Dear Friends,
Spring has arrived in Massachusetts: blooming lilacs, returning chimney swifts, and longer evenings finally back. For many of us, it’s also the season of Pentecost, of Shavuot, of fresh wind and the giving of wisdom. The work of caring for the Earth and climate feels less like an obligation in May and more like a response: to beauty, to gift, to the world we’ve been given.
The links below offer ways to stay spiritually centered, to take practical action, and to mobilize your voice for policies worth fighting for. We’re especially excited about Gopal Patel’s Cape Cod tour mid-month and a clean energy celebration in Revere to close out May with some genuine joy.
With hope and gratitude,
The MassIPL Team
Wednesday, May 6 | 7:00 PM | Online | Jewish Climate Action Network
Our buildings aren’t the only place we can reduce our carbon footprint — our money can too. Join JCAN and representatives from Greenvest to explore how individuals and congregations can reduce the climate impact of their investments, banking, and retirement funds. A future with dramatically reduced fossil fuel use is possible; this is a conversation about how to get there.
Tuesdays, May 5–June 9 | 4:00–5:30 PM | Online | The BTS Center
How does poetry help us speak truth about the world we love and the world we fear losing? The BTS Center is hosting a six-week online study of You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limón. Poems are read alongside prophetic texts from scripture and theology, woven into conversation and spiritual practice. A gentle way to tend your spirit during a heavy season.
Wednesday, May 13 | 6:30–9:00 PM | Boston Museum of Science
What happens when faith and science sit down together? The Museum of Science is hosting an evening conversation featuring a diverse panel of faith and science voices exploring how each tradition can strengthen and learn from the other. The night includes small-group conversations, community activities, and time for reflection, plus light dessert and coffee. Open to adults and youth 14+.
Sunday–Tuesday, May 17–19 | Barnstable, Woods Hole & Brewster, MA | Co-Sponsored by MassIPL
Internationally renowned Hindu environmental leader and UN consultant Gopal D. Patel is coming to Cape Cod for a three-day speaking tour. Beginning Sunday, May 17 at the Unitarian Church of Barnstable (10:30 AM service + noon panel), he’ll explore how the Bhagavad Gita shaped Emerson, Thoreau, and the New England transcendentalists, and how faith communities today can lead on climate. MassIPL’s Rev. Michael Reed joins the noon panel alongside Rev. Dr. Kristen Harper and FCEN’s Susan Starkey. Events continue Monday at St. Joseph’s Chapel in Woods Hole and Tuesday at the Brewster Ladies Library.
See full tour details on our website
Ongoing | Online | Blessed Tomorrow
A seven-part film series from Blessed Tomorrow / ecoAmerica featuring Christian, Muslim, Indigenous, Baha’i, and Jewish voices on creation care. Each 20-minute film comes with a study guide. Great for green teams, adult ed, or small groups.
Tuesday, May 12 | 12:00–1:00 PM | Online | Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Did you know your house of worship could host EV charging stations at no upfront cost? Green Energy Consumers Alliance’s “Community Charge” program (funded by MassCEC) makes it possible. Their free webinar walks through two participation models, including a vendor-owned option where someone else installs and maintains the chargers on your property. Faith communities and nonprofits are ideal hosts.
Tuesday, May 26 | 5:00–7:00 PM | Twisted Fate Brewing, 64 Salt St, Revere | MassIPL
With so much that’s discouraging in the world right now, let’s take an evening to celebrate something genuinely good. Join MassIPL and MA climate and environmental partner organizations for a casual gathering to lift up the clean energy wins happening right here in Massachusetts. Come grab a drink, meet like-minded community members, and toast the growth of clean energy in Massachusetts with us!
Wednesday, June 10 | 12:00 PM | Online | MassIPL & Greenlight America
Massachusetts has set a bold goal of deploying enough battery storage by 2030 to power more than a million homes, and proposals are popping up in communities across the state. What is this technology, and how should people of faith think about it? Save the date for a lunchtime conversation with guest presenters from Greenlight America, a nonprofit focused on clean energy permitting. We’ll cover the environmental promise and the social justice considerations, with plenty of time for your questions.
Thursday, May 7 | 6:00 PM | Somerset Public Library
Somerset’s Zoning Board of Appeals is considering the Salt Cod Storage project, a battery energy storage facility that would improve energy affordability, create local jobs, and clean up a blighted stretch of Riverside Avenue. Energy storage is the backbone of a clean energy grid, making solar and wind work for us around the clock. Fossil fuel interests are spreading misinformation about this technology, and faith voices for clean energy matter. If you’re in Somerset, please consider attending; if not, you can email the Zoning Board directly.
RSVP to attend Email the Zoning Board
Tuesday, May 12 | 12:00–4:30 PM | Massachusetts State House, Boston | Mass Power Forward
Mass Save, the program that has returned $2.91 for every $1 invested and helped thousands of families and congregations cut their energy bills, is facing a proposed $1 billion cut. Faith voices matter in this fight. Join the Mass Power Forward coalition for Lobby Day to meet with your state senator. Online training sessions are available beforehand to help you prepare.
Tuesday, May 19 | 7:00 PM | Online | Climate Action Network
How do we talk about climate change when misinformation is everywhere? Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and Bernadette Woods Placky, two of the most gifted climate communicators working today, host an evening on navigating climate conversations with confidence and compassion. A practical, faith-and-values-affirming skill for anyone trying to speak truth in their community.
Ongoing | Open to MA clergy and faith communities
A Massachusetts interfaith letter is calling on our state to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for the harm they cause to communities. Massachusetts clergy and faith lay leaders can sign directly; if you’re not a clergy member or lay leader, there’s a public petition for you too, plus a toolkit to help spread the word in your congregation. MassIPL has signed, and we encourage you to join us.
Clergy/lay leaders sign here Public petition here
Ongoing | Open now | GreenFaith
Legislation before Congress would shield fossil fuel companies from liability for the harm they cause to communities and ecosystems. GreenFaith is gathering religious leaders to say clearly that no industry should be placed above the law. Sign the multi-faith letter to Congress and share it in your networks.
Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature—even a caterpillar—I would never have to prepare a sermon. So full of God is every creature.
— Meister Eckhart
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Take a look at our new digital home, built around Pray, Act, Mobilize.
Nearly 50 congregations surveyed, a new website coming soon, and August office hours — a look at what the MassIPL team accomplished this summer.
