Sacred Earth
"We are living in an historic moment. We are each called to take part in a great transformation. Our survival as a species is threatened by global warming, economic meltdown, and an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor. Yet these threats offer an opportunity to awaken as an interconnected and beloved community." - Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Soweto
SACRED EARTH: GROWING BELOVED COMMUNITY
Video webcast series at the intersection of environmental justice, racial justice, and the Spirit
Join Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel for "Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community." Each month introduces new environmental leaders and activists discussing caring for the earth and all that lives here, and the spiritual practices and learnings that shape and undergird their work. Each webcast also includes inspiring music from a diverse group of musicians.
The Sacred Earth webcast welcomes folks who are new to thinking about the intersection of racial and social justice with issues of climate and environment as well as longtime activists who may be working professionally in the field. The local and global leaders are respected and chosen as guests for being inspiring in their delivery as well as knowledgeable in content.
Sponsored by The Episcopal Diocese of California and Breakthrough Communities project of Earth House Center, Inc.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, a graduate school of California Lutheran University and member of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. The PLTS Center for Climate Justice and Faith equips leaders to cultivate the moral, spiritual, and practical power to be effective advocates for climate justice. Through certificate programs, community organizing trainings, and a concentration in climate justice and faith for MDiv students, the center has prepared 124 people from 26 countries to address the climate crisis while simultaneously advancing racial and economic justice. Sign-up for the monthly newsletter to receive updates on application deadlines and events.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community by Bridging Our Divides with Professor john a. powell
January 30, 2024
john a. powell spells his name in lowercase in the belief that we should be "part of the universe, not over it, as capitals signify." Professor powell is an internationally recognized social innovator in the areas of civil rights, structural racism, housing, poverty, and democracy. john is passionately committed to the inner transformation required for deep peacemaking and building bridges across our differences. He is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, a research and practice institute that brings together scholars, community advocates, communicators and policymakers to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society, and to create transformative change toward a more equitable world. His renowned conferences draw from such diverse fields as neuroscience, poetry, theatre and movement. OBI now offers free classes with changemakers from around the world to build more just and inclusive communities.
His recent book is entitled Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.
john writes: “We're dealing with three strong separations…One is the separation from ourselves. Another is the separation from the other, or the person we call the other. And the third is separation from the earth…This is actually what Western society has been about…building and celebrating separations. The reality is that we're not separate. We are deeply connected to each other, but how do we actually learn to celebrate that, to exercise that muscle, to recognize it? We are connected, but how do we actually live that connection? And what we do is we figure all these ways to pretend we're not connected. Our sexual orientation, our race, our gender, our age, our language, our disability. We use all these things to try to pretend that we're not connected. And when we pretend we're not connected, we're in the process of othering. We're in the process of denying not only someone's humanity, but our own humanity, and denying our connectedness.
Our guest musician is three-time Grammy-nominated musician and vocal activist, Melanie DeMore, who states: “Life is for the seeking and sharing of light, joy, and deep love for what moves you.” Melanie has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals, and her own original music. DeMore has served on the faculty of St. Paul's School in Oakland and is a founding member of the critically acclaimed vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. Click here to see her amazing performance of “I am Sending You Light.”
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community through the Power of Story with Kim Stanley Robinson
November 16, 2023
Kim Stanley Robinson is acclaimed as our greatest living science fiction author, with 20 novels addressing how we can get to a better relationship with the Biosphere. His recent novel, The Ministry for the Future, projects how a climate-disrupted near future might unfold and how the world might respond with an empowered United Nations Minister enacting a best-case scenario for dodging the mass extinction event. Stan writes: “Until the tap runs dry it’s hard to imagine climate change as a lived experience. I try to write for when it really strikes you…the power of imagination is strong enough to change our behavior in the present…the world is a science fiction novel that we are all writing.”
Invited to address the world’s leaders at the United Nation’s Glasgow COP meeting, and the forthcoming 2024 UN Summit of the Future: Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow (where the General Assembly is also likely to establish a UN Special Envoy for Future Generations, inspired by his writing), Dr. Robinson is respected for his knowledge of the intersectionalities among political theory, science, economics, finance and history. He writes: “We need to employ a kind of eco-realpolitic that refrains from too much rigorous judgment… There are roughly 2,600 gigatons of fossil fuel assets. If they are burned into the atmosphere, we are dead. Biophysical reality says those assets must be stranded, and economic reality says that can’t be done without causing a super-depression. As part of saving civilization, you have to keep money stable. It’s as simple as that.”
