About Interfaith Power & Light
Since the year 2000, IPL has partnered with thousands of congregations to address climate change by stewarding Creation
Our Mission
IPL inspires and mobilizes people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change.
Our Vision
Interfaith Power & Light envisions a stable climate where humans live in right and just relationship, interconnected with a healthy, thriving, natural world.
Our History
Interfaith Power & Light effort began in 1998 with Episcopal Power & Light and the support of Grace Cathedral as a unique coalition of Episcopal churches aggregated to purchase renewable energy. In 2000, this Episcopal effort broadened its focus, brought in other faith partners, and California Interfaith Power & Light was born.
California IPL developed a successful organizational model that engaged hundreds of congregations, educated thousands of people of faith about the moral and ethical mandate to address global warming, and helped pass California’s landmark climate and clean energy laws. Building on California’s success, this model has now been adopted by 40 state affiliates, and we are working to establish Interfaith Power & Light programs in every state
Our Values
What we hold most sacred
Because we embrace faith and spirituality, we are grounded in the interconnectedness of the sacred, the natural world, and one another.
Because we embrace justice, we act with inclusion and respect, working in solidarity with vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Because we embrace hope, we are empowered to live into our vision for the world for present and future generations.
Because we embrace courage, we speak with a prophetic voice to create equity and restore wholeness to all.
Because love is central to who we are, we are committed to ending the suffering caused by climate change.
We live this out by…
Inspiring and engaging...
individuals, families, and faith and local communities to embody spiritual and societal transformation by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions while building a new relationship with Earth.
Mobilizing...
people of faith and conscience to advocate for just and equitable climate solutions at the local, state, and national levels.
Working collaboratively...
with the IPL national network, diverse partner organizations, and marginalized communities.
Modeling shared leadership...
and decision-making within our organization and our partnerships.
Focusing on our common values...
broadly communicating the moral obligation to address the urgency of global warming.
Planned Giving
Join Interfaith Power & Light’s Regeneration Society by sharing with us that you’ve include IPL in your estate plans. Your planned gift to Interfaith Power & Light is a flexible way to help preserve Creation for future generations. No matter your financial circumstances, there are planning giving opportunities available to meet your philanthropic goals:
Bequests & Memorials
Real Estate
You can choose to donate the remainder interest of a personal residence to Interfaith Power & Light while retaining a life interested in the residence by transferring the residence to a qualified personal residence trust. Ask your financial advisor for more information.
Retirement Plan Gifts
Life Insurance
If you have already named Interfaith Power & Light as a beneficiary in your estate plans or would like more information about our planned giving program, please contact at sarah@interfaithpowerandlight.org.
What’s New
Global Religious Leaders Summit in Abu Dhabi
By Rev. Susan Hendershot What an honor it was to receive an invitation to participate in the Global Religious Leaders Summit in Abu Dhabi this week. The gathering, with about 90 participants, was hosted by the UN Environment Program’s Faith for Earth Initiative,...
Jacob’s Freedom: Wrestling with Climate Change
From Fragments, @EmorInstitute By Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power & Light DC.MD.NOVA The following is an excerpt from Fragments, the new magazine from Emor. We are in the fight of our lives to preserve a livable planet — a fight we didn’t choose....
Sign the COP28 Letter for Bold and Just Climate Action!
We will be delivering a letter to the State Department in advance of COP28, urging our government to commit to ambitious, just, and equitable climate goals, support the implementation of policies that reduce carbon emissions, and lead by example while collaborating with other nations to protect our climate for our children and the generations yet to come.
A Win for Trees & Communities: Faith in Place Receives U.S. Forest Service Funding for Tree Equity
EXCITING NEWS: Faith in Place, the Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin affiliate of Interfaith Power and Light, has been awarded a historic level of funding to expand tree equity and forestry workforce development in disadvantaged communities across our three-state region.
COP28 – California’s Impact
By Amy Quirk, California Interfaith Power & Light Supporter California, a world-class economy and environmental leader, continues to innovate at COP28. Technically, the “parties” negotiating at each Conference of the Parties are national governments, so the...
Letter Delivered to U.S. State Department at COP28
Press Statement For Immediate Release: December 5, 2023 Contact: Tiffany Hartung, tiffany@interfaithpowerandlight.org At COP28, the Global Climate Summit, in Dubai, UAE, Interfaith Power & Light Delivered a Faith Letter Urging President Biden to Commit to Bold...
COP28 – Gender Equality Day
By Rev. Susan Hendershot, Interfaith Power & Light Monday was Gender Equality Day here at COP28, one of the many thematic days that occurs throughout the UN Climate Conference. The highlight of the day by far was a panel discussion moderated by Secretary...
Faith Climate Action Week
This events-based program encourages all faith groups to discuss the spiritual side of climate change at services, while also pushing for greater support from local and national policymakers. During the 2015 National Preach-In on Climate Change over valentines weekend, 1,500 congregations across the country signed up to participate. At FaithClimateActionWeek.org, groups have access to downloadable sermons, postcards and other resources. Following religious services, participants signed “Love Creation” valentines addressed to their senators in Washington, urging them to support the Environmental Protection Agency in enacting carbon pollution limits on new power plants. The EPA proposed the new limits in September, after President Barack Obama included them as part of his climate action plan. Congregations take advantage of Faith Climate Action Week resources all year long.
Cool Congregations
People of faith across the country are doing their part to prevent global warming in their own homes and places of worship through the Cool Congregations program, while saving thousands of dollars and tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere. Cool Congregations is a stewardship program designed to help congregations engage their members in caring for Creation by reducing their collective (and individual) greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about Cool Congregations.
Rev. Susan Hendershot
President
Rev. Susan Hendershot has served as president of Interfaith Power & Light since 2018. She was raised in a blue-collar family outside of Cleveland, Ohio, before attending Bethany College in West Virginia where she graduated with honors with a B.A. in Religious Studies. Rev. Hendershot went on to graduate school at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where she received her Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology. After graduate school, she moved to Iowa, where she was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and served as a pastor in local congregations, focusing on social justice. Rev. Hendershot also led faith-based nonprofit organizations and served as the first Heartland Field Organizer for the ONE Campaign on global poverty. Just prior to her current role, she served as the Executive Director at Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, one of the state affiliates in the Interfaith Power & Light network.
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Currently, Rev. Hendershot serves as co-chair of the Executive Committee for the RE-AMP Steering Committee, a network of over 140 climate, energy, and environmental organizations throughout the Midwest. Rev. Hendershot believes that climate change is a moral issue, disproportionately impacting those who are most vulnerable in our world. She gets her motivation and inspiration from her two sons.
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