Exciting Developments in our Interfaith Work
Since the beginning, FCAC’s Interfaith Working Group has been doing critical work in our community of bringing healing into our movement for climate justice. Over the last few years, we’ve had the opportunity to expand upon this work through funding from Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) in order to use mini-grants to help faith communities undertake earth and community stewardship projects, and to help create a series of filmed interviews showcasing Fairbanks area faith leaders and how their faith informs their work.
Now, we have an opportunity to expand upon this work in some really exciting ways, since we’ve been selected as one of 32 grant recipients nationwide of the Healing Starts Here initiative. We are so excited to be a part of a nationwide network of other groups bringing healing into our communities, and we can’t wait to invite you along for all the next steps that come with this opportunity. Read on to learn more about where we’ve been, and where we’re planning to go next.
Mini-grants for Earth and Community Stewardship
Over the last two years, a collection of 8 faith communities have been working on projects partially or fully funded through the Interfaith Working Group’s mini-grant program. We intentionally partnered with faith communities we had made connections with through deep listening sessions. During these sessions, we heard from faith leaders on the issues their communities cared about, the way their faith community was already working to care for the earth and vulnerable people, and what their future goals were for this kind of work. This helped to solidify real friendships and relationships with faith communities throughout the Fairbanks area, and became a catalyst for further collaboration.
Over the last few months, we’ve been collecting stories from the faith communities who were involved in this initiative about the projects they’ve been working on. It’s been heartening to hear about the ways different faith communities are working to create change within their congregations, as well as serving the local community in many ways. Below are some of the stories from these communities:
Chena Ridge Friends Meeting/Hidden Hill Friends Center - Installation of a water catchment system
Rebuilding after a fire tragedy, Hidden Hill Friends Center included a water catchment system to offset the use and cost of purchased water. The system expanded the use of water resources freely available and sustains their small farming operation.
Fairbanks Lutheran Church - Community Garden
“Worship and Serve” - that is a goal of Fairbanks Lutheran Church, says member Tom Alton. The church is blessed to be located on a beautiful property with open space, some of which was turned into a vegetable garden with support from their grant. Under Mr. Alton’s direction, several large raised beds and some ground level beds were constructed. Good soil, fertilizer and seeds were purchased. The gardens produced a bountiful crop of vegetables to share within the congregation and community. On Mondays, a Foodbank pickup is held and produce from the garden is included in the boxes given out. The church welcomes community involvement for both the garden work and sharing of the garden’s produce.
Or Hatzafon, the Jewish Congregation of Fairbanks - Installation of energy efficient windows
A recent renovation enabled the Jewish Congregation of Fairbanks to increase the energy efficiency of their building. Or Hatzafon used the grant funds to replace some older windows. The new windows were part of an upgrade to the kitchen area which also corrected structural problems.
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fairbanks - Weatherization and energy efficient improvements
“In November of 2021, we utilized the grant funding generously offered to us from FCAC to assist a member of our fellowship with making much needed repairs to his furnace.” reported Reverend Leslie Ahuvah Fails. “This couple is in their 70s and have been struggling for several years with illnesses that have prevented them from being able to leave their home. One persistent challenge for them has been the air quality inside of their home. Lack of insulation and drafty windows/doors have resulted in both increased heating costs and ongoing respiratory health challenges. Improvements made to their heating system and windows enabled this family to weather a particularly difficult winter with better indoor air quality and drastically reduced consumption of heating oil. UUFF members provided much of the labor for this project, in addition to outside support from Altrol Heating that was funded in part by the FCAC grant funds.”
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Fairbanks - Installation of LED lighting
“We are always trying to do the right thing” says Sharon Baker, member of First Church of Christ, Scientist. The grant the church received was used to change the fluorescent light bulbs in the church auditorium to more energy efficient LED bulbs. “Light is defined as something that makes vision possible. Faith and vision go hand in hand” adds Carol Benton. The church is grateful to have the improved light in the building as well as promoting thought in increased vision and insight on the subject of earth stewardship. Donna DiFolco continues “Climate action is simply a matter of loving your neighbor as yourself. By taking care of our world, our planet, we take care of ourselves too, by learning how rich God made us by giving us this responsibility and learning what Love really is, what God really is” The church has reduced its electricity consumption by about 13%.
The Hope Church of Fairbanks - Eco-friendly property renovations
“We are not strangers to our neighbors.” Says Minister Derrick Helms Sr. Hope Church puts their love of their community into action. Minister Helms was given the opportunity to do something he loves - increase food security in South Fairbanks and promote local agriculture. 333 pounds of food were produced by the garden he installed at The Hope House. Every Friday the community center gives food away, and freshly picked vegetables from the new garden were gratefully received during the summer months. Hope House is dedicated to its vision “To reach the city, Empower the person and Equip the believer by revealing the Love of Christ and Birthing Kingdom potential”. The garden project provided opportunity for community involvement and learning as well as good food.
