Tag: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley

Adventures in Lobbying

Most of my adventures are of an outdoor nature, however I was recently invited to join a lobbying effort to promote climate legislation in Sacramento. For the most part I have been ignorant of our legislative processes and have considered lobbying to be the domain of special interest groups with deep pockets.

Can those of us with little financial clout make a difference in public policy, particularly when it comes to climate and environmental issues? After this experience I have to say YES!

This was a two day event sponsored by The Climate Center. March 19 we spent the day listening to presentations as part of the California Climate Policy Summit 2024 and the 20th was devoted to visiting legislative offices to promote several bills. I attended the conference as a representative of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. There were three of us, Cherie, Katie and me.

The morning of the 20th we gathered into teams of four or five and headed over to the legislative offices to promote three bills, AB 2256 – Value of Solar, SB 233 – Bidirectional EV Charging and SB 252 – Oil and Gas Divestment. We also talked about budget issues and the possibility of a climate bond. Our lobbying efforts took us to Assembly member Ortega’s office where we dropped off information.

We then went on to Senator Eggman’s office where we met with legislative assistant Alison Kostusak, and then on to Senator Durazo’s office and Assembly representative Lisa Calderon’s office where we met with Maryana Khames and Arnell Rusanganwa.

I was impressed by how attentive the legislative personnel were. They seemed genuinely interested in the information we were providing, took notes and asked intelligent questions. I left this experience feeling like our presence made a difference.

The Church and Creation Care

A friend of mine recently told me that a friend of hers was surprised to discover that the Church has an interest in creation care. I found this a bit surprising since I have had a faith-based interest in environmental stewardship for over 50 years. We need to experience the world around us with a sense that this is a sacred gift given to us. And what institution is better suited to promote the sacred nature of creation than the church? This is not a new idea. Saint Francis of Assisi is often referred to as the patron saint of ecology and of animals. His teachings go back to the 13th century.

For my own part, I have felt that my role in promoting environmental stewardship is to use my camera to create images that capture the beauty and grace of God’s creation, and through those images inspire others to want to save the planet.

This week something shifted, and I was invited to go stand on a street corner and hold up a sign. So the afternoon of October 19 found me at Ashby Avenue and Regent Street in Berkeley holding a sign.

I’m the guy with the black hat. The invitation to participate came through a church croup, Creation Care and Climate Justice, which is looking for ways to make our own church, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, more environmentally-friendly and to share the message with the congregation and the community at large.

The location for our rally was selected because it’s close to the Berkeley Presbyterian Mission Homes (BPMH) and we wanted to show solidarity with their mission.

Now is the time to act. We’re a few weeks away from the Global Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26) and the global organization “GreenFaith” is asking faith communities to rally and insist on Climate Action. Keep your eyes open; both faith based and secular organizations will be spreading the word.

Distributing Food

Today’s adventure started with a bicycle ride into Berkeley where we met with a team of people to help distribute food to those in need. The event was sponsored by CityTeam, a faith based organization united by the belief that God has called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. The venue for the event was provided by First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, and since my wife Joann and I both serve as deacons here we decided we would see if we could rally a few people from our neighborhood parish to help with the event. We joined a number of other people that had volunteered for the event.

Our work involved unloading groceries from the City Team truck, opening boxes and organizing the food into bags for distribution. People could then drive up in their cars or walk in for food pickup.

Since most of us have been away from the church campus for over a year it was also fun to see our church friends face-to-face rather than the Zoom meetings that have served us through the pandemic.

We were a little disappointed that more people did not show up to collect food, but with this being an ongoing event happening the first and third Saturday of the month, we’re hoping that more people will take advantage of future event. We’re also looking for volunteers for future events.

You can also view more photos of the event here