We are thrilled to welcome Aisea Taimani as our guest musician. Aisea is a Tongan American Creative Artist based in the Bay Area. He works alongside the love of his life, Elmira Taimani. Aisea is the Minister of Music at New City Church, Oakland, and is Curator of Arts and Worship at Valley Presbyterian in Portola Valley. He writes: “SPEAK what you BELIEVE like you BE-LOVE it. BE the LOVE that you BELIEVE before you SPEAK it. No one is an island. We’re a part of the whole.” Aisea and his band, Minor Islands, have released three full albums exploring themes of faith, justice and cultural identity. Find his music here.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community Honoring Indigenous Wisdom, with Val Lopez
October 24, 2023
“Creator gave us a responsibility to take care of all living things...It’s our culture, it’s who we are” says Valentin (Val) Lopez, Chair of the Ahmah Mutsen Land Trust. Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel will interview Val Lopez on Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community on October 24th at 6pm Pacific. We will hear of opportunities to support the preservation of sacred lands from extractive quarry plans, a site that is one of only two places in the Santa Cruz Mountains where wildlife can connect to other populations in the state, making it a critical migratory corridor. We will learn of a new government/ tribal band partnership engaging ancient Ohlone wisdom to prevent massive forest fires and examine a new culturally-informed curriculum written by their community and introduced into the Santa Cruz, California school district.
As part of their ongoing restorative vision, the Ahmah Mutsen tribal band is delivering trauma-informed training sessions to their members, resulting in intergenerational healing. The youth are now engaged with their elders in preserving their sacred sites, culture and language. Val will share a ceremony for keeping balance with our Sacred Earth.
Our musician will be Ronald Braman who serves as Lay Minister and Director of Music at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation in Fort Hall, Idaho. Ron is Shoshone and he serves as one of the church’s indigenous representative to the United Nations. Click here to read a recent article about his work in Episcopal News Service. He studied music at Idaho State University and has won several singing awards.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, a graduate school of California Lutheran University and member of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. The PLTS Center for Climate Justice and Faith equips leaders to cultivate the moral, spiritual, and practical power to be effective advocates for climate justice. Through certificate programs, community organizing trainings, and a concentration in climate justice and faith for MDiv students, the center has prepared 124 people from 26 countries to address the climate crisis while simultaneously advancing racial and economic justice. Sign-up for the monthly newsletter to receive updates on application deadlines and events.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community through Environmental Justice, with Peggy Shepard
September 13, 2023
Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel interview Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the first Environmental Justice organization that empowered communities of color in the fight for environmental health and justice.
Peggy Shepard is co-chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to President Biden. She was also chair to the EPA on Justice40 guidelines, which aimed to deliver 40 percent of the benefits of federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities hurt first and worst by the climate crisis. She says: "We are in the midst of a racial pandemic, a COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis…so the concept is that we’re advising the White House directly, and the White House staff instead of just the EPA.”
Peggy also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Black Environmental Justice Network and the Board of Advisors of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. She was awarded the Jane Jacobs Medal from the Rockefeller Foundation for Lifetime Achievement in 2008, the 10th Annual Heinz Award for the environment in 2004, the Dean's Distinguished Service Award from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and Honorary Doctorates from Smith College and Lawrence University. In 2021, she was made Knight of the French National Order of Merit.
Our guest musician is jazz phenomenon Ben Flint, Director of Music at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Oakland. Ben traveled the world as keyboardist for Isaac Hayes and has appeared with Mr. Hayes on shows such as Good Morning America, the Today show and Late Night with David Letterman. He teaches jazz choir and jazz combo at Diablo Valley College and has been the Artistic Director for the Oakland Jazz Choir for the past 8 years.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, a graduate school of California Lutheran University and member of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community through the Universe Story and Sacred Ritual, with Mary Evelyn Tucker
June 8, 2023
On this webcast, Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-Director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale and global visionary, hosted by Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel, will explore the Universe Story, the Cosmic Walk and Eco-Confirmation. They will be joined by Caren Miles who coordinates Eco-Confirmation within the diocese incorporating the Cosmic Walk.
