Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s 11th annual Oregon Interfaith Earth Summit will take place in faith communities all over Oregon with the theme, “Hope for Our Common Home.” The first part of the event will be a plenary session on Zoom, with participants watching together from their regional locations across Oregon. Following the plenary, local hosts will facilitate in-person sessions focusing on relationship-building and learning with people of faith in their region.
TOPICS:
SPEAKERS:
Domyo Burk is a Soto Zen priest and the guiding teacher at Bright Way Zen Center. She has spent many years exploring the relationship between faith and climate activism. She has engaged in disruptive nonviolent civil disobedience as a priest and sought ways to help people face and respond to the climate and ecological crisis through her Zen teaching.
Britt Conroy serves as the Director of Public Policy & Environmental Advocacy for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, where he leads the organization’s advocacy efforts to make Oregon a more welcoming state to immigrants and refugees, provide housing for the unhoused, address climate change and strengthen anti-poverty programs.
Peter Fargo is on a mission “to join with others and get in the way of runaway climate change, for my kids, my community, and my God.” In 2019, Peter wrote a book called A Million Prayers to Solve Our Climate Crisis. In coalition with national and international Christian organizations, Peter launched Climate Vigil in 2021. In 2022, the coalition released Climate Vigil Songs. Peter formed the Climate Rights Campaign in 2023 to recognize everyone’s right to a stable climate in the Oregon Constitution.
Susan Heath: Since moving to Oregon from rural Ohio 10 years ago, Susan has been a volunteer advocate for rural equity and a healthy environment with several organizations, including the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance and the Rural Organizing Project. She is one of the founding members of OCERA and lives with her family in Linn County.
Mel Martin is an attorney and former judge advocate (JAG) in the U.S. Marine Corps. Since retiring in 2014, she has used her advocacy skills for anti-corruption efforts, clean water initiatives, and environmental conservation, serving in multiple leadership and board director roles. She has also taught Water Pollution Law and Environmental Ethics. Mel is currently using her campaigning, advocacy and coalition building experience in support of statewide environmental initiatives in Florida and Oregon.
Khanh Pham, Oregon Representative (House District 46), is a dedicated advocate for climate, energy, and the environment, serving her second term as the first Vietnamese American legislator in Oregon. She plays a pivotal role in the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee and the Joint Committees on Transportation and Full Ways & Means. In 2023, Khanh secured significant funding for climate action and green infrastructure projects. She was recently recognized as the Environmental Champion of the Year by OLCV.
Rev. John Pitney is a retired United Methodist Church minister. He co-coordinates the Interfaith Solar Campaign as part of the Creation Justice ministries team for Oregon Interfaith Power & Light at EMO. He lives in a net zero energy home in Bend.
Dan Serres is the Advocacy Director for Columbia Riverkeeper, which works to protect and restore the Columbia River and all life connected to it. In recent years, this work has involved advocating against the build-out of new fracked gas infrastructure, including pipelines, LNG terminals, fracked gas-to-methanol refineries, and now the GTN Xpress expansion project.
Lou Stagnitto is a retired organizational development consultant who is in the “give back” stage of life. As the volunteer director of the Interfaith Solar Campaign, Lou brings expertise in managing change to efforts to build a new energy economy. Lou also chairs the Board of the Quest Center for Integrative Health, where hands-on services to needy populations are provided.
Rev. Bonnie Tarwater served as a parish minister in the United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist churches and is the founder and minister of Church for Our Common Home. She and her husband Dr. Walt Rutherford offer counseling services and retreats at The Secret Garden Retreat Center at the John Cobb Eco Farm where they explore biodynamic farming.
