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Upcoming Interfaith Gatherings
Hi! Have you heard about "Sun Day"?
Here in Portland, Third Act (and partners) is hosting a coalition day of community building, awareness, education, connection and positivity to celebrate Solar and Wind energy.
WHEN: September 21, 1:30 - 5 (ish) pm (Event begins at Noon, but we won't be able to meet until later)
WHERE: Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a few blocks south of the Portland Saturday Market
WHAT:
https://greenfaith.org/faiths-4-climate-justice-sun-day/
https://thirdact.org/oregon/events/sun-day-september-21/
https://thirdact.org/sun-day/
MAKING EARTH COOL
WHO:
Making Earth Cool
Extinction Rebellion – XRPDX
350pdx
Portland Jobs with Justice
Divest Oregon
Ecofaith Recovery
MCAT (Mobilizing Climate Action)
Braided River Campaign
First Unitarian Church of Portland and Center for Earth
Tributary Alliance
Multnomah County Dems for Climate Action
Mosquito Fleet
Climate Cafe PDX
Climate Reality PDX
Oregon Electric Vehicle Association
Willamette Riverkeepers
Portland Jobs With Justice
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Citizens Climate Lobbby PDX
OCERA
Electrify PDX
Columbia Slough Watershed Council
Friends, music, dancing, giant puppets...and the Extinction Rebellion PDX fire truck! Sounds fun, right? Is your congregation or group planning to attend? (You might be on the list above, or know someone who is!) Will you be there yourself, or with a friend? Please reply and let me know, so we can seek each other out...and possibly plan something to do together. If you can make it, it would be good to reconnect. Looking forward to meeting up again.
Here in Portland, Third Act (and partners) is hosting a coalition day of community building, awareness, education, connection and positivity to celebrate Solar and Wind energy.
WHEN: September 21, 1:30 - 5 (ish) pm (Event begins at Noon, but we won't be able to meet until later)
WHERE: Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a few blocks south of the Portland Saturday Market
WHAT:
https://greenfaith.org/faiths-4-climate-justice-sun-day/
https://thirdact.org/oregon/events/sun-day-september-21/
https://thirdact.org/sun-day/
MAKING EARTH COOL
WHO:
Making Earth Cool
Extinction Rebellion – XRPDX
350pdx
Portland Jobs with Justice
Divest Oregon
Ecofaith Recovery
MCAT (Mobilizing Climate Action)
Braided River Campaign
First Unitarian Church of Portland and Center for Earth
Tributary Alliance
Multnomah County Dems for Climate Action
Mosquito Fleet
Climate Cafe PDX
Climate Reality PDX
Oregon Electric Vehicle Association
Willamette Riverkeepers
Portland Jobs With Justice
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Citizens Climate Lobbby PDX
OCERA
Electrify PDX
Columbia Slough Watershed Council
Friends, music, dancing, giant puppets...and the Extinction Rebellion PDX fire truck! Sounds fun, right? Is your congregation or group planning to attend? (You might be on the list above, or know someone who is!) Will you be there yourself, or with a friend? Please reply and let me know, so we can seek each other out...and possibly plan something to do together. If you can make it, it would be good to reconnect. Looking forward to meeting up again.
Past Interfaith Gatherings
Monday, Sept. 1, 2025 ~ Labor Day 50501 Rally & March
GreenFaith Wy'East showed up to support working families, labor, and our local communities in Portland with 50501 and May Day Strong. Our banner read "Faith In Solidarity" for the day and we met beside it as well as carried it through downtown to the bridge. The best part about these actions is meeting other people of faith! We met Quakers, Jewish folks, and other Zen Buddhists too. It was an incredible day with thousands of Portlanders showing up and raising their voices.
Sunday, March 16, 2025 ~ Oregon Interfaith Earth Summit:
Climate Safety & Health 2025
Climate Safety & Health 2025
Please join us at the 12th Annual Oregon Interfaith Earth Summit: Climate Safety & Health
March 16, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Connect with people of faith & goodwill across Oregon to learn and take action together. The focus at the 2025 event will be on climate safety and health, featuring guest speakers (to be announced) and educational materials. This is a hybrid event, with a plenary session on Zoom and a concurrent in-person community gathering. https://emoregon.org/event/oregon-interfaith-earth-summit-2/
Bright Way Zen, at 12020 SW Barnes Rd, will be serving as a local host. Attendance will be limited to pre-registered attendees.
March 16, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Connect with people of faith & goodwill across Oregon to learn and take action together. The focus at the 2025 event will be on climate safety and health, featuring guest speakers (to be announced) and educational materials. This is a hybrid event, with a plenary session on Zoom and a concurrent in-person community gathering. https://emoregon.org/event/oregon-interfaith-earth-summit-2/
Bright Way Zen, at 12020 SW Barnes Rd, will be serving as a local host. Attendance will be limited to pre-registered attendees.
