The Green Zionist Alliance and GreenFaith are jointly hosting an interfaith environmental conference in advance of the U.N. climate summit. Registration is scheduled to open mid-summer. In the meantime, save the date and spread the word!
Outdoor High Holiday Services with Ma’yan Tikvah – A Wellspring of Hope Rosh HaShanah Day 1, Thursday, September 25, 9:30 AM, Cedar Hill Camp 265 Beaver Street, Waltham, (accessible by MBTA bus) Click here to carpool to this service. Rosh HaShanah Potluck Dinner and Shmita Seder, Thursday, September 25, 6:30 PM, Location TBD, in Wayland Rosh HaShanah Day 2, Friday, September 26, 10 AM, Greenways Conservation Area, 60 Green Way, Wayland Kol Nidre Service, Friday, October 3, 6:45 PM, Church of the Holy Spirit, 169 Rice Road, Wayland Click here to carpool to this service. Yom Kippur Morning, Saturday, October 4, 9:30 AM, Cedar Hill Camp, 265 Beaver Street, Waltham, (accessible by MBTA bus) Click here to carpool to this service. Neilah Service and Break-fast, Saturday, October 4, 6:30 PM, Church of the Holy Spirit, 169 Rice Road, Wayland; Break-fast will be at a nearby private home Ma'yan Tikvah celebrates the High Holidays in the woods with morning services on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur as well as Kol Nidre services on Erev Yom Kippur. The services are led by Rabbi Katy Allen and are a combination of traditional and nontraditional; they are informal and participatory for those who wish to add their voices. Morning services are held outside, or if the weather requires it, under an outdoor pavilion. There is time to sing, to appreciate the natural world around us, to meditate and pray, to read and discuss the Torah portion, to hear the sound of the Sofar on Rosh HaShanah, and to remember our loved ones during Yizkor on Yom Kippur. On the first day of Rosh HaShanah, our services are followed by a pot-luck lunch and then tashlich. We will have a very different service on the second day of Rosh HaShanah - a hike interspersed with meditations, prayers, discussion, and the blowing of the shofar, and the day will include a picnic lunch - bring your own. We will through the fields and woods and end with a picnic near the Sudbury River. Our Kol Nidre service is mostly indoors, but if weather permits we go outside for part of the service. We will also have a short Neilah service at the end of Yom Kippur followed by a pot-luck break-fast. All are welcome, including families with children. The sites for the first day of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are handicap accessible. For more information or to register, go to www.mayantikvah.org and click on Shabbat, Holidays, and Classes, or call 508-358-5996 or email .
CALL FOR STRONG ACTION BY WORLD GOVERNMENTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE VOICES OF FAITH CANDLELIGHT VIGIL SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 at 4:00 PM UNION SQUARE Vigils will be taking place in Washington, London, Sydney, and around the world.Learn More. World leaders will be meeting in Lima, Peru, on December 1-12, for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20/CMP10). They’ll be working to establish the fundamentals of a strong, global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – an agreement that we hope will then be finalized in Paris in 2015. These leaders need to know that we're holding their work in our thoughts, meditations and prayers. As they start their work, join us in a vigil calling for meaningful progress toward a world safe from climate change. Please send a representative to light a candle on behalf of your community or congregation. The candle is a symbol of hope that the negotiations in Lima will be carried out in a spirit of love, compassion, and caring. To sign up to represent your faith community, please contact Spread the word on facebook and announce this vigil in your newsletter and at your services. Vigil on December 7, 2014 at 4:00 pm in Union Square
Every Jew can vote in the World Zionist Congress elections. Cast your vote for a Green Israel. Find out why your vote matters. Hear about green activism in Israel and how you can make a difference from Captain Sunshine, Yossi Abramowitz. Yossi is the solar entrepreneur who built the largest solar field in Israel and is bringing Israeli solar technology to Africa. RSVP to receive location information.
Learn more about how we all can make a difference in addressing climate change--hear keynote speaker Don Corrigan, Professor of Media Law and Global and Environmental Journalism, Webster University, followed by two break out panels on "greening your house of worship" and "greening your life and community." Co-sponsored by Jewish Environmental Initiative, a committee of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, Missouri Interfaith Power & Light and US Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway Chapter. Free and open to the community.
