The People’s Climate March will be held on September 21st in Midtown, New York City, and will be the largest climate march in history. This will be a peaceful, family-friendly event.
Update Sept 13, 2014:
Below are some details that you may find helpful about the People’s Climate March.
The march will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 21st from the Columbus Circle of Manhattan. The route and other logistical information can be found here: www.peoplesclimate.org/logistics.
Please note that signs “on wooden stakes or metal poles” will not be allowed! They are encouraging us to instead use cardboard rolls. One idea is to go to a fabric store and ask for the cardboard from inside the fabric rolls.
The faith contingent will be gathering at 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. Please join up with NYIPL folks at the Subway Restaurant near 314 West 58th Street (on the block between 8th and 9th Avenues)! Look for our yellow IPL pole, banner, balloons and signs.
From 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., there will be a pre-march prayer “service” on our block. Musicians and faith leaders will help us reflect and prepare for the march. The faith contingent will be the last of the large contingents to enter the march, probably stepping off at about 1:00, after the Moslem community has had time for their 12:50 prayer. It’s possible that we will enter the march a little earlier (so be prepared!) but this is the thinking at this point.
If you need transportation, go to www.peoplesclimate.org/transportation. If you want to ride the NYIPL bus from Albany, New York, you can click here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-interfaith-power-light-pcm-bus-from-albany-tickets-12614611643
Please feel free to bring small bells or another simple instrument, as we will be sounding them together at 1:00 p.m.
If you are interested in going to the interfaith service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 6:00 p.m. after the march, click here to register http://religionsfortheearth.splashthat.com/. They suggest that you get there at least by 5:00 p.m. because it will be packed.
The march is timed to occur two days before a UN summit on climate change. We want people of faith to turn out in record numbers to show the world that climate change is a moral issue.
With our future on the line and the whole world watching, let’s take a day and use it to bend the course of history.
Feel free to download our Sample Announcement and Newsletter Article (PDF), our Bulletin Insert (PDF) and our Poster (PDF) if you would like materials that you can use to get the word out to your congregation or group.
The march will begin at Columbus Circle, time TBA. Click here for general information or here for information for people of faith if you want more information on the march.
Ride to the march with NYIPL! If you’re in the Capital Region, please join us on our bus from Albany. Or, if you’re coming from other locations and need a ride, click here. Questions about transportation? Call (315) 256-0078.
We look forward to marching with you in September!
For faith communities who can’t attend the march, you can still participate!
There are still things your faith community can do if you can only be at the march in spirit.
“Sound off” outdoors at 1:00 p.m. – houses of worship and others will be ringing bells, sounding shofars, chanting mantras, and offering public calls to prayer at 1:00 p.m. their time in solidarity with marchers. Organizers are suggesting you make your sound for 5 minutes and 50 seconds (350 seconds to signify 350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide – the highest amount for a stable climate).
Check here for more actions you can take from home!
Could someone organize a discount for Amtrak/Greyhound/Trailways for those preferring to reduce their fossil fuel footprint in going to the march by using EXISTING transportation, instead of ADDING TO the footprint by booking ADDITIONAL BUSES or CARPOOLS? It would be awesome to give existing mass transit some good PR and revenue, as that appears to me to be the more climate friendly mode of travel.