Friday, July 5, 2024 ~ Third Act! Oregon Presents: An Evening with Bill McKibben
Friday, July 5th 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
First Unitarian Church Eliot Center, at Southwest 12th Avenue & Southwest Salmon Street Portland, OR 97205
Third Act Oregon presented a climate conversation with Third Act Founder, one of the world's most beloved and important environmentalists and global thinkers, Activist, Author, & Journalist, Bill McKibben. It was an intimate conversation with Bill about what we can do right now to save our planet and our democracy, what’s bringing him joy, what gives him hope, and why he believes that, working together, we can have a huge impact on making our world a better place for generations to come.
First Unitarian Church Eliot Center, at Southwest 12th Avenue & Southwest Salmon Street Portland, OR 97205
Third Act Oregon presented a climate conversation with Third Act Founder, one of the world's most beloved and important environmentalists and global thinkers, Activist, Author, & Journalist, Bill McKibben. It was an intimate conversation with Bill about what we can do right now to save our planet and our democracy, what’s bringing him joy, what gives him hope, and why he believes that, working together, we can have a huge impact on making our world a better place for generations to come.
Bill McKibben gave an inspiring speech on the cusp of a heatwave in Portland, Oregon to many local concerned citizens and activists. He was introduced as a person of faith, who's faith helped him stay strong. He spoke intensely from behind the Unitarian pulpit, often lifting his arms over his head as relief from the heat. Starting out with the current news about Hurricane Beryl, the state of things in Jamaica and Corpus Christi, the greatest heatwave ever in Delhi (35 million people experiencing 121 degrees), and measurements of buoys registering 121 degrees in the sea off the Florida Keys. He moved on to an honest discussion about the unfairness that those most affected by horrendous climate-caused tragedy, those most vulnerable, are the least responsible for it. About what is at stake, right now, on the cusp of potential political and global transformation. About what we're up against in the fossil fuel industry....(an example: if Trump wins and allows it to happen, LNG exports from the Gulf of Mexico will produce more greenhouse gases than Europe in its entirety.) About what needs to be done, when (now!) and why it's time for those close to retirement or in retirement to use their unique societal, cultural, and financial powers for good. A note of hope rang out hearing him talk about MOVEMENTS - the successes of Sunrise, Fridays for Future, Divestment, and the transition already underway from "Hell" (combustion-based energy) to "Heaven" (wind and solar).
After the main presentation, there were youth activists from across Oregon who joined Bill in an intergenerational Q & A session. Following the program, climate activists from all over the state held an informational tabling session and refreshments were served in the lower hall. With the help of 30 supporting organizations, there were 920 event registrations, more than 300 in-person attendees, 350 on Livestream, and well over 100 at several watch parties around the state.
Sponsoring organization(s): Presented by Third Act Oregon (TAO). In association with 350PDX, 350Eugene, 350WashCo, Braided River Campaign, Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network (COIN), Divest Oregon, Elders Climate Action - Oregon Chapter (ECA-OR), Extinction Rebellion PDX (XRPDX), Havurah Shalom Climate Action Team, Metro Climate Action Team (MCAT), Oregon Climate Action Hub (ORCAH), Partners for Sustainable Schools, Portland Citizens Climate Lobby, Rogue Climate, Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance, Stop The Money Pipeline (STMP), SunrisePDX, and GreenFaith Wy'East.
Thank you Third Act Oregon for this wonderful event!
Thursday, June 13, 2024 ~ Forests Are Our Future Rally
Saturday, May 4, 2024 ~ Oregon State Climate Vigil
We attended the first Climate Vigil in Salem – a statewide, Interfaith community summit to lift our voices and lights to unify behind how important and urgent climate-forward legislation is to us and our friends and families. The day's events were a collaboration between Climate Vigil and OCERA (Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment) Current coalition members also include Our Children's Trust, Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Interfaith Power & Light, EcoFaith Recovery, Protect Our Progress, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, Elders Climate Action, Youth Climate Courts, PacClean, and GreenFaith Wy'East (that's us!).
Making the rainy drive from Portland to Salem in a Chevy Bolt, we listened to talks from Tribal Representatives, 3 Senators, lawyers and activists. During breakout groups, we were given a chance to voice our thoughts and opinions about how to move forward. Then it was a vegetarian meal provided by Climate Vigil, followed by the main event at the Oregon State Capitol Mall right in front of the iconic Capital. Rev. Domyo Burk gave a talk as part of the faith leaders lineup.
We met many kind folks and danced into the night!
Making the rainy drive from Portland to Salem in a Chevy Bolt, we listened to talks from Tribal Representatives, 3 Senators, lawyers and activists. During breakout groups, we were given a chance to voice our thoughts and opinions about how to move forward. Then it was a vegetarian meal provided by Climate Vigil, followed by the main event at the Oregon State Capitol Mall right in front of the iconic Capital. Rev. Domyo Burk gave a talk as part of the faith leaders lineup.
