Become a Climate Champion: Faith Pilot

Join us Tuesday, July 11 at 5:00pm for this month's Climate Champions meeting. We'll discuss all five campaigns and the progress we've made. We'll also learn more about energy audits and funding opportunities for energy efficiency and building electrification.

Thank you to everyone who has attended our Climate Champion sessions! 

Sustainability Champions Awards Recap

Congratulations again to all our champions! Read more about them here. Delegate Rip Sullivan applauded all of FACS' hard work over the years stating "be proud of the impact you have had from Richmond, to Washington, to Fairfax County." We hope our awardees inspire you to continue jumping into action and that our collective strength empowers your sustainability journey. Thank you to our sponsors including Sandbox Financial Partners, MOM's Organic Market, and Wegmans for making a great night possible!

Everyone Earth Day Photo Contest Winners 

FACS is excited to announce the winners of our Everyone Earth Day Photo Contest. Congratulations to St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Reston, Providence Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Arlington, and Fairfax Presbyterian Church. This past Earth Day, these faith communities planted natives, blessed seedlings, built raised garden beds, planted a pizza garden, and more! 

This contest was part of the FACS Tree of Life Campaign. For help getting started on your faith community’s Tree of Life project, email info@faithforclimate.org.

Summer Reading Recommendations from the FACS Board Members 

With summer in full swing, our FACS board members offer their recommendations to keep your attention captivated. How many of these titles can you finish by Labor Day? The books suggested are as follows:

1. Climate Church, Climate World, revised edition, by Jim Antal, recommended by Eric Goplerud
2. The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson, recommended by Julie Rosenberg
3. Active Hope, by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, recommended by Kristin Rosenthal
4. Church of the Wild, by Victoria Loorz, recommended by Jo Doumbia

Nature Corner 

When is the last time you stopped and truly observed what is happening in your garden? Our relationship to nature has changed over time, and we have lost the joy and appreciation that comes with noticing the creation around us. Read here to better understand our connection with nature and how we, as well as nature, have evolved. 

Arlington County Hub Updates

In June, the Arlington Hub discussed the importance of Arlington's ecology and how we'll weigh in on the County's Natural Resources and Forestry Plan which is currently open for comment. We had two excellent local speakers who talked about native plants and bugs and about the tree canopy in our area.

The Arlington Hub meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month. In July, the Hub will meet socially. Our next meeting will be in September. We'll meet in person and come up with a plan for how we'll be active in supporting climate and equity projects in our community.

Sign up for Arlington updates if you are not already on our list. If you have any questions, please email info@faithforclimate.org.

Fairfax County Hub Updates

We’ve had a lot of celebrations lately, from the annual Sustainability Awards to Juneteenth festivities! And some things to mourn: days in June which reached the 1.5 degrees centigrade threshold that we all know means more extreme weather events. Even while we face the challenges of addressing global heating, we need to focus on what’s getting better to have the whole picture. Each of us has a part to play in celebrations and in making changes. In a society that celebrates moving very fast, it’s important to take time to rejoice, and to mourn. 
FACS participated in two Juneteenth celebrations this year, at Vienna Baptist Church, and Gum Springs in Mt Vernon. Let us practice understanding the context of exploitation of people and of nature in creating our current crises, and let both joy and sorrow move us to create new ways of living together. 
Read more here about how this hub is putting Faith in Action. 

If you are not already on our list, sign up for Fairfax updates here. If you have any questions, please email kristin.rosenthal@gmail.com.

Northern Valley Hub Updates

The FACS Northern Valley hub will be taking a break over June and July, but will be back together for a planning session on Saturday, August 5 at 10:00am at  Bethel Lutheran Church, Winchester (2077 N. Frederick Pike).  We will be setting our agenda, goals, and plans for the fall at this meeting.

Three of our congregations, First Presbyterian Church and Market Street United Methodist Church in downtown Winchester and Bethel Lutheran Church in rural Frederick County, continue to work collaboratively to pursue energy efficiency, solar, and resiliency projects, as part of our Solar Sanctuaries campaign.

Central Valley Hub Updates

Four of our members participated in the Valley Interfaith Action Core Teams Assembly on June 22. We especially support bringing "door-to-door demand response" public transit to Rockingham County. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is conducting a feasibility study, and Earl Zimmerman has agreed to be the point person between our institution and the public input process laid out by VDRPT's consultant.

Our monthly steering committee meeting was held on May 29. On the agenda was steering committee member Wayne Teel's report on the plans of Bioenergy Devco to build a large biogas facility in Harrisonburg, VA. The company is reaching out to local climate action organizations. 

Loudoun County Hub Updates

The Loudoun Hub collected 458 signatures for a petition to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors asking for placement of the Glass Recycling Bin at the Loudoun One Park and Ride. On June 8 we co-sponsored a successful first-ever Environmental Fair at Ashby Ponds Senior Living, Ashburn. Sixteen exhibitors from around the region participated and 125+ people and staff were in attendance. We also attended the Piedmont Environmental Council Annual Meeting in Middleburg, VA,  where the theme was "Inspiring Conservation," as well as the "Data Centers & Virginia's Clean Energy Future Workshop." On Thursday, June 22, we welcomed Julie Bolthouse, Land Use Manager at PEC, to speak at Ashby Ponds on the topic of: "Data Centers in Loudoun and Beyond." 142 people attended!

Sign up for Loudoun updates if you are not already on our list. If you have any questions, please email info@faithforclimate.org.

Join a Local Advocacy Hub!

Stay connected with local news, meeting reminders, advocacy opportunities and action alerts, community wins, and more!