Ministers Training 2017: A Multi-Faith Approach

 

2017 has been a year of civic engagement. From Standing Rock to the Women’s Marches to the airport rallies to the forthcoming People’s Climate March, America is at attention in ways it hasn’t been for generations. The challenges in front of us are formidable, none more so than the ecological crisis. Toxins released into the air, soil and water are causing contamination and illness. The impacts of climate change are undeniable: Somalia and other east African nations are experiencing historic drought, the American Midwest is ravaged by fires and storms, and Pacific Island nations are quickly losing ground to rising seas. In addition to the economic damage and loss of biodiversity, people suffer.

 

Recent years have seen incredible progress to address the ecological crisis, but much work remains. Countering an agenda that seeks to divide us will not only require individuals from different movements and diverse communities to discover shared values, it calls upon peer messengers who can communicate these common ideals in their own vocabulary. The voices of religious and spiritual leaders are critical to this effort. Faith helps provide a light in the darkness, and hope to find a way out of no way.

 

To train, support, and empower faith leaders, the Center for Earth Ethics is once again partnering with the Climate Reality Project to train 30-50 faith leaders from around the country to better address the ecological crisis in their own communities. Scheduled for June 5-7, 2017, at Union Theological Seminary in New York, Ministry in the Time of Climate Change includes workshops and discussions that will cover a wide range of topics including:

 

• What our traditions say about the Earth

• The role of faith communities in disaster preparedness and recovery

• Case studies on environmental justice

• The scientific background of climate change

• Giving care for grief and despair

• Sustainability education in faith settings

• Connections between ministries of mercy, justice and the environment

 

Presenters and instructors include:

Vice President Al Gore (Climate Reality Project), Jacqui Patterson (NAACP), Reverend Leo

Woodberry, Catherine Coleman Flowers, Rick Clugston.