Professor Tucker has joint appointments at Yale’s School of the Environment and the Yale Divinity School. She convened ten Harvard conferences on world religions and the environment and recently authored a definitive biography of her mentor, “geologian” Thomas Berry (Thomas Berry: A Biography). She co-authored Journey of the Universe, a book and film that offers an outline of “the universe story”—a moving narrative of cosmic evolution from the origins of the cosmos until our present moment. This project, drawing inspiration from the vision of Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry, awakens a sense of wonder and awe in the face of cosmic processes, and evokes an ecological consciousness that inspires our commitment to the flourishing of a vibrant Earth community. Thomas Berry called this “the Great Work” of our times. Click here for a recent article about Mary Evelyn and her husband John Grim and their work with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.
Mary Evelyn currently works with the United Nations Faith for the Earth Program and on Laudato Si in integral ecology. She writes: “The Environmental Crisis…calls the religions of the world to awaken to a renewed appreciation of matter as a vessel of the Sacred. (This) implies a decentering of the human and recentering our lives within, not apart from, the myriad species with whom we share the planet”
Our guest musician is Benjamin Mertz, who was raised in the Episcopal Church and has served as music director in many congregations. He is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI), on the board of directors of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, and the founder/director of the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers. Benjamin is a composer, performer, and song leader who specializes in music of the Black Spiritual tradition. He can often be found leading songs at benefit concerts, vigils, protest actions, sacred services, and workshops. Benjamin's most recent album of Black Spiritual music, called "Climbing Up the Mountain," is available here.
Benjamin is a human rights and racial justice activist. When not performing music, he writes and speaks on issues of racial justice, economic justice, Black History, and works on creating interfaith and interracial alliances.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community by Building Earth-honoring Economies with Cynthia Moe-Lobeda
May 18, 2023
On May 18th at 7:00 PM pacific please join us for our next Sacred Earth webcast with Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, a renowned global scholar, and Professor of Theological and Social Ethics who holds a joint appointment at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She has lectured or consulted in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and many parts of North America in theology; ethics; and matters of climate justice and climate racism, moral agency, globalization, economic justice, public church, eco-feminist theology, and faith-based resistance to systemic oppression. Dr. Moe-Lobeda founded the Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary to empower leaders in cultivating moral, spiritual, and practical power for the work of climate justice in communities of faith and in collaboration with others. Relevant Publications include the Nautilus award-winning Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation, about which Cornel West says: “This is a grand prophetic book motivated by love and focused on justice – social justice, ecological justice and dignity for ‘the least of these.’ Don’t miss it!” Mary Evelyn Tucker from the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University says “Cynthia Moe-Lobeda's book is one of the strongest statements yet to be made on the intricate connections between ecology and justice. The powerful stories and persuasive arguments lay the groundwork for the necessary transformations ahead. It will be a catalyst for change!"
Dr. Moe-Lobeda’s current writing project is a series of seven volumes addressing the urgent need for a new economic system, one which heals from predatory economic life to an economy of life abundant for all, for which she will write the introductory volume and engage other authors in the subsequent six. The title is “Building a Moral Economy – Equitable, Ecological, and Democratic: Roadmaps for People of Good Courage.” She says this about the work: “ I believe that … Ultimate Reality is most essentially a force of love that embraces all of creation, and each of us personally, a love that will not desert us regardless of what evil we may do... Life arising from death and destruction is Earth’s song of hope and God’s song of love. Christian traditions are called to sing that song. Today this means plumbing the depths of our faith seeking moral-spiritual wisdom and strength for the great work facing humankind of our time. It is to craft ways of living that nurture Earth’s life systems and that build justice and compassion among human creatures…”
We are also joined by returning, three-time Grammy-nominated musician and vocal activist, Melanie DeMore, who states: “Life is for the seeking and sharing of light, joy, and deep love for what moves you.” Melanie has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals, and her own original music. DeMore has served on the faculty of St. Paul's School in Oakland, and is a founding member of the critically acclaimed vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. Click here to see her amazing performance of “I am Sending You Light.” When she comes your way, her energy will charge the very air you breathe like a meteor shower, so get ready to rise up!
