BAKER CITY — Two Baker City residents were among the members of an Eastern Oregon group, Climate Vigil, who gathered May 4 at the state Capitol in Salem to bring awareness to legislators about the effects of climate change.

“This vigil was an opportunity for all of us to celebrate a fundamental human right that we all share a healthy environment and a stable climate,” said Peter Fargo, who heads the nonprofit Climate Vigil.

It launched in early 2021.

Fargo was joined at the vigil in Salem by Rev. Cynthia Wunder of the First Presbyterian Church in Baker City.

“We began as a social media campaign, inviting Christians to pray and to light a candle as a symbol of concern, of hope, and a commitment to take action,” Fargo said. “The event on May 4 was an interfaith gathering and this is the new chapter in Climate Vigil. We are inviting people of faith and goodwill to gather, so this is an opportunity for even those curious or concerned about our climate crisis. To learn, and to have support from others.

“(We have) a right to clean water to drink for every person, clean air for every person, a stable climate and long-term weather patterns to support ourselves and families and communities, and to keep living where we are and to thrive,” Fargo said. “When we talk about those essential ingredients for human life, it resonates with the founding documents of our nation. We hold these truths to be self-evident,” he said, quoting the Declaration of Independence.

Fargo pointed to heat waves and droughts that have ruined crops, left springs dry and turned forests into tinder boxes as effects from a warming Earth.

Wunder said she joined Climate Vigil after meeting Fargo.

“I don’t even recall how that happened,” Wunder said. “But we’ve been working for a while on this, it’s very much a local grassroots movement.”

Wunder said Climate Vigil has had local events, including film screenings and potlucks, as well as a town hall-style meeting dealing with the increasingly dangerous wildfire seasons.

“There was a moment when we recognized that if the climate gets hotter and drier and we have more droughts, it puts everything that we love here at risk,” Wunder said.

She said she was intrigued by the opportunity to take Climate Vigil’s message to the seat of Oregon’s state government in Salem.

“We began with a sung blessing, which was gorgeous,” Wunder said. “Somebody said ‘we’re calling this a rally,’ but we don’t want to call this a rally because rallies tend to be against somebody. No matter what people think about climate change, if we win everybody wins.”

Wunder said Climate Vigil members have a message based on faith, not politics.

“Sometimes it takes action, you can’t have factories dumping their sludge into the river, cannot have people’s sewage doing that,” she said. “I like to be boots on the ground, digging in, doing things, and I would love to see lots of people in Eastern Oregon on the state capital steps saying ‘ya’ll gotta listen to us.’”

Wunder praised local farmers and ranchers who are using regenerative techniques to produce food in a sustainable way.

In addition to events such as the vigil in Salem, Fargo said Climate Vigil has launched a Christian music album, produced in tandem with the Porter’s Gate Worship Project, focused on climate impacts.

More information about Climate Vigil is available at ClimateVigil.org, by texting 541-239-3702, or by visiting the First Presbyterian Church at 1995 Fourth St.

Footage of the speakers at the May 4 vigil can be seen on the Climate Vigil YouTube page.

“(We have) a right to clean water to drink for every person, clean air for every person, a stable climate and long-term weather patterns to support ourselves and families and communities, and to keep living where we are and to thrive.”

— Peter Fargo, Baker City resident and member of Climate Vigil