Creation Care Network E-news |
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Dear friends,
In these early days of autumn, we relish the flashes of bright color and the subtle hues of this season of transition. I look forward to hearing how congregations in our two Massachusetts dioceses celebrated Creation Season and how you plan to carry the work forward. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some long, leisurely walks to notice and savor the gifts of this time of year.
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L-R: Lydia Bell (Christ the King-Epiphany Church, Wilbraham); the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas; and Sandy Muspratt and Edith Adams Allison (both of Grace Church, Amherst). Photo: submitted |
• The March to End Fossil Fuels
On September 17, alongside a crowd some 75,000 people strong, I joined the March to End Fossil Fuels in downtown New York, which ended with a rally near the United Nations. I was glad to see members of our MA dioceses, including Lydia Bell (Christ the King-Epiphany Church, Wilbraham), Sandy Muspratt, Edith Allison, Lucy & John Robinson (Grace Church, Amherst), and the Rev. Lise Hildebrandt (Diocese of MA). Bless you for coming!
I wrote a blog post about the march from the viewpoint of a red-tailed hawk, “Marching in New York: What the Wild Bird Saw.” As you’ll see if you read it, I’m very interested in how God speaks to us through our relationship with the natural world. The post also provides links to some of the media coverage of the event.
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L-R: The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Fletcher Harper (executive director of Greenfaith, one of the organizers of the march), and Jim Antal (United Church of Christ's Special Advisor on Climate Justice). Photo: submitted |
• An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice
October marks the launch of a 6-month pilot for An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice! The two Episcopal Dioceses in Massachusetts will officially recognize the participating congregations and their companions at their annual conventions. We are eager to test drive this program and to see how it can support parishes large and small, those that are just beginning to explore creation care and those that are seasoned. We are delighted that the project has excited the interest of companions and congregations from across Province 1. For more information, contact the project coordinator, the Rev. Rachel Field ([email protected]).
Tuesday, October 4
7:00 p.m. (Eastern) • Online (free)
I can’t think of a better way to mark the climax of Creation Season – October 4, the feast day of St. Francis – than to join the public launch of One Home One Future! This new, national, multi-faith campaign will support congregations in our ministry of climate justice and Creation care. Please join me and sign up here to register for the launch.
Ready to learn more? Go here to get the basics. Click here to listen to what many faith leaders (including the Rev. Melanie Mullen and Phoebe Chatfield from The Episcopal Church) are saying about One Home One Future.
Join congregations across faith traditions and around the country in strengthening your congregation, empowering youth and other leaders, and deepening your commitment to care for our shared home.
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Wednesday, Oct 4, 18 (every other Wednesday, ongoing)
4:30-4:50 p.m. (Eastern) • Online (free)
Offered by The BTS Center and Radical Joy for Hard Times, Earth Hospice Rites is a bi-weekly online gathering in which participants share their grief and confusion about the looming threat of climate change – and open up to the marvels that Earth offers us everywhere and every day.
The Earth itself is not dying. This planet has remade itself countless times over its four and a half billion-year lifespan and will do so again. But something very dear to us humans is dying, and that is our relationship with the seasons, plants, animals, and waters as we know and love them. Co-hosts are Alison Cornish and Trebbe Johnson. More information is here. The Zoom link is here.
Many excellent retreats are available to you in this beautiful part of the world beside the Merrimack River. They are for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of how Christian wisdom and practice can help us navigate this time of enormous social and ecological challenge. Emery House is one of my favorite places for prayer and retreat, and the SSJE Brothers will feed you well and take good care of you. Check it out!
A complete list of this fall’s Emery House retreats is here.
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Thursday, October 12
6:00 p.m. • Online (free)
Whether or not you are a preacher, reflecting on an Advent text with an eye to the climate crisis is a great opportunity for making connections between Advent hope and our relationship with creation. This webinar is part of APLM’s 2023-2024 Worship in a Time of Climate Crisis Project. Register here.
APLM’s recording of the September webinar, Expanding Advent in a Time of Climate Crisis (growing and deepening Advent as we attend to the real issues of our time) is available on YouTube here.
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Monday, October 16
9:00 p.m. (Eastern) • Online (free)
Thursday, October 16
7:00 p.m. (Eastern) • In-person and live-streamed from Washington, DC (free)
This special worship service to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of Creation Justice Ministries will feature keynote preacher Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., founder of the environmental justice movement. Learn more and register here. |
5 Tuesdays, Oct. 3, 17, 31, Nov. 14, 28
12:30-2:00 p.m. (Eastern) • Online ($30, or $50 with a copy of the book mailed to you)
The BTS Center is hosting a 5-session book study centered on Margaret Wheatley’s questions: What does it mean to practice meaningful leadership in a moment where everything is shifting under our feet?
