On Monday, January 27, we were glad to participate in “Strength in the Struggle,” where we joined around 150 interfaith clergy and laypeople for an inspiring gathering at the Quincy Point Congregational Church, UCC.  Then we all marched a mile to the site of the proposed fracked-gas compressor station in Weymouth, where we prayed, sang, and shouted in loud opposition to the compressor.   

Massachusetts Environmental Ministries of the Southern New England Conference of the UCC was a co-sponsor of the event and have gone on record previously against this compressor.

Rev. Gretchen Elmendorf and others from the East Weymouth Congregational Church, UCC—Rev. Elmendorf has long been an outspoken activist against the compressor.

As many have noted, the gas is not needed for New England, and the siting in the Fore River Basin, between Quincy and Weymouth, is a disastrous idea. It brings the potential of explosion in a highly populated area; it is being built on an existing toxic waste site and that existing exposure may be worsened during construction; the neighborhood has already experienced significant health problems as a result of the existing use of the site; and the location is adjacent to areas designated as Environmental Justice communities by state and federal agencies.

An important update: Scientist Dr. Nathan Phillips, Professor of Earth and Environment at BU, began a hunger strike on January 29 to draw attention to the dangers of the proposed compressor station and to demand that Governor Baker and DEP Commissioner Suuberg address specific safety concerns.  Read Phillips' statement here.  Please pray for Dr. Phillips and for an immediate halt to construction of the compressor station.