Firelight
Reflections on the Trial of Derek Chauvin
Today, we expect that jury selection will begin for the criminal trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. We know that for many of us, and especially for Black, Brown, Native, POC, and Indigenous communities who are so often targeted by police violence and abuse, the coming days might feel fraught. Many…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Kristen Anderson
Kristen Anderson was in danger of being called a “bluestocking polymath” even before finishing college. Now, among her many activities, she is focusing her skills and efforts to serve MNIPL as one of its board of directors and a key member on the Line 3 Interfaith Team. An outdoorswoman from an early age, Kristen learned…
Read MoreYouth N’ Power Volunteer: Jaiden Ellington-Vasser
Jaiden admits she was skeptical when she first met staff and students of MNIPL’s Youth N’ Power program. Now she is one of its core members and a vibrant young teacher of climate justice. It all started in 2019 when Jaiden was working for Redeemer Center for Life, which hosts MNIPL’s Youth N’ Power group.…
Read MoreMovement Builder: Rev. Lee Schaefer
Among the good reasons to work in the climate justice movement are the interesting and good-hearted people you meet on the way. People like the Rev. Lee Schaefer. Lee began volunteering as Movement Builder with Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light about a year ago and has already organized fellow members at his church, worked to…
Read MoreDriving Home a Message to Vote
Inspired by the “Chalk the Vote” campaign led by MNIPL’s Get Out The Vote team, my car art hopes to invoke those same tactics. Car art is a mobile medium, and surrounding cars must read and engage with the message.
Read MoreVoting is Loving: Thoughts on California Wildfires
This reflection is from Efua Sey, a senior at Macalester College from California. She attends Bethel Christian Fellowship in St. Paul. Efua is active in MNIPL’s Climate Justice Voter campaign. What does it feel like to be in Minnesota while hearing about the West Coast fires? I am fortunate to live in Granada Hills, in…
Read MoreHonoring Juneteenth Day
Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth is a day to celebrate how far we have come in the struggle for equality and freedom in the United States. Each June nineteenth commemorates the arrival of freedom to the remaining enslaved African Americans in 1865, and serves as a reminder of the hope, tenacity, and spirit of the African-American community…
Read MoreTo reduce the risk of future pandemics, we need to move from domination to partnership with nature
Welcome to this edition of Firelight: Wisdom to Support & Inspire! This edition of Firelight is written by Teddie Potter who shares reflections on how we can help health-care professionals fight crises like COVID-19 by changing the way we live and the choices we make. This Month’s Curator: Teddie Potter is Director of Planetary Health at…
Read MoreMinnesotans Support Clean Cars
MNIPL supporter and Woodbury resident, Wallace Wald explains why he supports Governor Walz’s administration’s clean car proposal. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is working on adopting Clean Car Standards, which would require vehicle manufacturers to sell more low and zero-emission vehicles in Minnesota. In March the MPCA will publish a Notice of Intent to Adopt…
Read MoreMiikawaadenim – To Be Beautiful
Welcome to this edition of Firelight: Wisdom to Support & Inspire! This edition of Firelight is written by Winona Laduke who shares reflections on co-creating a more kind and beautiful Northland, Minnesota, nation, and world. This Month’s Curator: Winona LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of Indigenous Economics, Food and…
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