We met many kind folks and danced into the night!
If you support the people's right to a healthy environment, and feel that this right should be a part of Oregon State Law (as it is in Montana!) please pass along this information within your networks and congregations. OCERA is seeking more individual supporters, volunteers, and coalition members.
Saturday, Feb. 3rd, 2024 ~ Cultivating Respect and Gratitude: A Gathering at Chatakuin, the Five Oaks Historic Site
Location: Historic Five Oaks Historical Marker in Hillsboro, just off Highway 26. There is street parking around the site. This is the location of a 500-600 year-old oak tree, the last of the historic "five oaks" which once stood here (the others have died of natural causes). The indigenous Kalapuya peoples gathered under the five oaks for acorn gathering and processing for hundreds of years before white settlers arrived in this area. For more information, visit the Five Oaks Museum.
Time: Arrive to meet others and visit the oaks starting at 1:30pm. Gathering will begin 2pm and will last around 45 minutes.
This gathering will happen rain or shine, so come prepared for the weather. You may want to bring something to sit on.
Purpose:
Time: Arrive to meet others and visit the oaks starting at 1:30pm. Gathering will begin 2pm and will last around 45 minutes.
This gathering will happen rain or shine, so come prepared for the weather. You may want to bring something to sit on.
Purpose:
- To connect with the significance of this ancient tree and site emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
- To cultivate gratitude and respect for land on which we live.
- To express sadness and regret for violence done to the original inhabitants of this land, and to the land itself.
- To take inspiration from the example of the Kalapuya, who maintained a sustainable and respectful relationship with land in the Willamette (Walamat in Kalapuyan, meaning "to spill or pour water") River valley for millennia, where they maintained Oregon White Oak savannahs through careful prescribed burning.
November 4th, 2023 ~ Prayer and Meditation at Chatakuin, the Five Oaks Historic Site
Location: Historic Five Oaks Historical Marker in Hillsboro, just off Highway 26. There is street parking around the site.
Time: Gather starting 2:30pm, ceremony will begin 3pm and will last under an hour in total.
We will:
Note: This will be a fairly informal event, done in part as part of a process of developing a larger event at the site in the new year.
Time: Gather starting 2:30pm, ceremony will begin 3pm and will last under an hour in total.
We will:
- Begin with a few words about the significance of Chatakuin, and state our intention to open our hearts and minds to:
- the reality of the genocide and injustice perpetrated by colonial ancestors on native peoples;
- the beauty, bounty, and fragility of the land which still supports us;
- prayers that we may learn from the ancestors of the native peoples how to love and care for this land.
- Spend 20 minutes in silent meditation/prayer
- bring something to sit on, or spend the time standing; prepare for rain
- Do 10 minutes of Metta (lovingkindness meditation) led by a Zen priest
- End with a blessing led by a UU minister
Note: This will be a fairly informal event, done in part as part of a process of developing a larger event at the site in the new year.
September 15th, 2023 ~ Interfaith Service in Support of the Youth Climate Strike
A collaboration between GreenFaith Wy'East and EcoFaith Recovery
A collaboration between GreenFaith Wy'East and EcoFaith Recovery
Location: Terry Schrunk Plaza · 431 SW Madison St, Portland, OR 97204, meet near the edge of the amphitheatre at the east end of the plaza (3rd ave side). Look for the GreenFaith and EcoFaith Recovery banners! The area should be accessible to those with mobility issues, although it might get crowded.
Time: Gather 11am, Service about 11:15am. We may need to gather and then move one or two blocks north, to a quieter space, for the service (Chapman square or Lownsdale square)
Please RSVP (see the form below) to get updates or let us know whether you'd like to be involved with the action - or just show up
- If you or your community would like to contribute a 3-5 minute faith-appropriate offering to the service (reading, meditation, prayer, song, etc.), indicate this on the RSVP form or submit an email through our Get In Touch page
- We will have a portable PA system; if there are other activities taking place in the amphitheatre, we will find a place on the edge of the park for our service
After the closing of the service, you are invited to join one or more of the following actions:
- Join the Youth Climate March.
- Join some of us to sit or stand in silent meditation or prayer (on the ground or in a chair - bring your own seat) along the march route to Bear Witness to the youth, their energy and dedication, and the challenging future they are facing through no fault of their own. (We plan to walk no more than a block or two to find a place to Bear Witness.)
- Join EcoFaith Recovery in a “Sing the Signs” action to amplify the Youths’ messages through impromptu songs, drumming, and other joyful noises. Find us along the march route at a street corner close to the start as well. Bring your voice and a percussion instrument that you can carry easily.
- Bring signs!
