“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Once upon a time…
We became a coalition of faith traditions committed to preserving and nourishing our Great Salt Lake.
How we got here
Several years ago, we very briefly summarized our beginnings in an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune:
In 2009, members of Utah’s diverse religious communities developed a statement in which they wrote, “Despite differences in the beliefs and practices that define our traditions, we share a common experience and conviction that wilderness is a place of profound spiritual inspiration, renewal, connection, and nourishment. The astounding beauty, utter vastness, and enveloping silence of wild places awaken our sense of awe and connect us to something larger than ourselves — God, Allah, the Divine, spirit, the unnameable mystery of life.”
Building on this effort, some of these same communities formed the Great Salt Lake Interfaith Action Coalition (GSLIAC) in 2023. Our purpose is to “take action together to save Great Salt Lake while respecting each of our unique spiritual and faith-based traditions.”
Read on if you want more detail.
A small group who had attended the People’s Great Salt Lake Summit of 2022 began meeting regularly online, under the guidance and encouragement of Deeda Seed, from the Center for Biological Diversity. This included: Joan Gregory of First Unitarian Universalist, SLC, Ron Barness of St Mark’s Episcopal, Marc Coles-Ritchie of Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance (MESA), Bremen Leak, Sustainability and Resiliency officer at BYU, and Becky Burrage of Holladay United Church of Christ.
Their vision was to present to legislators the dangers facing GSL from a different perspective. This group created and collected over 1000 postcards signed by people of faith, asking the legislature to take immediate action to get more water to GSL. In addition, four faith organizations wrote “faith-based call to action” letters, explaining in detail how their religious beliefs inspired them to take action on behalf of Great Salt Lake. These letters were signed by leaders from First Unitarian Universalist, SLC; Holladay United Church of Christ; Presbyterian, Christ United Methodist; Lutheran, and Chavurah B’Yachad.
In February 2023, Deeda Seed helped arrange an Interfaith Press Conference in the Capitol Rotunda. Speakers included representatives from Indigenous People, Christ United Methodist Church, Holladay United Church of Christ, First Unitarian Universalist Church, SLC, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and MESA. About 50 people attended and displayed signs in support of GSL. Following the speeches, a delegation delivered packets to each legislator. Each packet was addressed to specific legislators and included copies of the letters and the postcards.
After the Interfaith Press Conference, Joan and Becky reached out to the groups that had participated, hoping to continue their combined efforts. They distributed a questionnaire to help guide development of the group, and based on those results, the group decided on a name, purpose statements, and a list of actions to draw from.
Beginning in 2026, GSLIAC dropped “Coalition” from their name to make it easier to remember and write, and to keep the emphasis on “Action.” GSLIA continues to be a diverse, faith-full force for good on behalf of our sacred lake and we are hopeful and eager to have you join us in any capacity that you are able.
There is strength in numbers
We are blessed to share a spiritual vision of what our combined faith’s and our individual faith can accomplish. We hope you will join us if you haven’t already.
Key Great Salt Lake Interfaith Action Supporters
This is a new GSIA initiative, hence the limited number of names thus far. We are in the first phase of requesting faith leaders to add their names in support of our Great Salt Lake.
Rev. Monica Dobbins, First Unitarian Church, Salt Lake City
Gregory Glenn, The Cathedral of the Madeleine
Rev. Brent Gundlah, Holladay United Church of Christ
Rev. Dale Frederickson, Christ United Methodist Church, Millcreek
Rev. Bruce Kolasch, Christ United Methodist Church, Millcreek
Pastor Brittany Mangleson, Community of Christ Church, Millcreek
Mike Maxwell, Chair of Salt Lake City Chapter of LDS Earth Stewardship
Rev. Jared McClure, First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City
Rev. Chris Pritchett, Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church, Millcreek
Rabbi Sam Spector, Congregation Kol Ami
Rev. J Sylvan, First Unitarian Church, Salt Lake City
Rev. Jamie White, First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City
Rev. Scott Wipperman, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Ogden
Rev. Lora Young, South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society
Who’s steering this ship?
We appreciate all those who give of their time and resources to bring people of faith together to help save our Great Salt Lake.
GSLIA Steering Committee
Joan Gregory, Co-Coordinator (First Unitarian Universalist Church of Salt Lake City)
Becky Burrage, Co-Coordinator (Holladay United Church of Christ)
Joni Furlong and Eileen Vestal (Christ United Methodist Church)
Mike Maxwell (LDS Earth Stewardship)
Helene Cuomo (A member of the Jewish community)
GSLIA meets monthly on Zoom and often invites guest speakers to help improve our understanding of the issues with GSL. Some of our past speakers have included:
Deeda Seed, Stop the Polluting Port Coalition; Jake Dreyfous and Ben Abbott, Grow the Flow; Zach Frankl and Amy Wick, Utah Rivers Council; Dr. Brian Moench, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment; Madeline Sueltz, Jordan Water District Conservation Gardens; David Wright, Landscape architect with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
You are welcome to join us. Or contact us if you have a presentation that would be helpful.