Updated 03.20.13
Postcards are being sent to President Obama through Earth Day – Order Yours Today
The weekend of February 8-10 witnessed thousands of clergy, lay leaders, and other people of faith speak of their abiding love for God’s Creation by participating in Interfaith Power & Light’s National Preach-In campaign.
The cause was more urgent than ever. At his first news conference after re-election, President Obama said, “I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions. And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to future generations to do something about it.” So Preach-In participants had the opportunity to send postcards asking President Obama to honor this pledge.
And you, too, can send a postcard to President Obama. The deadline for sending postcards has been extended to April 22, Earth Day. Your congregation can order 50 postcards for $15 by registering on the IPL website. And, if you are going to an event within the next month, you too, can order the postcards and have folks fill them out.
We anticipate sending thousands of postcards to the President asking him to go to beyond words to action. Order your postcards today and add your voice.
Learn more about exciting national IPL campaigns like Cool Harvest and Carbon Covenant by clicking here.
PRESS RELEASE: To view in .doc form, click here
For more information contact: Greg Bedard, Program Director at 415-391-4214 or greg@interfaithpower.org; Allis Druffel, Southern California Outreach Director at 310-752-3436 or allis@interfaithpower.org
Preach-In will amplify President Obama’s call for strong action on climate change
In his second inaugural address, President Barack Obama confirmed that we are obligated to act in the face of climate change. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” he said. Clergy from many faiths across California will take up that call Feb. 8-10 during the National Preach-In on Global Warming.
“President Obama has affirmed that we have a responsibility to address climate change,” said The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham of Interfaith Power & Light, which organizes the Preach-In each year. “Faith leaders across the country will mobilize their congregations in a major push for action in response to this speech.”
“All of Creation bears the image of God. In caring for God’s Creation, we care not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors and for the least among us,” said Fr. John Coleman, a member of the pastoral staff at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in San Francisco.
“The first commandment is to take care of the Earth. To disobey this, we are endangering our fellow beings and ourselves,” said Rev. Maria Tafoya, Pastor of Delhaven Christian Church in La Puente.
Clergy will preach sermons on climate change, send thousands of valentines to the president asking him to love the Earth, and make efficiency improvements in houses of worship. In 2012, Preach-In congregations sent an estimated 37,500 postcards to U.S. Senators asking them to support clean air legislation.
Preach-In registration is free, and registrants have access to free and low-cost materials to plan their Preach-In activities. For more information, see www.preachin.org.
Here’s the full text of what President Obama said about climate change:
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.
The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure — our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.