Ipl San Francisco

'Cool congregations': The Interfaith Power & Light story, part 1

In a special Earth Day, 2000, edition of Time Magazine, I came across an article on the Rev. Sally Bingham, an Episcopal priest serving Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. She, in partnership with Steve MacAusland, had founded Episcopal Power & Light. Episcopal Power & Light represented a coalition of Episcopal congregations that had purchased green power. Episcopal Power & Light soon became California Interfaith Power & Light with the participation in the collaborative of congregations from other Christian denominations and Jewish synagogues. The Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) movement has spread across the country where now 38 states and the District of Columbia have recognized IPLs.

I had attempted something similar when I was pastor of St. Vincent DePaul parish in Pontiac, Michigan back in 1992. But at the time no other congregation had expressed interest. Shortly after my parish of St. Elizabeth in Wyandotte was featured on public radio for putting solar panels and a wind turbine on the rectory in 2001 Rev. Bingham contacted me and we became friends. In 2002 Cardinal Maida granted me a year’s sabbatical to establish a Michigan Interfaith Power & Light [MiIPL]. I served as acting executive director of MiIPL until 2008. Currently I serve as Public Policy representative. At present approximately 135 houses of worship from across the entire State of Michigan [including the Upper Peninsula] participate in Michigan Interfaith Power & Light.

Interfaith Power & Light Vision

The Interfaith Power & Light movement’s vision, as Rev. Bingham told me in a recent interview, is based on the two-fold love command – love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And “you don’t pollute your neighbor’s air”. It is also recognition, from both the first chapter of the Gospel of John and the 15th chapter of Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians, that not only did everything come from God but all things are to be reconciled back to God. And we are partners in that reconciliation.

2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco - Blogspot

Hello fellow law students,

I am a third year law student at Southwestern Law School, and I am excited and honored to serve as the 2010-2011 Law Student Division Liaison to the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law. In my role as Student Liaison, I attend and participate in ABA-IPL events and meetings, representing the interests of the 9,000+ ABA-IPL law student members, and report back on issues that are important to us.

ABA-IPL seeks to engage law students and enrich their careers by offering a broad spectrum of events programming, membership benefits, and publications. There are dozens of ways to get involved as a student, and I encourage you to seek out the opportunities available to you. One of the easiest ways to get involved immediately is to join a committee in your area of legal interest. Just click on the “Committees” button on the left side of the screen, then choose your Division of interest, and select the committee that most interests you. Also, make sure to join our LinkedIn and Facebook groups to stay current on ABA-IPL news.

Every where I walked in San Francisco was filled with attorneys wearing their ABA badges, carrying their ABA tote bags. The city had such an exciting vibe because everyone at the Meeting was ready to meet fellow attorneys and law students. Strangers would strike up conversation in line at the Starbucks next to the convention center and everyone with the LexisNexis lanyards around their necks would smile at each other on the street. Aside from my wonderful ABA-IPL colleagues, one of the highlights of the Meeting was the Section Celebration. The ABA-IPL Staff did a fantastic job putting the event together. It was held at a restaurant several blocks from the Section's hotel, where we dined, drank and chatted until our hearts content. And then we sang karaoke! It was so much fun to see everyone let loose and enjoy themselves. I'm sure the restaurant hosting us had no idea that a group of Intellectual Property attorneys could be so much fun. I look forward to the coming year and I am grateful to be representing the interests of law students to the Intellectual Property Law Section of the ABA. I hope to provide the Section with insight about what we law students want in a bar association/section, and how to best reach out to us. I am thankful for the guidance of ABA-IPL staff members Amy Mandel and Leah Richards, who helped make my Meeting experience one to remember, and to the outgoing ABA-IPL Law Student Liaison, Angela Morrison, for sharing her experience as Liaison last year, which has set me up for success this year.

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