our ecological situation and a call to urgent
action for the protection of the natural world was a com-
monality held by all. We at Green Mountain Monastery
are happy to report that Care for the Earth is now an
intensifying theme sounding through the Catholic
Magisterium summarized in the exhortation of Benedict
XVI in his World Day of Peace message, ‘If You Want
To Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation.’”
A link to the Pope’s message is below. If you don’t
have time to read to full message, Sister Bernadette
suggests reading paragraphs 1, 9, 11, and 12. These
excerpts, she says, “invite us to a closer examination of
our own lifestyles and call us to a steady conversion to
greater mindfulness in our use of the gifts of creation.”

Benedict XVI’s WORLD DAY OF PEACE MESSAGE:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/...

INTERFAITH POWER & LIGHT “PREACH-IN”
Here’s a message from Interfaith Power and Light’s
leader, The Rev. Sally Bingham:
“To ensure the voice of the faith community is heard, we
are inviting clergy from all over the country to join us in a
national Preach-In on Global Warming on the weekend
of February 14 in honor of Valentine's Day. If you are a
lay person, you can organize an event in your congrega-
tion, such as a film screening, to educate your community
about global warming and the religious response. We will
provide you with all the materials you need. Valentine's
Day represents a powerful opportunity to talk about loving
our neighbors by protecting Creation, and we hope you
will join us.” Learn more and register for the Preach-In at:
InterfaithPowerandLight.org/PreachIn.

If you’re interested in showing a film on February 14 (or
at another time), contact Vermont Interfaith Power and
Light (info@vtipl.org). We have many different titles and
will loan them to congregations.

BLUEPRINT FOR A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
The Union of Concerned Scientists has put out a report
titled “Climate 2030: A National Blueprint for a Clean
Energy Economy.” Click here to read the 16 page
Executive Summary and/or find out how to access the
full report:
http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/Climate-2030-Bluep...

LOW CARBON DIET ARTICLE by David Gershon
The Huffington Post recently published an article by
David Gershon, author of “Low Carbon Diet: A 30 Day
Program to Lose 5000 Pounds.” VT Interfaith Power and
Light has been using this workbook for several years and
launching “EcoTeams”– groups that use this workbook
together – in many congregations around the state. To
find out about EcoTeams and to get a team(s) started in
your congregation, please contact VTIPL (info@vtipl.org).
Click the link below to read the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-gershon/hope-for-a-climate-change_b_...

EARTH DAY SUNDAY RESOURCES
The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program
has resources available for Earth Day Sunday. This
year’s theme is “Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life.”
Access the resources here:
http://nccecojustice.org/resources/#earthdaysundayresources

CARBON COVENANT
The National Interfaith Power and Light organization now
has a program called “Carbon Covenant” which gives
congregations and individuals an opportunity to help
with projects that are caring for creation in different parts
of the world. Currently, Carbon Covenant includes four
projects:
Save the Monks Community Forest in Cambodia
Stop Desertification in Cameroon
Restore Deforested Lands in Ghana
Plant 3,000,000 Trees on Kilimanjaro
Find out more at:
http://interfaithpowerandlight.org/2009/12/carbon-covenant/

PHOTOS from OCT. 24 DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the photo gallery
on VTIPL’s website: http://www.vtipl.org/image/tid/8
Vermont held the more than 50 events on that day of
action sponsored by 350.org – the highest per capita
number of events from one geographical area. GREAT
JOB everyone!

TIPS ON WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Instead of a “green tip” on how to reduce your carbon
footprint, this month’s tip, from the Union of Concerned
Scientists, is on how to write a good letter to the editor.
Caring for creation requires more than the actions we
take in our own homes and houses of worship – it
requires citizen action and educating the public, so we
encourage you to give this a try.
http://www.ucsusa.org/action/writing-an-lte.html

Vermont Interfaith Power & Light
P.O. Box 728, Richmond, VT 05477
Tel. 802-434-7307 info@vtipl.org www.vtipl.org