In New Orleans, rising seas, toxic floodwaters, and intensifying storms threaten daily life – disproportionately impacting communities living in low-lying neighborhoods such as the Lower Ninth Ward, who often lack the resources to recover from repeated environmental disasters. Fortunately, Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition (GNOICC) is catalyzing faith leaders and communities to meet their moral, ethical and spiritual responsibility to establish climate justice and promote care of the Earth. They educate on issues such as legislative policies like Senate Bill 432 that would limit the public’s ability to protect its aquifer and support efforts such as the New Orleans Building Energy Benchmark Ordinance, working toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. GNOICC partners with groups such as the Louisiana Just Recovery Network and the Broadmoor Community Church to distribute disaster recovery kits with essentials for surviving the event of a power outage during and following a hurricane.
GNOICC executes its mission by collaborating with organizations on such projects as distributing disaster recovery kits to New Orleans residents and community members.
GNOICC was founded by Gregory Manning in 2019, and became a nonprofit in 2021, with the conviction that humanity is drawn together by a reverence for the sacredness of nature and the responsibility to leave the next generation “a better planet than the one we found when we were born.” Led by a 9-person board, the group encourages participation by all faith communities in the metro area, in particular members who are underrepresented in the dominant political and economic system – women, racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, and minorities of sexual orientation. On a quarterly basis, the group hosts an “Earth Recollection” – a ritual, meditation, prayer or other contemplative practice, hosted by various participants from diverse traditions and open to the general public. These “earth-centered” events bring the community together to focus on “recalling the knowledge” of who we are and how we stand in relation to the living Earth. The event also serves as an opportunity for the public to learn about GNOICC and how to get involved.