On Thursday, we'll rise by the river

In the United States, in my home state of Minnesota, we have been fighting a destructive oil pipeline called Line 3 for many years.

Join our efforts today by taking action from your home.

This oil pipeline, if built, would create pollution equal to 50 coal-fired power plants. It would also run through the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe Indigenous people destroying their sacred wild rice fields, and could pollute the waters of the Mississippi River, one of the biggest rivers that runs through my state and much of the United States. Line 3 would cross more than 200 bodies of water, including lakes, wetlands, and rivers, endangering freshwater resources and the pristine lake country of northern Minnesota, putting each of them at risk of a spill. Building this pipeline would be catastrophic, and as we speak, construction crews are waiting for the ground to thaw so they can drill under the Mississippi River.

I’m a Muslim, and my faith calls me to take care of our earth and all people. This teaching is universally shared among the world’s religions, and it’s what inspires me every day in organizing faith communities here to oppose this disastrous project.

That’s why on Thursday March 11, as part of Sacred People, Sacred Earth, we’ll be marching, rallying, and praying to stop the Line 3 pipeline. If you’re in Minnesota, join us here! We are planning an interfaith march and ceremony where hundreds of people will march along the banks of the Mississippi river in prayer and meditation. We will call on President Biden to stop the permits for this project as well as all other pipeline and fossil fuel projects across our country. If President Biden wants to be the climate leader he claims he is, we need him to stop these destructive fossil fuel projects and build back fossil free from COVID-19. Instead of building pipelines, we need investments in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities and 100% renewable energy.

We invite you to connect with us by taking action on March 11th. If you’re in the United States, please take a digital action targeted at President Biden and Gina McCarthy, and ask them to #StopLine3. And if you’re anywhere else in the world, join a Sacred People Sacred Earth event near you or take a digital action.

I know that we are not alone, and many of you across the globe are also fighting back against the destruction of the fossil fuel industry. It is time for our governments to say no to life-harming and destructive practices and take the steps necessary to address the climate crisis.

We Minnesotans are ready for this struggle - and we know it’s not just about Line 3, but about building a sustainable, equitable, fossil-free world for all of our communities. We need your support to win and we send our support to your fights across the globe. I hope I can count on you to join us on March 11th, however you can.

In solidarity,

Whitney Terrill

GreenFaith Fellow and organizer at MN Interfaith Power and Light