Join the Moral Action for Climate Justice At the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. NEW DATE: Thursday 9/24/15 Washington, DC Because this is the day we can make history. On this day the Pope will be calling on Congress to take action to save our planet — and we will be right there to show him, Congress, and the rest of the world that we agree! PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE CLOSE TO THE DATE FOR THE UPDATED TIMES.
Pope Francis is speaking to world leaders at the UN on September 25 with a simple message for politicians: There is no more time for talk. Now is the time to act on climate change. In his recent encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis wrote that “…faced as we are with global environmental deterioration. I wish to address every living person on this planet.” His impassioned message to humanity was drawn from Torah. He wrote that Genesis 2 teaches us that we are required to respect and protect the dignity of every human being. And Psalm 148 is a powerful lesson in the interconnection of all life. He wrote about the implications of the Sabbath, the Shmita Year, and the Yovel, for a world faced with climate change. Let’s make sure his message is heard! On the evening of Thursday, September 24, the night before Pope Francis speaks at the UN, Jews will be joining with other people of faith to Light the Way at a multi-faith Festival of Prayer and Music, just a few blocks from the United Nations. The program will continue into the evening with in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which will also be released on September 25. Following the Festival, a vigil will be held at the Church of Our Saviour at 59 Park Avenue. As we celebrate this season of teshuvah, tefilah, and tzedakah — repentance, prayer, and justice – let’s put our words into action. Meet us at Light the Way to offer prayers, meditations, and music, and to show the leaders meeting at the UN that we support a 100% renewable energy, zero poverty future. Light the Way Multi-faith Festival of Prayer and Music Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 4:30 pm Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 47th Street and First Avenue Information about the Light the Way Festival of Prayer and Music is available at http://ourvoices.net/newyork-lightstheway . For more on Pope Francis’ Encyclical, see What the Pope’s Climate Change Edict Means for the Jews and Three Gifts From Jewish Tradition. Here is a climate-themed kavanah you can offer during your services.
Jeffrey Cohan, the Executive Director of Jewish Veg, is coming to Teaneck, NJ. He will be leading an hour-long, interactive presentation at Congregation Beth Sholom on the significance of Tza'ar Baalei Chayim (the Jewish mandate to prevent animal suffering) in our contemporary world. This event begins at 7 pm and is free and open to the public.
On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, as TV cameras turn towards Philadelphia, thousands will march for action to prevent climate catastrophe and present these demands directly to current and future policy makers: • Ban Fracking Now • Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground • Stop Dirty Energy • Quickly and Justly Transition to 100% Renewable Energy We'll be organizing a group marching together as Jews (of all backgrounds) who want a clean energy revolution! At the 2014 People's Climate March, 400,000 people marched through the streets of New York City to demand that world leaders take climate change seriously. We're proud that 150 Jewish organizations endorsed the Climate March--one in ten of all the endorsers. Now the time has come for another march-- aimed at our national policymakers. And we need to show America that the Jewish community will show up in force! Stay tuned for details as the event approaches. Learn more and have your Jewish organization endorse the march here: www.cleanenergymarch.org
People's Climate March in DC on April 29 Aytzim supports the People’s Climate Movement this April 29th in Washington, D.C. (and across the country) to stand up for our communities and climate. The People's Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of our movements. To change everything, we need everyone. On April 29th, we will march for our families. We will march for our air, our water, and our land. We will march for clean energy jobs and climate justice. We will march for our communities and the people we love.
The People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE) are joining with the students from local high schools and colleges to hold a march and rally. Our specific purpose is to call upon Governor Cuomo to enact aggressive measures that can lead the nation and the world in lowering our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to a safe level. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that we have until 2030 to lower GHG by 45% from the 2010 level. Every report the IPCC puts out is cautiously moderate and needs to be replaced by more dire predictions in their next report. Therefore, we probably have less than 10 years to claw back our climate to a safe level before it reaches the tipping point in which hundreds of millions die and humanity, itself, is at risk. In 2018 both the US and global GHG increased. The New York Times 12/5/18 headline reads “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’” in 2018. PAUSE and other groups will request that Governor Cuomo declare New York in a state of climate emergency in which he promises to do the following: 1) Immediate ban on all new fossil fuel projects 2) Immediate halt to all subsidies for fossil fuels from NYS 3) Increase funding from $7-10 billion for renewable projects in the 2020-21 budget--40% of such funding will target disadvantaged communities. 4) Convert all public buildings and vehicles to zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2023 5) Amend building codes to require all new buildings be carbon emission free by 2023
