Who We Are
We are a community of diverse faith traditions networking together to advance environmental protection and eco-justice on Cape Cod & the Islands — the Sacred Wampanoag Homeland.
Our members represent over 45 faith institutions from across the region and diverse religious traditions. The Faith Communities Environmental Network (FCEN) is an informal, all volunteer network, co-chaired by Rev. Dr. Russ Norris and Susan Starkey and is a member of MA-Interfaith Power & Light.
We are a growing network and welcome your participation. Please contact FCENcapecod@gmail.com with questions and to learn how you and/or your faith community might join in our work.
What We Do
Climate action is a moral imperative for the Faith Communities Environmental Network. United by a shared ethos across faith traditions, we work to protect our Earth Home and all living beings through education, advocacy, and best practices. Our vision is to inspire hope and action for eco-justice, especially for those most impacted by climate change.
As an all volunteer network, we partner across Faith traditions and connect with scientists, environmental groups, and public and private groups committed to responding to the “Cry of the Earth & the Cry of the Poor”. Members connect regularly to share support, resources, and spiritual strength in the face of eco-anxiety.
Through contemplation, readings, and storytelling, we honor each other’s hopes and fears and strengthen our shared commitment to radical environmental justice—all rooted in love for our planet and one another.
Our work is founded upon three pillars of action
We work collaboratively as a diverse community to inspire hope and action to protect the interdependent web of life. Our education work covers a broad range of subjects including:
- Climate Justice
- Green Sanctuaries
- Divestment and Socially Responsible Investing
- Importance of Energy Audits
- Renewable Energy Advocacy
- Sustainable Houses of Worship
- Carbon Footprint Reduction
- Ethical Eating
- Youth Activism
FCEN’s educational outreach takes many forms including monthly meetings, special events, webinar series, speaking engagements and participation in conferences and forums.
Working individually and collectively in our faith communities, we speak out, together, to advocate for racial, economic, social, and environmental justice as we work to protect Cape Cod, the Islands, and the Earth. Our methods of advocacy take many forms including:
- Editorials and Letters to the Editor
- Calls, texts and letters to elected officials
- Signing advocacy efforts, like NE4OSW, Sierra Club, etc.
- Participating in elected offices and civic roles in our towns on energy, climate, building and conservation committees
Many of our faith community participants are active members of their town energy, climate, and conservation committees and use these forums to advocate for our principles and work to our goals.
Our third pillar of action is sharing best practices. We accomplish this by learning together, sharing information, and modeling best practices by:
- Holding monthly meetings
- Conducting speaking engagements
- Holding webinars and panel discussions
- Producing regional events
- Presenting in regional conferences
- Sharing educational resources such as books, films, and worship materials
- Energy audits and sustainable houses of worship
- Offering web resources
- Promoting town climate education and advocacy
News & Highlights
Programs & Partners
We face a cascade of crises, from climate emergency to systemic racism to pandemic. MassIPL is working to lift up the voices of people of faith to address these interlocking challenges.
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Our task is both daunting and exciting: to inspire and mobilize people of faith to do our part in bringing about what Joanna Macy calls The Great Turning—the global shift from a destructive, inequitable, extractive economy to a culture of conservation, fairness, and reverence.
For decades, MassIPL has helped Massachusetts people of faith fulfill our responsibility to be caring stewards of our houses of worship, our homes, and the earth. As public advocates, we have called our political leaders to meaningful action for climate justice.
We must also tell our stories—stories of suffering, of compassion, of ingenuity, of courage—to touch hearts and incite action. We must spread our message of conservation and renewable energy to more and more congregations throughout the Commonwealth. We must organize people of faith as unstoppable activists for public policies that advance environmental, social, and racial justice.
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology is an international multireligious project contributing to a new academic field and an engaged moral force of religious environmentalism. With its conferences, publications, monthly newsletter, and website, it explores religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to contribute to environmental solutions along with science, policy, law, economics, and appropriate technology.
Contact: Rev. Brian McGurk (St. Christopher’s), bmcgurk@stchristopherschatham.org
Temple of Understanding: Eco-justice for All
In 1960, Juliet Hollister (1916-2000) created the Temple of Understanding (TOU) after a realization that the world was in grave danger unless the gifts, wisdom, and insights of religious traditions could be recognized and cultivated to promote positive social change.
Contact:
Grove Harris, groveharris@gmail.com
Alison VanDyk, alison@templeofunderstanding.org
Parliament of World Religions
Our mission is to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and to foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions to address the critical issues of our time.
Contact:
Grove Harris, groveharris@gmail.com
Alison VanDyk, alison@templeofunderstanding.org
Two Words Can Change the World
Two little words. They appear on just one page of an 11,000 word document. But those two words could change the world. The inclusion of the phrase “fossil fuels” in the final agreement of the United Nations conference on climate change known as “COP 28”, calls for the “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
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As people of faith, we know how powerful words can be. Words like “I’m sorry” or “forgive me” can open doors that have been shut and barred for years. The earliest confession of faith was just two words in Greek: “Iesus Kurios” – “Jesus is Lord”. A phrase like “God is love” can change the way we understand ourselves, each other and the world. Words have power. They convey hope and possibility. Words can lift up the vision of a new creation.
For almost 30 years, the nations of the world have struggled and failed to reach a consensus on reducing the use of coal, oil and gas to avoid further catastrophic global warming. But overnight, representatives from more than 170 countries agreed on a surprising deal – in the oil rich Persian Gulf of all places! The document isn’t as clear as many had hoped. It leaves a lot of wiggle room and isn’t binding on the participants. But the inclusion of language calling on the world to move away from fossil fuels is a major breakthrough.
There is plenty of work to be done if COP 28 is going to make a difference. This year was the hottest in recorded history. Oil, gas and coal production continue to rise. Fossil fuel companies are planning for decades of increased production, and many countries are still reliant on fossil fuels for economic growth. Change will require a rapid increase in renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will mean sweeping changes to the global financial system to provide support for developing nations. And we will need to make serious efforts to preserve and protect the natural world.
But sometimes the arc of history can begin to shift with just two little words.
Contact: Pastor Russ Norris, St. Mary’s Barnstable