September Bonus Movement Café:
Faith Votes and the Environment
September 12th 2024
2pm PT / 3pm MT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET
Sponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.
Faith Votes and the Environment
Thank you to all who made our September 12th conversation on faithful voting a success! The conversation started with Mike Kennedy, Faith Votes Campaign Manager for Interfaith Power and Light, who walked us through an extremely helpful toolkit at Faith Votes for voters. The form takes voters to voting information specific to them and their geographic location, and includes bipartisan information. We also heard from Melanie Beikman, Executive Director of Arizona Interfaith Power and Light, who shared with us why voting is so important when it comes to faithful and moral views on environmental issues. Next we heard from Rev. AC Churchill, Executive Director of Earth Ministry / Washington Interfaith Power and Light, who reminded us that voting is a joyful responsibility, encouraging us to step up to the call to be heard as we mark our ballots on issues of big significance to ourselves and our neighbors. Rev. Richenda Fairhurst, Oregon Interfaith Power and Light and United Methodist Creation Justice Movement shared a document, Blessing of the Ballots, with prayers to use when filling out a ballot or celebrating the importance of voting in faith communities. And finally, Mary Beth Downing, Creation Care Team leader in the Mountain Sky Conference shared a one-sheet download filled with resources for faith and voting, as well as a voting pledge from the United Methodist Church.
Speaker
Rev. Tim Wood
Tim is the convener of the Western Jurisdiction Group for the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and active in the Creation Justice Task Force for the Mountain Sky Conference, and has served churches in Montana, Idaho, Ohio and Colorado. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics and spent many years as a computer consultant and entrepreneur before following a call into ministry. His ministry focus is discipleship and creation justice.
Speaker
Melanie Beikman
Melanie has an idealistic but persistent hope for democracy, which has led to serving on a school board in her hometown of Tempe (2010-2014) and learning the craft of community organizing in various roles with Arizona Interfaith Network, both in Pinal County and in the Phoenix area. Her working life started in molecular biology and biochemistry research labs. Melanie stepped into the role of AZIPL Executive Director in 2023 having previously served as the Program & Outreach Coordinator.
Speaker
Mike Kennedy
Mike manages IPL’s 2024 Faith Votes Campaign after guiding its 2022 voter campaign. He served as director of Florida operations for MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates, executive director of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority, and director of discipleship and mission at Harvest United Methodist Church. Mike coordinated the launch of the Solar and Energy Loan Fund’s “Southern+ Climate Equity Accelerator” in 2023.
Speaker
Rev. AC Churchill
(they/them) has been with Earth Ministry/WAIPL since 2022 as the Executive Director. They are an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) tradition and come to the work of environmental justice as an expression of their deep commitment to participating in healing, justice, and transformation. They view the work of environmental justice to be intrinsically connected to anti-racism and pro-reconciliation work and have over a decade’s worth of experience working in and with faith communities as a faith-rooted organizer, most recently in Dallas, TX.