EcoFaith Summit Sparks Fireseeds for Action on Care for Creation
April 18, 2026
Today, people of faith and conscious joined together in Duluth and online for the 2026 EcoFaith Summit of the Upper Midwest. The theme, From Fear to Fire: Community for a Planet in Peril, focused on building community and igniting individual and collective fires to engage in environmental and climate action.
The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin proudly partnered in this event as a sponsor.
Community-Building
During the event, intergenerational leaders shared their expertise and connected with attendees to spread wisdom and knowledge, and find opportunities to build community toward collective action.
“Yes, the world feels hopeless right now… But a community willing to become that fire – to grow through challenges and open instead of close in the face of difficulties – that kind of community can change everything,” said Brooke Elness, Youth Ecofaith Leader, in an opening address at the EcoFaith Summit. “Our actions – no matter how small – carry the potential for holy transformation. The future is not something we are waiting for. It’s something we are kindling together.”
Transformational Power
Sessions explored topics including:
- Congregations Ignited for Creation
- Energy Action Starts at Home
- Non-Cooperation 101
- Planting as an Act of Prayer
- Data Centers Deep Dive
- Pollinator Synods and Sanctuaries
“What does it mean to love your neighbor if your neighbor cannot breathe the air? What does it mean to follow Jesus if we are unwilling to confront the powers that are destroying God’s Earth?” asked the Rev. JaNaé Bates Imari, a Methodist minister and co-executive director of ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota. “Transformation does not happen through individual passion alone; it happens through collective power.”
Action Opportunities
LOPPW collaborated with Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota to host a community action station during the EcoFaith Summit.
The action station provided information about the U.S. Forest Service research facility closures and offered an opportunity for people to write to Members of Congress on this issue.
Take Action
The U.S. Forest Service has announced a sweeping reorganization that would close 57 of its 77 research facilities across the country, consolidate research into a centralized office, and relocate its headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City.
These research stations study wildfire risk, forest health, water quality,
climate change, and biodiversity, often through long-term experiments that span decades.
Use these documents to write to your Members of Congress and to bring to your congregation to amplify this message to adults, youth, and children:
