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January 24, 2022
Dear friends,
After a winter season that began with mild temperatures and rain, this week winter seems to have arrived here in Southern Maine. We've had two snowstorms, with another on the way, and the world is blanketed in white. We shovel off the cars and sidewalks, maybe enjoy a snowshoe or time sledding, and then retreat back into our homes for cozy nights, though we remain cognizant that such comforts are not available to all.
Winter is a season that speaks deeply of refuge — of finding the ways of nourishing ourselves and our communities when the weather and the world are harsh and unpredictable. We find community and courage, pockets of resourcefulness and strength. We understand ourselves and this ever-changing world in new ways.
In this season, we at The BTS Center are thinking deeply about refuge and, more specifically, the biological concept of refugia — places of shelter that endure in times of crisis — which Debra Rienstra elucidates so beautifully in her book Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth. Refugia is a concept we're using to shape our thinking and programming this spring, and we hope you will join us for a very special online evening with Debra Rienstra on February 16.
Of course, lament is also a place of refuge, and we continue to be committed to offering space for grief in the face of climate change. Our next Lament with Earth event is coming up next Thursday, February 2.
In the months ahead we will have many opportunities to gather online and in person to explore what it means to be refuge and refugia for one another. We hope you will be part of these conversations!
With best wishes,
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