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community – Radically Rethinking Church Mission and Sustainability with Gilbert Otuo-Acheampong
April 27, 2023
In honor of Earth Week, join the Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community webcast on April 27th at 7:00 PM as we welcome the Rev. Canon Gilbert Otuo-Acheampong from Mampong-Ashanti, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Gilbert is the Canon Theologian of the Anglican Diocese of Asante Mampong in Ghana and is in the Bay Area pursuing his Ph.D. at the GTU in Berkeley. Together we will explore the topic of Radically Re-thinking Sustainability and the Church’s Mission to put the needs of people and the earth at the heart of church life. Gilbert’s degree in Agriculture and his love of theology and the Bible come together in his work which explores what Hebrew scriptures can tell us about sustainable agriculture today. And in this exploration of scripture, sustainability, and ecology, Gilbert is looking at how the church as a whole and we as people understand our connection to the earth. Coming from an agricultural region of Ghana, Gilbert will share both the disruption of that earth connection and the focus on consumerism that aspects of colonialism have had on the people of his tribe, as well as looking at the possibility and promise of a church that centers feeding people through sustainable agriculture at the center of mission and ministry. His vision for the church centers the Anglican mark of mission of Caring for Creation as a way for the church to both care for people and the earth. As Gilbert says “The earth offers something to us, and we need to offer something to the earth.” Come join us to hear how closely our concerns and questions about the planet echo with those of this area of Ghana and how we might learn from one another as we seek to reconnect to the earth as our mother.
Our Guest Musician, Betsy Rose, is a singer, songwriter and activist, whose music blends compassion and mindfulness, depth and humor, passionate activism and spiritually grounded perspective. She has presented and sung at conferences for educators, hospice workers, parents, ecological groups, and spiritual communities. Contemporary cultural visionaries such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Matthew Fox, and Joanna Macy have included her music in their work. Betsy is also a community song leader and has been active in women’s and social change movements for more than four decades.
In 2016, Betsy embarked on a 6 month solo journey through Asia and Africa, including Kenya and Liberia. singing with grassroots women’s and social justice projects, and with children. Since the COVID pandemic began, Betsy has led bi-monthly singing gatherings online, bringing people together in community in a time of separation, isolation and fear. Betsy lives in Berkeley California with her partner; their son Matthew is an organic/regenerative agriculture farmer.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community – Global Advocacy through Local Faith with Rachel Mash.
April 20, 2023
Join the Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community webcast on April 20th at 7:00 PM as we welcome the Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash from Capetown, South Africa, Coordinator of the world-wide Anglican Communion Environmental Network. Honored as a presenter at the United Nations and Parliament of the World Religions, she co-founded Green Anglicans, the Care for Creation movement of the Anglican Church, resourcing churches with liturgical and educational materials grounded in earth and justice theology. And she has been instrumental in the creation of the Communion Forest initiative to plant, protect, and restore forests globally.
When Capetown faced Day Zero of their water climate crisis, Dr. Mash assisted in the creation of a courageous community-wide response which averted disaster. She is known for her bold, creative and compassionate social innovations, and often incorporates arts and culturally rooted expression in her work One publication for climate education with young people introduces Ryan the Rhino and has captured global imagination.
Dr. Mash writes: “Faith communities often start their environmental work with local action or advocacy, but don’t help people to make the link between these actions and their faith. So we end up with a few activists or a ‘green team,’ but the very DNA of the churches needs to change. Transformational change doesn’t take place merely when individuals change, but is strengthened when networks of individuals change. We now have over 50,000 on our Facebook page. We can share stories, encourage others, and help people to feel that their actions are significant because, when joined together with all the other actions, those drops make an ocean!”
Rachel works extensively with the Season of Creation to create education and liturgical resources for faith communities." She writes “The starting point for our work is in spirituality based Care for Creation. We run eco-theology workshops and eco-retreats with clergy and have developed an online course on Eco-theology. If we want to root our environmental actions in spirituality, we need to use terms that resonate with our faith language. So we don’t speak only about environmental work, we also speak of caring for creation; in addition to ‘ecosystem restoration,’ we speak of renewing the web of life.”
Our Guest Musician is Kele Nitoto, a second generation African-American percussionist and singer. Born and raised in the Oakland Dance Culture, Kele Has studied with masters of many styles, becoming proficient in West-African, Congolese, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Peruvian, and Afro-Haitian traditional music. Over the last 25 years, Kele has performed throughout the country in dance companies, bands, and teaching workshops and classes, summer camps, spiritual and workplace retreats, and for countless ceremonies and celebrations. He is a full time teacher of traditional music to at-risk youth of incarcerated parents. Currently Kele performs with Wildchoir, sharing the stage and recording with MaMuse, Climbing Poetry, Rising Appalachia, and Melanie DeMore. He is spearheading Oakland Hand Drums, an organization focused on rhythmic education and performance through a cultural and creative lens, which is currently holding classes and drum circles online. Learn more about Kele’s classes here.
Come with Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel to meet this inspiring world faith leader on April 20th. In the spirit of growing beloved community, especially during Earth Week in April, we encourage “each one to bring one”, and reach out to those in your life with whom you are seeking to expand your impact for climate and environmental justice.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community in an Expanding Universe with Brian Swimme
March 22, 2023
Join us for the next episode of Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community in conversation with Bishop Marc Andrus, Dr. M. Paloma Pavel, and Professor Brian Swimme, Cosmologist and Astrophysicist, as we explore RELATIONSHIP being the fundamental building block of an ever more diverse cosmos. Dr. Swimme is the author of The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos and The Universe is a Green Dragon. He is co-author of several books including The Universe Story with Fr. Thomas Berry and The Journey of the Universe, with Mary Evelyn Tucker. Swimme is also the creator of three educational video series: "Canticle to the Cosmos," "Earth's Imagination," and "The Powers of the Universe." He was also cocreator of the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary Journey of the Universe with The Human Energy Project. His newest book, Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe, reveals the completely giving nature of the Universe, a cosmic love that allows the future to emerge, and our alignment with that nature as we give ourselves completely to whatever service we provide for our fellow beings. We learn that there is no such thing as “lifeless matter.” Matter, in its very structure and dynamism, generates life. As Brian’s mentor Fr. Thomas Berry stated: “The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.”
Brian collaborated with his mentor to discover differentiation as the first law of the cosmos, while sameness is a cosmic crime. We are gifted at birth with a quantum of energy and are asked only to use it to express uniquely who we really are. The third law is that the universe conspires to build communities. Come March 22 to join Brian Swimme and our guest musician and vocal activist, Melanie DeMore, who states: “Life is for the seeking and sharing of light, joy, and deep love for what moves you.” When she comes your way, her energy will charge the very air you breathe like a meteor shower, so get ready to rise up! Click here to see her amazing performance of her song “I am Sending You Light.”
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community - Celtic Roots for Justice In Action with John Philip Newell
March 1, 2023
Join us for the next episode of Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community where leading spiritual teacher John Philip Newel in conversation with Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. M. Paloma Pavel shares how Celtic spirituality—listening to the sacred around us and inside of us—can help us heal the earth, overcome our conflicts, and reconnect with ourselves.
His latest book, "Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What our Souls Know and Healing the World," reflects on the long, hidden tradition of Celtic Christianity. He explains how this earth-based spirituality can help us rediscover the natural rhythms of life and deepen our spiritual connection with God, with each other, and with the earth. Celtic Christianity’s leading practitioners, both saints and pioneers of faith. He accomplishes this work through sacred pilgrimage to Iona along the Western Isles of Scotland and through embodied learning in his School of Earth and Soul. The purpose of this three year program is to reawaken awareness of the sacred in all things and to help translate this awareness into compassionate action.
Each episode of Sacred Earth includes music and a spiritual practice as well as evocative teaching with a chosen leader. We welcome you to our series. Register now. And in the spirit of Growing Beloved Community we invite you to invite a friend and help grow our community of contemplation and action.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community through Intentional Community with members of Canticle Farm in Oakland
January 26, 2023
Anne and Terry Symens-Bucher, Co-Founders of Canticle Farm will be our featured guests in conversation with Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. M. Paloma Pavel. Canticle Farm in Oakland is an urban garden, educational center, and community of intention experimenting at the intersections of faith-based, social-justice-based, and Earth-based nonviolent activism. As the founders acquired surrounding houses, they removed fences in the inner city, providing living spaces and work for activists, asylum seekers, recently incarcerated people, and many interested in community, justice, and growing food for their neighbors. They are growing food and faith while growing Beloved Community.
As an urban farm, they work for food security, holistic health and food sovereignty through organic gardening, permaculture, herbal medicine and stewardship of their urban oasis. As an intentional community, they live in intergenerational, interracial, and interfaith relationship. As a living classroom, Canticle Farm hosts workshops, retreats, circles and visiting teachers, welcoming people from around the world to grow and learn together.
Anne and Terry were enthusiastically received as retreat leaders at the Clergy Retreat this past fall for the Episcopal Diocese of California. During the Videocast, they will share a Work That Reconnects practice with us. Poet/Musician Lu Aya will also join us this evening. He uses music and poetry in the struggle for human rights and justice in Colombia, Sudan, Palestine, Afghanistan and the US. He performs at rallies and in streets, in hospitals and on stages, inside prisons and in front of precincts. Lu’s work is to sing truth to power.
To learn more about the work of Canticle Farm, please visit www.canticlefarmoakland.org.
Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community – Justice in Action after COP27
December 13, 2022
What arose from the UN COP27 meeting in Egypt? Justice was mobilized into action. Specific accountability and funding began for Loss and Damage reparations for those nations who are now suffering most from our global climate crisis. Join us as we explore our part in this historic advancement of race and justice with Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel, who were both part of the Episcopal Church’s delegation. In this webcast they will share some reflections as well as additional interviews from their time at COP27. Also, Bishop Marc Andrus interviews Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Rt. Rev. Michael Curry about the radical theological implication of God’s family including all of creation. This expands our understanding of Beloved Community.
Our musician is Dent Davidson who is the Chapel Musician and Lecturer in Church Music at CDSP, and Associate Minister for Music at All Souls Parish, Berkeley. With over forty-five years of professional lay ministry, Dent Davidson has received calls for the continual examination and re-imagination of church music and liturgy, embracing the best of received tradition and expanding it. He has served in leadership roles in several parishes, two cathedrals and on a diocesan staff. Each position focused on vitality in worship. Having earned a degree in Composition and Vocal Jazz, he travels widely as a workshop clinician and consultant in music and worship and serves as Chaplain and Musician to The Episcopal Church House of Bishops.
Sacred Earth: Building Beloved Community through listening to Voices from COP27
November 10, 2022
Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel will be on the ground at COP 27. In November 2022, the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt will host the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27), with a view to building on previous successes and paving the way for future ambition to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change.. Bishop Marc and Dr. Pavel will be there as part of the official delegation from the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church delegation will attend daily events during COP27. Organizers underscore the vital importance of decisions from the annual COP gatherings in the effort to reverse the worst effects of climate change.
Bishop Marc is leading the Episcopal Church delegation and has said this: “Episcopal delegates representing our presiding bishop at COP27 is but one way we engage with turning back the heating up of the planet,. Episcopalians are involved in diverse and inspiring actions ranging from Good News Gardens to advocacy on legislation. COP27 gives us the opportunity to work in partnership with interfaith representatives from around the world—learning from each other and amplifying the faith voices on climate change and environmental degradation.”
In this webcast, Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel will interview other attendees from the global community sharing their passion for environmental justice, racial justice, and the Spirit moving through all the earth and renewing us individually in this work for the good of the planet and all of the Beloved Community.
Our musician will be Ronald Braman who serves as Lay Minister and Director of Music at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation in Fort Hall, Idaho. Ron is Shoshone and he serves as one of the church’s indigenous representative to the United Nations. Click here to read a recent article about his work in Episcopal News Service. He studied music at Idaho State University and has won several singing awards.
We begin this new podcast series with the Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, the founder and president of Green the Church. He is an Atlantic fellow, visiting faculty at Berkeley School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, and pastor at Church by the Side of the Road, Berkeley, CA. In the last decade, Dr. Carroll has combined theology with ecology and challenged the church universal to embrace its mantle of creation care. He created Green The Church, a national non-profit charged to educate the Black Church and lead in the creation of sustainable programs to undergird the work of creating green and efficient church buildings.
Our guest musician is Benjamin Mertz who was raised in the Episcopal Church and has served as music director in many congregations. He is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI), on the board of directors of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, and the founder/director of the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers. Benjamin is a composer, performer, and song leader who specializes in music of the Black Spiritual tradition. He can often be found leading songs at benefit concerts, vigils, protest actions, sacred services, and workshops. Benjamin's most recent album of Black Spiritual music, called "Climbing Up the Mountain," is available here.
Benjamin is a human rights and racial justice activist. When not performing music, he writes and speaks on issues of racial justice, economic justice, Black History, and works on creating interfaith and interracial alliances.
