About Us
Mission & Values
Mission Statement
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.
Core Values
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.
Interfaith Energy and Climate Manifesto
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:
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.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.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.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.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.
Board & Advisors
Board Members
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.
Treasurer: Lot Lau
Lot is a retired hospital administrator 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.
Member: Matthew Geyer
Matt is an environmental activist who serves on the Faith Action Environmental Justice Task Force, which aims to mobilize our state officials to take massive action on addressing climate change and protect our state's natural resources. This group emphasizes the strong connection between climate change, social justice and equity.
Clergy Advisors
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.
Fr. Chris Bridges: Fr. Bridges is vicar, priest, and pastor at Epiphany Episcopal Church in Kaimuki. Epiphany has an active Green Team, led by HIPL board member Lot Lau.
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.
Interfaith Power & Light
The mission of Interfaith Power & Light is to inspire and mobilize people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change. This campaign intends to protect the earth’s ecosystems, safeguard the health of all Creation, and ensure sufficient, sustainable energy for all. Since the year 2000, IPL has helped thousands of congregations address global warming by being better stewards of energy. We have a track record of tangible results: shrinking carbon footprints and educating millions of people of faith about the important role they have to play in this challenging issue.
The national Interfaith Power & Light movement is headquartered in California but has chapters in 40 states. The IPL movement was founded by the Reverend Canon Sally Grover Bingham, a priest in the Diocese of California, chair of the Episcopal Diocesan Commission for the Environment. 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.
Partners
HIPL may be small in size, but we work together with other faith and environment organizations to accomplish our mission and help others achieve their own goals. We list some of these partners on our Get Involved page, so learn more there about others working to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future in Hawaii and beyond. We offer a special "Mahalo!" to The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii for serving as our fiscal sponsor in our early days and to Church of the Crossroads - Honolulu for providing the inspiration for HIPL's formation, being a strong partner, and serving as a great host for many of our events!