FWCC Northeast Regional Gathering

Online|October 24 - 25, 2020
24Oct2020

Two-Day Virtual Gathering

October 24-25

Climate & Social Justice

Resources from our Gathering:

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Eco-Justice Collaborative

Canadian Yearly Meeting Ecovigil

Plenary Speakers: Kallan and Kimberly Benson

New England Yearly Meeting Earthcare Ministry

  • The Call to Urgent, Loving Action video is at https://neym.org/call-urgent-loving-action-resources-engagement, as are the many resources on anti-racism and confronting the climate crisis that we have prepared to help our meetings in their discernment. b) The NEYM Climate Calculator, and additional resources, including the presentation shown at the FWCC meeting, are at climatecalculator.org. c) The clerks of the 2 NEYM committees (Earthcare Ministry and Racial, Social & Economic Justice) can be reached at calltoaction@neym.org.

New York Yearly Meeting Climate Justice Working Group

FWCC Resources

Other Suggested Resources

Click here for the schedule from the event.

Romans 8:24  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  (NIV) Join Friends in Northeastern North America for a weekend of plenary sessions, worship, and workshops!  Saturday will feature opening Meeting for Worship, a plenary session, and two presentation/workshops. On Sunday, we will visit each others’ Meetings in the morning, then participate in two afternoon presentation/workshops and a closing session.  Please plan to join us!

Plenary speakers will be Kallan and Kimberly Benson.  

Title: Get Ready, It’s Time to Change the World.

Summary: Today as emergencies arising from the climate crisis become more broad, devastating, and regular in all areas of the world, we are witnessing an unprecedented convergence of social and environmental issues. The current challenges faced by humanity result from our willingness to accept and depend on systems of exploitation. We have justified an unfair distribution of burden in exchange for disproportionate benefits, but the climate crisis is not a zero sum game for humanity–only for the planet. The world is changing. If we want to influence the direction of that change, now is the time to act. If we don’t find a way to allow all to win, we all lose.

Kallan Benson (16) is a veteran climate activist with 7 years of experience working for a sustainable future of all. Kallan is an organizer with Fridays For Future at a local, national, and international level. She co-directs a collaborative art activism initiative, Parachutes for the Planet, which invites participants to express their concerns about the future through community art. In January 2019, she committed to a 90-day silent strike at the State House for the duration of the Maryland General Assembly to support the Healthy Green Amendment. She credits the communities of Annapolis Friends Meeting and Friends Wilderness Center as inspiration for her passion for the environment and climate action.

Kimberly Benson is an artist, scientist, educator, and activist, who has dedicated her life to helping others understand Earth’s systems, appreciate humanities’ influential role, and advocate for change to ensure a sustainable world for all. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Master’s in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development, which she applied professionally in federal and state government , eventually serving as the lead science educator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She co-directs Parachutes for the Planet,  an international climate change, art activism project, and helps manage and coordinate the global Fridays for Future climate action movement. Kimberly also works as a consultant helping businesses adapt to changing times and establish healthy, regenerative corporate cultures.

Presentations/Workshops:

Environmental Justice

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Eco-Justice Collaboration Join us as Ruth Darlington of the Eco Justice Collaborative of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting shares their projects highlighting the interconnectedness of race, climate, and economic justice, including a climate action network and a proposed minute of action.

An Eco-Vigil

Canadian Yearly Meeting Ecovigil A role play with photos: volunteers will speak the words of peace and ecojustice activists including Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, Ta’Kaiya Blaney, Betty Peterson, Dr David Suzuki, Dr Robert Bullard, Amory Lovins, James Hansen, Johan Rockström, Ursula Franklin, Vandana Shiva, and many others!

Earthcare Witness

Earthcare Ministry NEYM: Taking Action on the Climate Crisis New England Yearly Meeting has taken major climate-related initiatives over the last few years, including a creating a video,”Call to Loving, Urgent Action for the Earth and Her Inhabitants” that calls for meetings to engage in a year of discernment about actions they can take about the inter-related issues of racism and climate crisis. Other actions have ranged from virtual plenaries to promoting the use of a climate calculator and hundreds of suggestions on how to reduce one’s carbon footprint to direct actions opposing coal shipments to power plants! Come hear about these actions and other work by NEYM Friends.

Social Justice

NYYM: Climate and Social Justice What Can We Do? Members of NYYM’s Climate Justice Working Group will give an overview of recent initiatives and share useful strategies. There will be a discussion of way forward, drawing on the intersectional and intergenerational connections groups in NYYM make to create the change we seek. We will close with a discussion of how FWCC can live out our shared witness.

Schedule available here! Register here! Event flyer: