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Voices of the Earth Podcast: COP26: what it means for people of faithVoices of the Earth is a podcast by Faith in Place, that uplifts stories from their multi faith community that represents the climate movements intersectionality. This episode is an interview with Elena Canler on the topic of COP26. This is a really comprehensive explanation of the convention and why people of faith should care about it.
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Endangered Spaces -- Oak Flat"Oak Flat, Arizona: a site sacred to the San Carlos Apache, a beloved climbing area, a rare riparian zone in the desert. The catch? It’s slated to become the largest copper mine in the history of North America. Days before the land was set to transfer to the mining company, a group of Native high school students ran 188 miles to Oak Flat– joining a cry of protest loud enough to reach the ears of the White House. We dive into the fight to possess and protect a place with incredible spiritual and economic power."
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Common Waters: Global water crises and Christian baptismAn article written in the Colombia Theological Seminary's journal @ This Point Vol. 10 No. 2. This article outlines several national and global water issues and threats as well as the efforts to resolve these issues. It examines the concept of baptism in relation to Christian values and ideas towards water and water management.
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The Tree of LifeThe Tree of Life song embodies the knowledge of the Torah. "Tree of Life" is another name for the Torah, a tree of infinite knowledge producing new teachings to every generation. It is also a symbol of God's relationship to the world he created.
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Joseph Sittler and the Theater of Human ExistenceJoseph Sittler is one of the most distinguished theological educators. In this article, we learn about his life and education. He explains how people are more open-minded now than several years ago and questions his faith in churches' expectations of students. He goes on to explain his critiques of the education system. He also thinks schools should focus on their strengths and hone in on them. "'These same years have brought to the fore much of what Sittler thinks is wrong with theological education today. He locates one basic problem not with the schools but with the churches that send their ministry candidates to those schools. “There are certain expectations of contemporary theological education which the schools have got to fight against. One of these, generated by the church, is that the pastor is to be a combination of master of ceremonies and soothing friend. The schools, despite the integrity of their own intentions, the appropriate preparation that they demand of their faculties, and the desire to do the hard and critical work, are expected to turn out students who ‘meet the approval of the church accrediting committee.’”
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Spiritual Connections with the Natural Environment: Pathways for Global ChangeThe article discusses how different religions and philosophies have lessons to offer about the relationship humanity has with nature. With this, the article also discusses how this can be transferred to environmental actions and policy today.
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The Spirit of the Earth: A Theology of LandThe book, The Spirit of the Earth: A Theology of land, was written by John Hart. It examines human impact on the Earth through a theological perspective. It relates to problems humans face with our use of Earth's resources and provides possible solutions.
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Indigenous Knowledge Meets Science to Take on Climate ChangeIn her Ted Talk, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim describes her nomadic pastoral community and how its members apply centuries-old cultural knowledge to do the same environmental work that developed nations use technology for, like weather prediction. She gives remarkable examples of this cultural knowledge and its implications for tackling environmental challenges. Ibrahim implores her audience to consider the voices of indigenous groups and combine their knowledge with the science and technology we already use to combat climate change and protect vulnerable groups.
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The Au Sable InstituteThe Au Sable Institute provides environmental education for people of any age through hands-on experiences and university-level classes. Their vision is to have a "global community equipped with environmental knowledge, skills, and ethics to faithfully and fearlessly pursue the Christian vision of a flourishing earth." Their mission is to "inspire and educate people to serve, protect, and restore God's earth." They value place-based environmental education, direct scientific investigation of the natural world, the truth and wisdom of Scripture as a guide to our relationship with the earth, and building community for mutual support and common purpose in restoring God's earth.
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Zoom Events: Greening the Bible The goal of this short course is to read the Bible afresh: to reinterpret texts of terror (for other creatures) and to reclaim passages that show the importance and agency of nonhuman persons. It is intended as a tool for forming earth-inclusive Christians. -
ECHO Global Farm ECHO introduces sustainable plants, climate-resilient techniques, and technologies to farmers around the world who are struggling to feed their families. Through partnering with local NGOs, farmers, volunteers, and missionaries, ECHO is able to be efficient with their resources in providing aid where it's needed the most. Empty bellies and empty hearts lead to pain and suffering for individuals, families, and communities across the world. ECHO believes that as active participants in the Great Commission and stewards of great agricultural knowledge, it is their duty to grow and make disciples. -
Profile: EquaSion (Equality, Spirituality, Inclusion) EquaSion, formerly known as the Bridges of Faith Trialogue, is a non-partisan civic organization founded upon interfaith dialogue that works to develop educational and community service programming to foster greater understanding, respect, compassion, inclusion, and engagement for all people and faith communities in Greater Cincinnati and beyond. -
Cincy MultiFaith Calendar The Cincy MultiFaith Calendar empowers multi-faith learning and experiences through sharing traditions celebrated by different faiths with the wider public. "This project was inspired by the inaugural Cincinnati Festival of Faiths held on June 24th, 2018, on the campus of Xavier University. That amazing event, which attracted 25 faith communities representing 13 world religions, was the most inclusive gathering of faith traditions ever assembled in the region’s history. Within days of that historic event, ideas for more multi-faith learning and experiences emerged, among them the idea of producing a multi-faith calendar. The purpose and hope of the calendar are that people of different faith traditions, or without a faith tradition, might learn more about one another. We all hold the hope that we could create a tool to help open the eyes of young people who could understand one another and break down those silos that segregate our world." -
