Claiming Our Call in a Climate-Changed World

This summer, Reverend Tara and A2U2 members Angie Dierks, Barb Murray and Patricia Ellen came together with 60 people from 12 churches throughout Northern New England at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor, Maine.  Sponsored & organized by the BTS Center in collaboration with Creation Justice Ministries and the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative, we engaged in a retreat for 3 days to explore the work to which our churches are being called in these times of living in a climate-changed world.  Read more about it in the BTS Center’s summer newsletter. We were asked to imagine a radical intent for our church, along with creating a corresponding project to bring our intent to life- a small experiment with radical intent. 
 
Recognizing the many other efforts our members are engaged in centered around climate change, we decided to focus on the treasure of our own 6.5 acres of land.  Our radical intent is to strengthen our sacred interconnections with all of our neighbors, human and other than human across generations, in ways that both respect and support all of our ongoing transformations.  To this end, we decided to develop several Stations of the Earth in collaboration with our church members of all ages, current allies from the community, and to develop new partnerships.   
 
The first step is hosting the All-Ages Nature Gathering on Sunday, September 29 after worship to engage in the concept of “Creation,” using our time together to engage in either a contemplative land activity & walk OR a seated storytelling and art activity outdoors under the Dawn Redwood Tree.  We’ll also be gathering your ideas, hopes and dreams for this project. The next steps will come from your input and our shared conversations. 
 
If you’re interested in learning more about the project, please contact Barb Murray, Angie Dierks, or Patricia Ellen. If you’re interested in learning more about another emerging climate-related program, the monthly Climate Cafe, please contact Erica Bartlett (all emails are listed on Breeze or you can reach out to office@a2u2.org).