In Who Do We Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity, iconic author and organizational consultant Margaret Wheatley heads unerringly into the face of these questions to suggest that the work of us for these days is to name reality, claim leadership, and restore sanity.
To learn more and to register, visit here. Note: The group will read and discuss the 2nd edition of this book, published in June 2023.
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Tuesday, October 24
7:00-8:30 p.m. (Eastern) • Online ($15, or $35 with a copy of the book mailed to you)
Join The BTS Center for an evening of conversation with Margaret Wheatley, along with music and connection. For complete information and to register, visit here.
Note: registration for the Book Study Group includes admission to the Evening with Margaret Wheatley. If you register for the Book Study, you don’t need to register separately for the author event.
“In a world we cannot recognize, how do we find a way forward? In this world we do not understand, how do we know what to do? When so little is comprehensible, what is meaningful work, what is genuine contribution?”
- Margaret Wheatley, Who Do We Choose to Be?
Saturday, October 28
10 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) • Trinity Lutheran Church, Worcester (free)
Learn ways to offer your congregation and community fresh ways to revere God’s Good Creation and love our neighbors in prayer, word, and deed. All are welcome! Learn more and register here.
Saturday, October 28
12 Noon – 4:00 p.m. (Eastern) • Online (free)
Do you want to be more comfortable talking to others about climate change and more confident in acting on solutions? Join Blessed Tomorrow for this Ambassadors Training to equip you with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and resources to speak and take action on climate change. Learn more and register here
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The first episode of the second season of “Climate Changed” has just been released! This season of The BTS Center's podcast features a roster of profound and insightful guests who join the hosts, Nicole Diroff and Ben Yosua-Davis, exploring topics such as collective honesty and complicated hope. Season One is always available for listening on your favorite podcast platform!
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As winter approaches, now is a good time to see how your household can take advantage of rebates and incentives to make your home more energy-efficient, save you money, and improve home comfort. Visit MassSave.com for programs and services, energy-saving tips, and more, targeted to both homeowners and renters, with income-based assistance available.
• Eat more plant-based foods and throw away less food
I’ve been a vegetarian/pescatarian for about 25 years but haven’t yet made the leap to a totally vegan diet. I got chewed out (ha!) for that by one of the many ardent vegans at the climate march in NYC. What do you think? Have you shifted to a vegan diet? Have you at least cut down on meat? If you’d like to learn more, you might explore the U.N. guide to climate action: food, ClimateHealers.org or TheHumaneLeague.org.
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Did you know that this Massport expansion plan has the potential to single-handedly undercut the total combined greenhouse gas reductions that the rest of Massachusetts is working to achieve? Learn more and discover ways you can take action to stop the damaging, unnecessary and environmentally unsound private jet expansion at Hanscom or anywhere.
Organizers have collected over 7,000 petition signatures, moving us nearly three quarters of the way towards our goal of 10,000 people calling on Governor Healey to put a halt to new gas system expansions until the administration develops a concrete plan for a just transition to a clean and green energy future. You can sign the petition here.
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Blessings,
(The Rev. Dr.) Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
Missioner for Creation Care (Episcopal Diocese of Western Mass. & Southern New England Conference, UCC)
Creation Care Advisor (Episcopal Diocese of Mass.)
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Forest and pond. Photo: submitted. |
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Opportunities for engagement |
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Sign the Letter for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Pressure continues to mount for an international treaty to explicitly stop the expansion of fossil fuel exploitation and manage a just transition away from coal, oil, and gas to clean energy. As of this week, 8 countries from 3 continents have now...
Read more
greenfaith.org
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Climate Ambassador Training - Oct 28
The Blessed Tomorrow Ambassador Training will equip you with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and resources to speak and take action on climate change in your home, neighborhood, place of worship, community, with policymakers, and beyond. The training is practical, inspiring, and backed by science.
www.zoom.us
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Climate Changed, the Podcast
The BTS Center's podcast, Climate Changed, offers intimate interviews and conversations around some of the most pressing questions about faith, life, and climate change. New episodes will premiere monthly.
Read more
thebtscenter.org
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Mass Save | Residential
Whether you own or rent, find ways to save money and reduce your carbon footprint while making your home more comfortable.
Read more
www.masssave.com
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If you've enjoyed this newsletter, please feel free to forward to one or two friends you think may be interested.
Blessings!
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MBJ photo: Tipper Gore, 2014 |
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