When we join our efforts together in new ways, incredible things happen!

Commit2Respond was formed a year ago in recognition of the fact that Unitarian Universalists and like-hearted people of faith and conscience care deeply about our world and are putting faith into action wherever we are—and if we join together in new ways, we can amplify our efforts and our impact.

And wow—what a year! In our first year:

• We marched in the People’s Climate March
• We got spiritually grounded during the first-ever Climate Justice Month
• We donated:
  • $14,000 to counter fossil fuels transport impacts on Indigenous communities
  • $16,000 for young adult climate justice activism
  • $17,000 to help communities in California and Kenya protect their human right to water
• We witnessed with Lummi Nation at a sacred public witness event and a Totem Pole Journey linking Indigenous peoples and religious communities across the West
• We formed new relationships by hosting climate justice conferences in partnership with interfaith and community organizations
• We took a collective stand by passing an Action of Immediate Witness resolution on climate change at the 2015 Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly
• We expanded our learning through more than twenty climate justice workshops at the same General Assembly
• We grew new leadership via a service learning trip to a frontlines Indigenous community and a five-day climate justice training for young adults
• We advocated for a strong international climate agreement at the U.S. State Department.

Now it’s time to take our collaborations and new connections to the next level, grounded in faith and an intersectional vision of climate justice.

In our second year we are gearing up for:

• September 23–25: Moral action events in Washington, DC, coinciding with Pope Francis’s U.S. visit 
• October 12: Indigenous Peoples Day, a time to deepen relationships and take action with frontlines Indigenous communities (such as Resist 450, happening right now)
• November 30–December 11: United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris
• March 22–April 21: The second Climate Justice Month, focusing on collective action!

How will you, your family, and any faith or secular groups you are part of join your efforts together with others in new ways this year? Save the dates for the events above and share your own ideas and events.

Thank you for being a part of this powerful movement for climate justice. Thank you for committing to respond to climate change.

In faith,
Your fellow Commit2Respond leaders