Faith for Earth: A Call for Action This book was first published at the beginning of the twenty-first century. A joint project of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Interfaith Partnership for the Environment, it was titled Earth and Faith: A Book of Reflection for Action. The partners printed tens of thousands of copies and gave them to schools, congregations, and communities throughout the world. The book described the growing threats to our planet’s life support systems, the reverence all faiths share for life on Earth, and the responsibility that people have to future generations. -
Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI) Campaign Videos The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI) creates artistic and well-produced videos that accompany their programs on climate change education and awareness-raising in branch offices around the world. These videos are great resources for those looking for multimedia inspirations that amplify sustainability communications efforts. -
IRI Colombia continues far-reaching communications campaign to grow awareness on the importance of tropical forests IRI Colombia continued its communications campaign to raise awareness about its mission and expand engagement in the 36 local chapters where IRI has a presence. IRI Colombia radio spots (which will run through the end of 2021) are being broadcast seven days a week on the country’s leading radio networks and will reach over 250,000 people. Listen to the radio spots in Spanish here. IRI Colombia has also commissioned 10 billboards in strategic locations with messages like “Forest = water and oxygen” and “Plant a tree” to increase awareness about the importance of protecting and restoring tropical forests. The 36 IRI Colombia local chapters continue implementing their 2021 action plans, which include activities such as reforesting watersheds and springs, cleaning up riverbanks, and establishing tree nurseries. -
Educational Programme: “The Use of Plants in the Worship of the Orthodox Church” and Its Contribution in Shaping Values of Sustainability The goal is to connect children to nature with plants that have symbolic value to the bible. They created a Sunday School curriculum that will teach kids the value of having a connection with nature and God. 73% of the students that went through the course said that they cared more about the environment after taking the course. -
Sacred Watersheds and the Fate of the Village Body Politic in Tibetan and Han Communities Under China’s Ecological Civilization Coggins studies the spiritual ecologies of Tibetan and Han communities in the People's Republic of China. The Tibetan animism focuses on the protection of landscapes because of their relation to various deities and spirits. Han communities worked on creating fengshui forests to find balance a balance of qi in all things. -
Hymn: Let Every Creature Sing Let all of us with every creature sing, praise to our God! Above us in the air may we all be aware of birds and bees in flight, whether by day or night. Sing with one voice to celebrate the life of creatures all! Let all of us with every creature sing, praise to our God! Across the tamed terrain farmed now for stock and grain; may woodland also thrive and wildlife too survive. Sing with one voice lest any be extinct, protect them all! Let all of us with every creature sing, praise to our God! Over the oceans wide with rise and fall of tide may all the plankton bloom for fishes to consume. Sing with one voice to celebrate the life of creatures all! Let all of us with every creature sing, praise to our God! There deep within the earth, in darkness comes new birth, beneath the tread of boots among the worms and roots. Sing with one voice lest any be extinct, protect them all! Let all of us with every creature sing, praise to our God! May we now play our part, together taking heart; remembering all God gave, his creatures here to save. Sing with one voice to celebrate the life of creatures all! Words: Lisle Ryder, written in 2019 -
Hindu Earth Ethics and Climate Action Conference at Yale Held at Yale University in February of 2019, this conference brought together Hindu policy makers, climate activists, and other community leaders to advocate for collective action regarding climate change. The event speakers drew on Hindu teachings, such as the inherent divinity in all life forms, to persuade members of the Hindu community to make changes in their own life that can mitigate their environmental impact. The event also backed the Green New Deal as a model environmental policy plan, and called for political participation by all members to ensure the implementation of similar policies. -
Perception of Environmental Hazards in Hong Kong Chinese Perception of Environmental Hazards in Hong Kong Chinese gives a wide variety of types of information. The article describes many of the major environmental risks that are happening in Hong Kong. Along with the description, it gives very detailed statistics of what major environmental issues are perceived by citizens in Hong Kong. It ranks the importance of these issues based on categories of the issues and of the citizens. This article also provides a connection of these issues to the values of the Hong Kong citizens' culture, especially focusing on the impact of Confucianism. It goes into depth on how the religion molds their perception of the environment, and humans role and impact on it. There is a focus on how they perceive humanity's role in the world, and how it relates to sustainability, and specific risks that they perceive. -
Canoe Creations Al Parker and wife Amy Parker operate a Christian non-profit organization called Canoe Creations. This organization's idea is to take campers on various outings fostering their love of nature and expanding their knowledge of God's creations. The age group applies to all ages as they conduct marriage retreats, river schools (primarily for teenage and college-age), day floats, and other camp outings to benefit the environment and the religion they and the campers foster. While learning how to be better stewards of the land and encourage others to be, this group also learns invaluable skills such as teamwork, confidence building, survival skills, religion and natural science, and so many other skills. The Mission of CC: To provide churches, camps, homeschool groups and schools of all Christian denominations in the Ohio valley with river canoeing, camping, and outdoor disciple building experiences that: 1. Develop young people in Christian faith that will stand against the times 2. Challenge youth to think critically in the natural sciences 3. Educate youth in responsibility as wise stewards of creation
