Presbyterians are Going to the People's Climate March!

On September 21, hundreds of thousands of people are going to New York City to participate in the People's Climate March. Presbyterians will march along with many other faith communities.  The march route is available here.

Be sure to check Logistics for the Interfaith Contingent as information becomes available up to the time of the March. A Facebook event has also been set up for Presbyterians to share information.

•   The Interfaith Contingent assembly area will be on W. 58^th Street between 8^th and 9^th Avenues prior to the March. This block holds 10,000 people, and we want to fill it up! The map for the general location of each faith group is posted here. Look for the Presbyterian sign!
 

•   Be sure to enter W. 58^th Street from the 9^th Avenue end. The 8^th Avenue end is in the Columbus Circle area, and will be blocked.
 

•   The Interfaith Contingent will be the last to step off into the March. This gives people worshipping in their own churches that morning more time to get to the March. The organizers are anticipating step off may happen between 12:30pm and 1:30pm, but it may be earlier, and may very well be later, there is no way to know.
 

•   There will be a multi-faith prayer service starting at 11am on 58^th Street. World-class musicians will be featured and prayers will be offered by leaders of many faith traditions. One of the musicians is Michael Fitzpatrick, a cellist who has worked with the Dalai Lama on Tuning the Planet. An excellent sound system has been rented so that everyone should be able to hear the service.
 

•   Presbyterians have also been invited to worship with Rutgers Presbyterian Church (W. 73^rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue) at 11am and join the congregation in the March.
 

•   Social Media: Follow what Presbyterians are doing on the March: #presbyPCM and follow the March in general: #climatemarch.
 

•   At 6pm, join people from across a range of faiths and traditions in a ritual of covenant and commission for the future of our Earth at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Amsterdam Avenue at W. 112^th Street).  This event is open to the public and passes may be requested here.

Can’t go to the March? You can support it from wherever you are! Participate from your local congregation at 1pm in the Global Climate Chorus, making a prayerful noise outdoors, ringing bells, chimes, offering a call to prayer, or other outdoor spiritual observance. Note that the whole March plans to take part in the Chorus as well.

After the March: Sign the ourvoices.net petition which lifts up the voices of the world’s diverse faith communities, and those from many spiritual backgrounds, to ensure that world leaders clearly hear the moral imperative for a treaty by the December 2015 climate meetings in Paris. Sign the petition here.

Hope to see you in NYC on September 21 so we can pray together with our feet!

Sue Smith

PEC Treasurer

GreenFaith Fellow

Holy one, bless every shoe lace, every tired foot, every weary marcher. Bless their throats as they give voice to a strong new cry that says we need to change the way we live and work and have our being. And, an extra measure of blessing, please, on the heads those who have put so much into this amazing effort to show the world that WE DO CARE about your glorious creation. Amen