Corinthian Baptist Church - Blessing Box
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.” This verse from Proverbs in the Bible is key to the actions, motivations and worship at Corinthian Baptist Church, says Pastor Carlene Tillery. The church used their grant to supply the share boxes outside the church, which they stock with food and warm clothing. The grant was also used for gardening boxes they maintain on the church grounds. All are welcome to both stock their Blessing Boxes and take from them. The church is focused on blessing their community. They love the Lord and each other, says Pastor Tillery.
University Community Presbyterian Church (UCPC) - Installation of energy efficient windows.
UCPC was the first congregation in the Presbytery of the Yukon to become an Earth Care church; a certification received after committing to taking action to care for God's creation in worship, education, facilities and outreach. The congregation realized the benefit of participating in the program was lower operating costs. They have already made many energy saving improvements to their sanctuary and are planning more. The older section of the building, which has long been used for many community nonprofit activities as well as their nursery and offices, is in need of a tighter, better insulated building envelope. The grant will be used to help them install two, modern, triple pane windows as proof of design for 28 more such windows to be replaced in the same building.
Faith in Action film series
Using the PACE funding, the Interfaith Working Group collaborated with Native Movement and Deenaadàį’ Productions to help bring into being the Faith in Action film series, which features four local representatives from different faith traditions: Leslie Ahuvah Fails, Nanieezh Peter, Bishop Mark Lattime, and Pastor Johnathan Kenney. It explores how spiritual dimensions of faith, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous spirituality, motivate care for the Earth and for one another, and how spirituality is called upon to motivate action around climate change, food insecurity, and threats to cultural traditions.
The Interfaith Working Group hosted a film screening last October, which included a panel discussion of themes from the series afterward. According to event participants, it was an incredibly moving and empowering event, which helped to buoy people up and give them hope in the interconnectedness of different faiths and the power of faith to catalyze action.
Rev. Leslie Ahuvah Fails is a featured faith leader in the “Faith in Action” film series, pictured here during their premiere event last winter, hosted by the Interfaith Working Group.
At the film premiere event for the Faith in Action film series, panelists spoke on themes from the project, discussing the ways that faith can serve as a powerful catalyst and grounding for change. Pictured from left to right: Princess Daazhraii Johnson and James Johnson, filmmakers with Deenaadàį' Productions, Hope Uele, Shiva Hullavarad, Rev. Leslie Ahuvah Fails, and Tukni Holstrom.
Exciting Next Steps
We’re beyond excited to announce that we were selected as a grantee of the Healing Starts Here initiative to continue and expand upon this important healing work.
We're so grateful for this opportunity to contribute to healing divides and creating a community that embraces the differences that make us unique. We’ll be furthering our work doing outreach to local faith communities, and turning that outreach into a powerful platform for inter-faith organizing.
Our outreach efforts will include:
1) Further developing the film series to create a longer-form piece which will serve as a catalyst for community conversations about bridging divides through faith in action. We’ll develop educational materials that can be used alongside the film to start conversations within faith communities about how faith can be a powerful motivator for action.
2) We’ll continue to connect with faith communities through the disbursement of mini-grants for energy efficiency, food justice, and renewable energy projects.
3) We’ll work on strategies to do new direct outreach to faith-based youth groups.
The next stage of this work will be orientated around education, empowerment, and collective action.
The education and empowerment part of this work will include continued creation of media showcasing the power of faith-based climate and social justice work in order to help people to see themselves as change-makers within their faith communities and to see their faith communities as being a strong platform for making change. We’ll also be developing interfaith organizing trainings to help empower leaders and potential leaders (including youth leaders) to effectively organize their communities on behalf of their shared values.
In order to harness the energy of current faith based actions into bigger and more powerful collective actions, we plan to hold strategy sessions with our growing coalition of faith communities to help them align their shared vision with a strategy for achieving that vision. Through this effort, we hope to empower faith communities to move from smaller actions within their community to larger cross-faith actions that result in tangible societal change.
Why Faith Organizing?
We believe faith carries enormous potential for cross-cultural healing, reconciliation, and in our community, an opportunity to build on ongoing cross-faith organizing in the pursuit of bold solutions to the problems we face. We know that through this work, members of faith communities can feel empowered, connected, and resourced to take meaningful climate action both within their communities and collectively as part of a coalition of faith communities acting on behalf of their sites of shared commitment to a livable world and care for creation. We believe that the grounding of faith is a powerful catalyst for change, and we’re excited to grow this work.
How can I get involved?
We invite anyone, of any faith or background, to get involved in this work! We believe that there is a spiritual underpinning to climate justice work, and we take our role in supporting that seriously. You don’t have to be affiliated with any particular religion to join. We welcome people that consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” or who may have a complex relationship with religion and spirituality. We are an open-minded group of people excited to work across boundaries of faith and beliefs. Click below to learn more or sign up!
