Category Communications and Engagement

I have lived in New York City for 36 years, and I have never experienced anything like this. Though wildfire smoke has become a sadly familiar occurrence in the Western U.S. and other parts of the world, it is a new experience here in New York...

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as we fast daily from food and water from dawn till sunset, let us honor and celebrate the central role of water in our lives...

It is tax season, and money is on my mind. It is the time of year when I ask myself if my bank statements and tax returns reflect my faith...

In the story of Joseph, found in the Torah, Bible, and Quran, the youngest son of Jacob has the gift of dream interpretation and prophecy. He uses his gifts to...

Happy Women’s History month! There are so many women who have and are leading on climate in the US, and around the world (do an internet search!), business women, scientists, politicians...

As long as I can remember, I have felt the Holy’s presence through nature. As a child, I spent a lot of time in the mountains. While I would not have been able to describe it in words then...

When I served as a congregational pastor, I sometimes used the string game with groups of youth or adults to demonstrate our connectedness. The string activity requires that the group stand in a circle throwing a ball of string back and forth across the circle while holding on to your piece of the string...

For the first time in my life as a climate-faith leader, I don’t feel as if I am walking while leaning forward against a strong wind. A shift has taken place recently that feels as if the strong wind has been reduced to more of a breeze, and at times it is even against my back. More and more people of faith are engaged in climate solutions, and a series of federal legislation recently enacted (Federal Government Climate Initiatives) are making climate solutions more accessible, even to congregations.

My journey of creation care advocacy began in 1987 when I followed the Garbage Barge (https://www.retroreport.org/video/voyage-of-the-mobro-4000/) on the news. That situation propelled me to act. I began working in the American Baptist Church, USA to help “green congregations” and serve on the board of Creation Justice Ministries. I worked with the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network which helped clean up Connecticut’s “Sooty Six” power plants and helped stop the expansion of Hartford’s enormous landfill into low-income communities of color. In 1999, I joined the National Coalition for Creation Care (NRCCC) an organization that represents all faith communities that have issued public statements on care of creation and when NRCCC became a partner of Blessed Tomorrow (BT), I became involved with BT.

On November 9, 2022, the children of Kivalina, a small Inupiaq village on the coast of the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean in Western Alaska, rode a bus to school for the first time ever. There has never been a school bus in the village of Kivalina, a community of about four hundred people where a person can walk the entire length of the village in about 15 minutes. In fact, there’s never been a bus of any kind! For the village’s entire history, no one could have imagined Kivalina would ever need a school bus. But then the loss of sea ice and increased storm activity on the Chukchi Sea–both the result of climate change, increased coastal erosion and the village began to be washed into the sea.

The 27th Conference of Parties (COP) (https://cop27.eg/#/), attended by over 35, 000 people, took place November 6 - 20th in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. These global gatherings on climate were established at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Annual COP meetings are held in various locations around the globe most years and are attended by environmental experts, ministers, heads of state and non-governmental and faith organizations.

Edgar Villanueva, a non-profit leader and member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, wrote the book, Decolonizing Wealth, to share indigenous wisdom about the ways we acquire, manage, and spend money. At one point, he quotes the philosopher Derek Rasmussen, who observed, “What makes a people indigenous? Indigenous people believe they belong to the land, and non-indigenous people believe the land belongs to them.”

Climate is on the ballot for every election, including the November 8, 2022 election. These 2022 midterms can make or break our future to live in a safe and healthy world. One of the most important things that we can do to solve the climate crisis is to vote for candidates who want to protect, care, and heal the earth. And since climate intersects all justice issues, voting for climate also supports every justice issue that people of faith care about.

As a pastor, I very much enjoyed honoring and celebrating creation for a month each fall. Besides being a lot of fun, focusing on creation for more than one Sunday helped me learn to see Scripture through a creation lens and weave it in worship all the time. In the month of September, the Season of Creation is celebrated in churches around the world. This year, Blessed Tomorrow partner and friend, Margaret Bullit-Jonas, along with  Rev. John Elliott Lein compiled a new Season of Creation liturgical resource. Margaret joined me on Let’s Talk Climate this month to discuss the Season of Creation,  the new resource, and other resources. 

n a first-of-its-kind mobilization, 20 major Jewish organizations have recently announced the formation of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, which brings together Jewish community leaders and organizations who recognize the existential threat and moral urgency of climate change and commit to taking action. Hallelujah!

Environmental injustice looks different in different locations. Injustice impacts community members’ mental, physical, and spiritual health. In this episode of Let's Talk Climate, Cesar, Will and Zavia share what injustice looks like in their communities. We learn what it is like to attend a school that has practice drills in order to be ready in case of an emergency at an oil refinery. We hear about the impacts that building and expanding roads and highways can have on a tight knit community and important culture. We hear of the layered injustice that heat and poverty have on marginalized communities in an urban city.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

In her session at the 2022 American Climate Leadership Summit, Coping with ecoGrief: What It Is, How to Cope, Hannah Malcolm explained that unlike other stressors, there is no closure for the anxiety and grief we have due to the…

This year, for the first time since 1991, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Baha’is, Hindus, Buddhists and Indigenous nations observed holy days in the same month as Earth Day. Many religious people are actively living out their faith through climate action.…

My relationship with ecoAmerica began when Meighen Speiser contacted me about doing an article on me as a Green Preacher and Green Chalice Minister. That article led to a meeting between the leadership of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)…