The mission of the Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition (GNOICC) is to act as a catalyst to educate, empower, engage and equip faith leaders and communities to meet its moral, ethical and spiritual responsibility to establish climate justice and promote care of the Earth. GNOICC executes its mission by collaborating with organizations, such as the Louisiana Just Recovery Network, the ELCA Youth Gathering, and the Broadmoor Community Church, to distribute over 275 disaster recovery kits to New Orleans residents and community members. These kits included essentials for surviving the event of a power outage during and following a hurricane, such as batteries, lanterns, first aid kits, waterproof document folders and cooling towels. GNOICC also hosts community meetings that focus on such issues as legislative policies impacting the environment in the Greater New Orleans area.
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 on the conviction that humanity is drawn together by a reverence for the sacredness of nature. The group encourages participation by all faith communities in the New Orleans 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.