Defining A New Direction  

Faith Action’s new Environmental Justice task force was formed to address environmental justice policy issues with a strong moral, social justice, and equity lens.  Its Mission, Core Values and Guiding Principles were recently defined by its members to provide a solid foundation as it forges ahead towards its goal of creating truly sustainable and equitable systemic change for Hawai’i. 

Join Us: Please join us for our next Environmental Justice task force meeting on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at 5:00 PM.  Regular meetings are every other Wednesday of the month.  Reminders are sent out. All are welcome to attend.  Email sschake@faithactionhawaii.org for the Zoom link.  To learn more go to: Faithactionhawaii.org/current-issues.

Mission Statement: To mobilize our communities through education, community organizing and leadership development to become a faith-based, collective voice for protecting our state’s natural resources and ensuring environmental justice for all.

Core Values 

• Equity for All
  Ensure the transition to renewable energy and solving the climate crisis are equitable for all, especially for those with low socio-economic status.

• Community
  A strong focus on relationship building, collaboration, fostering community and listening to the concerns our members and public through face to face communication.

• Interconnection
  The perspective that each individual and community is interconnected with each other and with the natural environment.  Everything we do affects our environment, and our environment affects us.

• Faith-Based
  Our commitment to creating positive change is driven from our faith and moral standpoint.

• Responsibility
  Each person has a role to play, we must hold each other and stakeholders accountable, and we all are responsible for caring for our natural environment.

Guiding Principles

• Action-Oriented
  A strong focus on being action and solution oriented to facilitate change at the macro level.

• Open Communication & Listening
  Open and honest communication that is engaging and ‘two-way,’ this includes listening to all members and our communities to understand its challenges.

• Foster Personal Relationships
  A focus on developing personal relationships among the task force, our greater membership and within the larger community.

• Inclusive & Safe Space
  Ensure that every meeting and event creates a safe, inclusive environment where each member feels valued, respected, and safe to speak up and express their opinions.

• Grassroots Leadership
  Decisions are made collectively and direction is member-led, no ‘top-down leadership.’

• Leadership Development
  Ongoing training of members to become effective leaders, advocates and community organizers. Includes education on priority issues and empowering members to become leaders in their own communities and networks, using their voice to create the changes they want to see.

• Team Work & Accountability
  Each issue campaign and organizing work is a team effort based on strategy and cohesiveness.  Each member has a role to play. We hold each other accountable for our efforts and individual contributions.

• Make it Fun!
  Remember to find ways to make this work fun and facilitate engaging activities to bond as a team.