Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice (ICEJ) is a volunteer organization of San Diego faith leaders and communities that advocate for climate and environmental justice both in policy and in the public square. We believe that the values held in common by all faith traditions include the care for creation and care for the most vulnerable in society.

Interfaith Vigil for Earth Justice  

In silence – We resist Trump. We stand with the suffering. We pray for earth’s repair.

As members of various faiths, we are called to stand together in silence for and solidarity with our Earth at this time of climate chaos and environmental devastation driven by human greed and indifference. We call out and resist federal policies that have reversed the progress made in addressing climate disruption and the ruthless steps of the current administration to monetize Earth in our name.

Join us for our first (recurring monthly) Interfaith Vigil for Earth Justice on Monday, August 4 @ 12-1 PM at the U.S. District Court building,  385 W. Broadway. 

Please wear black if you can.  This event is open to persons of faith and no faith - do join us!!

For more information contact Phil Petrie at phil@icejsd.org.

Our next Hands in the Soil activity will be a beach clean up with Surfrider at Moonlight Beach, Encinitas on Saturday, August 16 from 9-11 AM.  Someone from Surfrider will talk briefly about what to pick up, supply you with gloves, bags, and pickers, and set you free to clean the beach. Just look for the table with the big Surfrider sign on the beach.  Susan Cass of ICEJ (with her own handheld ICEJ sign) will be there to meet you also. If you can't stay for the whole time, that's never a problem either.  Come to clean the beach and enjoy the day!!

For more information from Surfrider go here. 

To let SusanCass know you will be attending contact her at susanpanniercass@gmail.com

Lately (OK for months now) I find myself getting angry at the latest travesty committed by this administration and sometimes my thoughts turn violent.  When Sen. Alex Padilla was thrown to the floor and handcuffed, I found myself fantasizing about the same thing happening to Donald Trump.  These angry impulses are not particularly Christian (my religion) and maybe don’t reflect very well on me either–but they are very human.  Humans tend toward “tit for tat” in our behavior–I think we’re hardwired to do so (and, of course, it is exactly that kind of vengeance that Trump seeks over all who “betray” or somehow belittle him). But in my better moments these feelings have gotten me thinking. What about a response instead that goes deeper into love? – a love that reaches out to everyone including Trump; a love that still fiercely seeks justice and speaks truth to power but without the revenge fantasies, without letting your anger or frustration get the better of you. This is the response to injustice that Jesus, Gandhi, MLK, and Michelle Obama (“When they go low, we go high.”) spoke of and I think it is especially called for now. Maybe the antidote to the Age of Trump is exactly this deeper love–and an ethics, a politics…a civilization built on it. I commit to that vision not because it is easy or because I am very good at it, but because I believe it is from God and therefore what I am called to do.  So the next time my blood pressure begins to mount, I will take a breath and try to pivot to that deeper love and let it guide me. More and more it seems to me the way out of the mess we are in.

Blessings,

Phil Petrie, ICEJ Co-Chairperson

• Thurs. July 17  5-8 PM - Good Trouble Lives On Protests

• Wed. July 24  6-9 PM - Coastal Roots Farm's  Farm Film and Music Series  

• 9th Annual Interfaith Awareness Week – a week of virtual talks put on by the SD County World Interfaith Network Community. (I’ll pull out two that we have a connection with)

  • Tues. Aug. 12  4:00-5:30 – “Caring For The Earth, An Islamic Perspective” – Imam Taha Hassane

  • Thurs. Aug. 14  12:00-1:30 – “An Urgent Need: Four Essential Features for Interfaith Leadership Today.” – Parliament of the World’s Religions – Moderator Dr. Michael Trice – Panelists: Tarina Ahuja, Bruce Knotts, Rev. Charline Manuel, and Father John Pawlikowski

For a list of all ICEJ sponsored events visit our calendar of events here

Donate to support Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice and the work we are doing to educate, equip and mobilize our communities of faith to advocate for earth justice.