Have an event that will fit well on our calendar?
- This event has passed.
Planting Seeds for New Futures: 2024 Annual Interfaith Climate Convening
September 29 @ 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Annual Convening (formerly Conference) has been a core offering of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light for many years. It serves as a way to connect passionate individuals across the state, strengthen interfaith community, and build momentum to address climate change as a moral issue here in the Keystone State.
This year, we are proud to present a fully virtual and accessible event to better serve our network. Our theme is housed at the intersections of faith, food, sustainable agriculture, and justice. We can provide a Watch Party Guide for folks who would still like to gather in person at their congregation or other local community space (request this option on registration).
We have a packed agenda! We will get started with an opening address from Soul Fire Farm, “Uprooting Racism, Seeding Sovereignty”. After that, there will be a short welcome and orientation session led by PA IPL staff and board. We will then split into two tracks, Tenders and Tellers. Yes, you will have to choose, but don’t worry! These sessions will be recorded and available later to all registrants. During breaks in programming, you will be given opportunities to visit with our sponsors and partners to learn more about their incredible work.
We will reconvene for a keynote address from Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter on “Cultivating Hope in a Time of Catastrophe”. This will be followed by live Q&A which will bring our formal program to a close. Optional regional breakout rooms will be opened between 6pm-7pm for those interested in staying for conversation.
To register as a sponsor, please visit: https://forms.gle/JmqZBkpRsXCSxwDLA
To register as a partner (co-sponsor) please visit: https://forms.gle/AbpHzX8toMU7KeD99
Check out film screenings we are offering as part of the PA IPL 2024 Film Festival here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tickets
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.
If you are a PA IPL member (or your congregation is), be sure to check your email for a discount code.
Friend – $8 (USE CODE FRIEND24)
Builder – $15 (USE CODE BUILDER24)
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 a sponsorship or make a donation: https://paipl.us/give/
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA:
1PM -1:45PM – Uprooting Racism, Seeding Sovereignty – Opening Address from Soul Fire Farm
1:45PM – 2:15PM – Welcome and Orientation*
2:15PM – 2:30PM – BREAK (15 minutes)
2:30PM – 3:15PM – Tenders and Tellers Tracks – Session #1*
3:15PM-3:45PM – Break (30 minutes)
3:45PM-4:30PM – Tender and Tellers Tracks – Session #2*
4:30PM-4:45PM – Break (15 minutes)
4:45PM-6PM – Keynote with Rev. Dr Christopher Carter + Q&A*
6PM-7PM – Optional regional networking
*asterisk indicates that this session will be recorded for post-event viewing by all registrants
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Opening Address
Our opening features a riveting address delivered by Soul Fire Farm’s Co-Founder and Farm Manager, Leah Penniman, and closes with a performance by world-renowned poet, Soul Fire Farm’s Program Manager, Naima Penniman. The storytelling weaves the history and structural realities of racial injustice in the food system, with movement strategies past and present of frontline communities mobilizing for food and land sovereignty. Learn how you and your organization can help build a food system based on justice, dignity, and abundance for all members of our community.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Keynote
Cultivating Hope in a Time of Catastrophe
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter
Climate scientists have warned us that unless we make some moderate and some significant changes to how we produce energy we will cause irreparable harm to our planet. Many people understand that we are at a tipping point and yet remain paralyzed or inactive within the environmental movement. In this talk, Rev. Dr. Carter will explore some of the fundamental assumptions about what it means to be “human” and how these ideologies are at the heart of the environmental and climate crisis. He will end his talk by describing a pathway forward, the cultivation of hope through love and solidarity.
About Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter’s teaching, research, and activist interests are in Black, Womanist, and Environmental ethics, with a particular focus on race, food, and nonhuman animals. He is the co-creator of Racial Resilience, an anti-racism and anti-bias program that utilizes the combined insights of contemplative practices and critical race theories. His academic publications include “Blood in the Soil: The Racial, Racist, and Religious Dimensions of Environmentalism” in The Bloomsbury Handbook on Religion and Nature (Bloomsbury, 2018), The Spirit of Soul Food (University of Illinois Press, December 2021), and “Race, Animals, and a New Vision of the Beloved Community” in Animals and Religion (Routledge, 2024). Currently he is an Associate Professor of Theology, Race, and Ecology at Methodist Theological School of Ohio, a Faith in Food Fellow at Farm Forward, and lead pastor of The Loft at Westwood UMC, in Westwood California.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Track Details
Tenders Track
Our tenders track is focused on growing, tending, and stewarding from a faith-based lens. We’ll convene experts in their field for each discussion with time for audience Q&A.
Session #1 – From the Ground Up: Community Gardens as Faith Practice
Come and learn from different congregations who have planted and stewarded community gardens. We’ll get into the dirt in this session – and answer questions like where to start, how-to, and the big why. Speakers TBA shortly. Led by Ty Fowler, PA IPL’s SEPA Outreach Coordinator and Organizer.
Session #2 – It’s All Sacred: Growing Futures through Imagination
Extreme weather, climate displacement, and fascism are on the rise. How do we build power in local communities to respond to these challenges? Join us for a discussion on building climate resilience through the lens of community, deepening our imaginations to what is possible! Speakers TBA shortly. Led by Katie Ruth, PA IPL’s Executive Director.
Tellers Track
Our tellers track is focused on exploring people, policy, and politics from a faith-based lens. We’ll convene experts in their field for each discussion with time for audience Q&A. This track is led by Renika Weimer, PA IPL’s Outreach and Advocacy Manager.
Session #1 – Climate Smart Agriculture: What You Need to Know
Join us for a discussion on all things climate smart agriculture and faith! We’ll talk about the Farm Bill, SNAP, and other policy issues that we’ve got an eye on this year. Speakers TBA shortly.
Session #2 – Be the Change You Want to Eat: Food Systems Change
Join us for a discussion on our food systems, including policy and rescue. How do we get our food? How did we get here? What can we do to fix it? Speakers TBA shortly.
During breaks, you are invited to stretch, move, and take a break from your screen. You will also have the opportunity during this time to visit with our sponsors and partners to learn more about their work. A list of sponsors and participating partners will be made available as we move closer to the day.
To register as a sponsor, please visit: https://forms.gle/JmqZBkpRsXCSxwDLA
To register as a partner (co-sponsor) please visit: https://forms.gle/AbpHzX8toMU7KeD99
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsors
We are so grateful to this year’s sponsors and cosponsors for their financial and amplification partnerships!
PHOTOVOLTAIC
Pendle Hill is proud to support PA IPL. As an organization that values sustainability, peace, and justice, we are excited to partner with other organizations doing this important work.
SILVER
CAIR-Philadelphia is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group promoting justice and mutual understanding. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. We see climate justice as key to issues impacting our communities at home and abroad. We seek to highlight a Muslim perspective on climate justice to uphold the creation of God and remove injustices impacting our communities.
BRONZE
CO-SPONSORS
