MONTPELIER – As the sun began to set over Montpelier on a recent evening, the verses of “We Shall Overcome” echoed across the statehouse lawn. The song was paired with hymns, moments of prayer and speeches from members of Vermont religious groups who believe their faith is a key force in climate change advocacy.
photo by Kate Kampner
This was the scene at the first-ever Earth Vigil, the coda to Faith Climate Action Day. The annual event drew about 20 people to Montpelier to learn about climate-based policy and engage directly with lawmakers.
Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL), a faith-based organization that educates different religious communities on environmental stewardship, has been hosting Faith Climate Action Day since 2020.
The organization partnered with other groups, such as Vermont Interfaith Action, VPIRG, 350Vermont and the Vermont Natural Resources Council, to host postermaking and legislative information sessions. VTIPL also put written letters from their members in legislators’ mailboxes.
Melissa Battah, executive director of the advocacy group Vermont Interfaith Action shared that these faith groups believe their traditions and values have a place to ignite Vermont policy.
“We are a unique group with a unique voice,” said Ron McGarvey, the president of VTIPL, who followed after her.
Woodbury resident Alissa Klar, a member of the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe synagogue, said legislators regularly hear from oil companies and environmental groups. Faith-based groups have another perspective, she said.
“I think the concept of, ‘We don’t own the planet. We’re just here to preserve it for the future . . . ’ crosses through every religion,” she said. “It’s definitely in the forefront of Judaism.”
Klar has also seen climate devastation firsthand. She and her husband moved to Vermont in 2023, right after the summer flooding. Prior to that, they lived in California and had to evacuate from the 2020 wildfires.
As President Donald Trump’s administration, a cabinet known to have received endorsement from conservative religious groups, recently canceled clean energy funding, Klar said it’s critical to try on the state level to “hold the line” against fossil fuels, an expressed priority of the group.
Traditionally, following member training and postermaking, VTIPL hosts a press conference to announce climate policy the group is prioritizing. This year is the first year the group instead held an Earth Vigil.
At the vigil, attendees held signs, reading, “People of faith demand climate action in VT” and “Climate is changing, why aren’t we?” The posters were illuminated by the attendees’ LED candles as they listened to Vermont faith leaders speak about how their faith can fuel action.
“How we treat the earth reveals who we are,” said Rev. Don Chatfield from All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne. “Environmental policy is not only economic policy, it is moral policy.”
Chatfield was joined by faith leaders from across the state. Along with them, Sen. Anne Watson, D-Washington, joined vigil speakers to review bills that would interest the group. She expressed how her relationship to religion energizes her work as a legislator.
“My political work here in this building is really about how I can better be a person who is a vehicle for God’s love,” she said to the crowd.
Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder, the organization’s coordinator, called the vigil “the beating heart of this work that we’re doing.”
“It’s nice to have these interfaith spaces and just seeing people coming together on this shared platform across different parts of the state, different religious affiliations,” she said. “Religion does community really well.”
Kate Kampner writes for the Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship.
