The GreenFaith Boulder County Circle held a Fall Gathering and Interest Meeting on Thursday, November 14th. It has been awhile since we last gathered, and the time felt right to (re)energize our Circle for climate action in the coming year.
What a gift to have folx from so many communities gathered together, including…
Congregation Nevei Kodesh, Congregation Har HaShem, Boulder Valley UU Fellowship, Boulder Friends, Boulder Shambhala Center, Eon Zen Center, Upaya Zen Center, Community United Church of Christ, Pine Street Church, Flame and Well Druid Grove, Naropa University, First Congregational Church, Boulder Morningstar Zen Center, Climate Justice Hive, Joanna Macy Center, and more….
Many thanks to everyone who joined.
Shout out also to Micha K. Ben-David with the Climate Justice Hive for helping to guide our group discussion. And many thanks to the Joanna Macy Center and Climate Justice Hive for hosting us at Naropa, to the Mediterranean Market for the nourishing food, and to GreenFaith USA for picking up the tab to support our efforts.
We may have failed to take photos but it was a full room of heart-full people sharing, connecting, and planting seeds for faith-rooted climate action. It was wonderful to be together and combine our lights in these dark times.
Next steps:
Our goal was to affirm and deepen our relationships and explore ways to develop a stronger and wider network for collective action.
We will compile the many networks, connections and ideas that were shared and send that out to everyone in the coming weeks.
Our next gathering will be Thursday, January 16th, time TBD — we’ll send out a scheduling poll in early Jan.
If you are connected with someone who came to the gathering and is not on this email list, please forward our gratitude to them as well. They can sign up here to receive these emails.
In the meantime, many blessings to all as we turn toward the winter solstice and enter the holiday season. Please keep sharing here as you are called.
May we continue to co-create a sanctuary of support and loving action.
Tapping into the themes of his new book, Brian McLaren invites us to engage in the catastrophic failure of both political and religious leaders to address urgent realities of our time: ecological overshoot, economic injustice, and civilizational collapse. Come explore the complexity of hope, the necessity of grief, and discover new ways of thinking, becoming, and belonging for the common good.
Common Food Forum Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart With Brian McLaren Friday Oct 25-Oct 27 Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine Street
The 2024 NoCo Climate Meetup is coming up on September 22 in Loveland’s Centennial Park from 12 noon to 5 PM. Join your local northern Colorado climate activists for an afternoon of networking and education
There will be speakers, networking events, food, and drinks – plus the chance to spend the afternoon with your fellow Colorado climate activists … we are expecting upwards of 100 people. Please try to respond to the invitation as soon as possible, so the organizers can make sure adequate beverages are on hand. Although some compostable plates, tableware, and cups will be provided, you are encouraged to bring your own reusable plates and utensils to go with your shared dish.
We are trying to keep this green by establishing carpooling to and from the event. Please indicate in the comment area on the invite if you are interested in carpooling – indicate if you (a) can drive (b) need a ride and (c) your “region” (e.g. Longmont, Ft Collins, Boulder, Denver, Greeley, etc)
350CO organized an action to take place at Chase Bank in downtown Denver for August 9, 2024 to protest the bank’s investments in and loans to Fossil Fuel Companies. Chase is one of the main banks that invests in fossil fuel.
Third Act Colorado sponsored it as part of the Third Act National’s “Summer of Heat” actions around the country, and Greenfaith Boulder County Circle also joined as a sponsor for the event.
About 25 people came with banners, signs and a polar bear head we took turns wearing. Third Act had a rocky chair for the “old Third Actors” who were part of the protest. It was a successful action on a hot day!
Third Act Colorado is the local chapter of dedicated folks over 60 joining together in creative actions as we work to protect our democracy and save our precious planet. We are committed, in this our “third act” of life, to using our resources and our skills to better the world for those coming after us. Join us as we joyfully work to become good ancestors!
Friday, May 3, 2024 Public News Service Article by Mark Richardson, Producer
A new film documents the 2018 battle between Colorado environmentalists and the oil and gas industry over proposed fracking regulations.
The film also documents a grassroots effort by Colorado Rising to pass a ballot initiative which would create a 2,500-foot setback for all hydraulic fracturing wells in the state, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Sarah Schulte, organizing committee member of GreenFaith Boulder County, which recently previewed the film for about 100 members, said the film has a strong message.
“What probably makes the film pretty dramatic and kind of shocking is the length to which oil and natural gas industries in Colorado set out to thwart them,” Schulte pointed out. “Not only with some of the tactics you might expect, but also some kind of more nefarious tactics sabotaging their signature gathering, for example.”
In the end, the petroleum industry defeated the measure after a $50 million campaign opposing it. Schulte acknowledged Colorado Rising raised only $1 million for its campaign. After the election, the state adopted a 1,000-foot drilling setback from schools and residential property lines.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, involves drillers injecting a mixture of chemicals underground to break up the shale and free the oil. The chemicals used in the process, which are sometimes toxic, can pollute groundwater and make the surrounding land unstable.
Schulte emphasized the movie had a powerful effect on the group’s members.
“I think most people were pretty angry and maybe even a little sad after seeing how these kinds of politics play out in Colorado,” Schulte observed. “They asked questions like what can we do next? How do you keep going when it’s so difficult to fight such a big and powerful industry?”
The film, Fracking the System: Colorado’s Oil and Gas Wars, is currently being previewed by select audiences. It has won the “Spirit of Activism” award at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival and the “Environmental Award” at the 2024 DOCUTAH International Film Festival.
Disclosure: GreenFaith contributes to the Public News Service fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, and Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
On April 25, 2024, the newly-released, award-winning documentary, Fracking the System: Colorado’s Oil and Gas Wars — a political thriller documentary from the front lines of climate justice activism in Colorado, was presented by Community United Church of Christ in partnership with First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naropa University’s Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration, and GreenFaith Boulder County.
And check out the photos below from the screening — what a beautiful gathering with a full sanctuary of 100 people!
Reverend Nicole LeMarche, senior pastor at Community United Church of Christ, opened and closed the event calling us to loving action.
Sarah Schulte, First Congregational Church and GreenFaith Boulder County Organizing Committee member, moderated an excellent panel discussion with local activists from the film — Patricia Nelson, Suzanne Spiegel, and Russell Mendell — along with director Brian Hedden, Thomas Weiler from Together Colorado and Micah Parkin from 350CO.
