Mission & Values

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 As faithful stewards of aloha aina (the living earth community), Hawaii Interfaith Power and Light engages faith communities to raise awareness of global warming and create inspirational solutions.

 HIPL's  core values are principles and spiritual ideals that serve as the  foundation of the organization's goals and plans. We draw from the rich  lexicon and traditions of Native Hawaiian values and spirituality to  give expression to the core values of HIPL.

Ohana: all of life is related as a family

Malama: mutual  caring for each other and for future generations;  awe/inspiration/reverence for all life; viewing the world as our  neighborhood; recognizing our karmic footprint; realizing our spiritual  and moral obligation to each other and the earth

Kuleana: taking  responsibility and ownership to do what is needed; being empowered to  determine one's own future; working toward personal transformation.

Aloha: Compassion  and a welcoming spirit; recognizing the sacredness of life and our  kinship with all beings; caring for elders and ancestors (kupuna);  embracing creativity and hopefulness in all that we do.

 We affirm and commit to  promote the following goals and principles for the social justice,  economic equity, and environmental stewardship necessary to sustain this  sacred planet.

Goals for interfaith energy and climate action include the following:

• raise awareness of the deeply spiritual nature of energy and climate challenges;
• advocate energy policies that promote conservation, efficiency, and renewables;
• provide inspiration, resources, leadership, and education for effective interfaith action and community building.

We  recognize that energy and climate share a common context with other  social-economic-environmental concerns and that celebrating this natural  interdependence strengthens the effectiveness of our interfaith  responses.  We embrace the following spiritual principles to promote  leadership and common grounds for sustainable action:

1. Find ethical grounding
   Climate  change is an ecological issue, an economic issue, a social issue, and  an ethical issue grounded in our human identities, our spiritual values,  and our justice traditions.
2. Access traditional wisdom
   Climate  change can seem overwhelming and deeply unsettling.  Our shared  spiritual wisdom of many centuries and many faiths has the power to  transform anger into compassion and fear into courage.
3. Access new wisdom
   Fact-based  international Science and heartfelt interfaith Stories complement each  other as the foundation and motivation for responsible policy and  effective action on climate change.
4. Build shared community
   Mutual  respect and good-faith collaboration will empower diverse communities  to respond sustainably to the challenges of renewable energy and climate  change.
5. Embrace worthy Means to achieve desirable Ends
   Grounded  in these spiritual principles, our interfaith responses to the climate  crisis will achieve the just societies, economic equity, environmental  stewardship, and strong communities that we need to sustain our planet  and all peoples.

President: Travis Idol Travis has been with HIPL since its founding in 2007. He is an associate professor of forestry and agroforestry at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He has been involved with faith-based efforts to care for Creation since 2000.

Vice-President: Chuck Burrows
"Doc" Burrows is a retired educator from Kamehameha Schools and a founding member of HIPL. Doc has promoted environmental stewardship and Hawaiian culture throughout his life and forged strong ties with Alaska Natives also engaged in these efforts. He is active in the Peace, Justice, and Stewardship of Creation mission team at Church of the Crossroads.

Treasurer: Lot Lau Lot is a retired hospital adminstrator who has been active in the Episcopal diocese and now leads the green team at Epiphany Episcopal parish. Lot promotes broad participation within the parish on energy and environment issues.

Advocacy Liaison: Steve Lohse
Steve is a retired environmental scientist. He is a long-time community and environmental actvitist. Steve leads HIPL efforts to partner with energy and environment advocacy groups, creating a hub for coordinated action on energy and environmental issues.

Member: Susan Lebo
Susan works for the State Historic Preservation Division. She has worked for environmental stewardship within faith communities and as an HIPL board member. Her expertise in environmental and development regulations helps HIPL navigate complicated issues of sustainable development in Hawaii  

HIPL is advised by a group of clergy whose passion for sustainability, the environment, and Hawaiian culture lies at the heart of their ministry and supports our mission.

Rev. Christopher Golding: Rev. Golding is vicar, priest, and pastor at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Kailua. As a vegan, Rev. Golding understands the deep moral implications of our food choices as well as the strong links between climate change and our modern food system.

Imam Matiullah Joyia: Imam Joyia is leader of the Ahmaddiyya Muslim Community of Hawaii and active in Humanity First USA, an outreach mission to poor communities around the world. He has helped bring small-scale PV systems to households in the Marshall Islands as a model of energy self-sufficiency and disaster resilience.

Rev. Dr. Kaleo Patterson: Kahu Patterson is a Hawaiian minister (kahunapule) and an Episcopal missioner, chaplain and priest to rural parishes and communities in Hawaii. He is also co-director of the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center.  He works with HIPL to make climate change a part of PJRC restorative justice projects.

Rev. David Turner: Kahu Turner is the senior minister at Church of the Crossroads, the first congregation in Hawaii to partner with HIPL. He has a deep passion for environmental theology and stewardship. He was director of Camp Mokuleia for 10 years, helping it to become an inspirational model of sustainability during his leadership there.

Rev. Irene Tanabe: Kahu Tanabe serves as rector for Epiphany Episcopal parish in Honolulu. Epiphany is one of a growing number of churches in Hawaii that has demonstrated its commitment to renewable energy by installing a PV system on their campus to cover most of their electricity needs.

 The national Interfaith Power & Light  movement has is headquartered in California but has chapters in more  than 40 states! A fact sheet about the organization can be found here (IPL Fact Sheet.pdf).  The IPL movement  was founded by the Reverend Canon Sally Grover Bingham, who also serves  as its current president. Rev. Bingham is a priest in the Diocese of  California, chair of the Episcopal Diocesan Commission for the  Environment and has been active in the environmental community for  twenty-five years.Sally  serves on both the National Board of the Environmental Defense Fund and  the Environmental Working Group as well as the national advisory board  for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She recently joined the Forum on  Children and Nature. The Interfaith Power and Light Campaign and the  Rev. Bingham have received numerous awards including the 2007 U.S. EPA  Climate Protection Award, the Purpose Prize, the Energy Globe Award and  recognition as a "sacred gift to the planet" by the World Wildlife Fund.  Rev. Bingham was recently named one of the top fifteen green religious  leaders by Grist magazine and was installed as Canon for Environmental  Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of California.