Wilfredo Lee AP
Coral Rescue
A constant stream of challenges such as the effects of overheated seawater on criticial coral reefs around Florida are battering Christians' ability to respond with compassion to the world's crises. The Upper Room will hold a webinar in September designed to help Christians develop spiritual resilience to meet today's challenges. (AP Photo)
A United Methodist Insight Column
BULLETIN: A Montana judge has ruled in favor of a group of youths that sued the state for violating their constitutional right to a healthy environment because of its fossil-fuel policies. A full story, including United Methodist involvement, will be forthcoming Aug. 15.
How are we to respond as followers of Jesus Christ to the myriad challenges and crises we face today in our communities, our nations, and the world? The Upper Room attempts to answer this question with a September webinar titled "RESILIENCE | Practicing Compassion in a World of Conflict."
The invitation on the webinar's landing page states: "Many of us long for relationships that offer space wide enough to envision together what God's creative and love-filled imagination might reveal for our own lives and those of our neighbors. The early followers of Jesus dreamed together of a new way even as they grieved losses, feared for their lives, and deeply disagreed with each other. Today, we are called to do the same. Practices of compassion open the space for resilient relationships—the kind of relationships that weather conflict and division with strength."
The event will take place Sept. 29-30 online. "Our virtual event will include storytelling, time for personal reflection and conversation, guided spiritual practice, and worship. This gathering offers time for centering, interaction, and spiritual practices to help you cultivate relationships that endure even in the face of profound disagreement and division," says the announcement.
Speakers and workshop leaders include Bishop Purity Malinga, Nadiyka Gerbish, Ray Buckley, Christopher Carter, Rubén Ortiz, Jane Herring, Jerry Haas, Alma Cota de Yánez, Juliet Windvogel, and Piula Ala'ilima with worship led by Rev. Lydia Muñoz.
Registration will be $125. A limited number of scholarships are available; contact Emily White to learn more. All sessions will be recorded and available to registrants after the event. Register.
Feeding the hungry
Did you know that half of the faith communities in the United States operate some sort of food distribution program? Neither did I until I read a July 25 article in Faith and Leadership, a magazine from Duke Divinity School. Check out this excerpt:
"Beginning in January, a group made up primarily of strangers met on Zoom to share sacred stories at the intersection of food and faith. By the eighth and final session four months into Come to the Table’s School for Food Justice, Faith and Storytelling, the learning was clear.
"... These faith leaders joined SFJFS for a common reason — nearly half of U.S. faith communities have or support a food ministry of some kind, yet food security and food access have not been significantly improving. Outside of federal assistance food programs, nonprofit organizations, often aligned with churches, are where many people experiencing food insecurity turn for help supplying their refrigerators and cupboards.
"If faith communities are a major player in alleviating hunger, it makes sense that they can serve as more than distributors of food; they can be a key part of the solution to food insecurity. Rather than implicitly hoping only to relieve immediate hunger, faith communities can and should work at the root of the issue, with hopes of ending hunger and rendering food pantries obsolete."
Please read the entire, highly informative article. Thanks and a hat-tip to Holston newsletter editor Annette Spence for the link.
Gleanings from the climate front
Here's the latest from articles and newsletters on the climate crisis:
From the Washington Post: The future of East Coast wind power could ride on this Jersey beach town. Advocates in Ocean City, NJ, want to stop a proposed wind power project of as many as 98 skyscraper-sized wind towers off its coast. Some see the fight as a possible template for derailing some 31 other wind power projects around the United States.
From The Climate Coach: Michael Coren does the math on the difference between getting gasoline and recharging an EV on some road trips.
From Philanthropy Today: Nonprofits Confront Their Own Climate Perils. Instructive for churches and annual conferences.
From Reuters: The climate-friendly cows bred to belch less methane. There's an image to conjure with.
From The Associated Press: Bursting ice dam in Alaska highlights risks of glacial flooding
Once more, we encourage United Methodist climate activists to sign up for the Rev. Richenda Fairhurst's Substack newsletter, "Just Creation." She does a fabulous job of gathering faith-based information that often illuminates the religious ties to secular climate news. Recent notes from Just Creation:
Parliament of World Religions. The pre-event August 14-16 faith leaders from across the world will gather in Chicago. The Parliament this year in general will address climate change, including an Interfaith Call for Climate Action.
March to End Fossil Fuels. People vs Fossil Fuels is organizing a March on September 17th in New York City. GreenFaith has promoted this March…online details are few, check with your local GreenFaith circle and see more information here.
Climate Change and the Black Church. An interview by the Washington Informer and Word in Black with Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll Sr., spiritual leader and pastor with Green the Church, on why engagement from the black church is an important part of addressing climate change, Why Green The Church Connects Faith With Climate Justice
Renewable Transition! Some very welcome news indeed from the New York Times this week, this link is a gift article, The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think, “The United States is pivoting away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar and other renewable energy, even in areas dominated by the oil and gas industries.” A corroborating article from a state where oil and gas as well as climate change are dominating forces, from Alaska’s Anchorage Daily News, A year after passage, landmark climate law is creating a ‘different world’ for Alaska renewables
Media Mentions as of Aug. 14, 2023
What we know about Oklahoma United Methodist disaffiliation court cases – The Oklahoman
Left Behind by Disaffiliations, Texas Town's United Methodists Charter a New ... - ChurchLeaders
After split, more changes coming to Methodist community | The Gazette
NJ Methodists stay united in time of global divisions | Faith Matters
United Methodist Pastors Feel Worse and Worry More Than a Decade Ago - ChurchLeaders
Rockport church building sold; pastor decries decision | Local News | gloucestertimes.com
10 reasons why it's harder for the church today | Biblical Leadership
$1 million grant to help Mississippi university's Christian parenting and caregiver initiative – Magnolia State Live
FUMC opens new free clothing store for community | Around Town | portlavacawave.com
Visiting church group builds wheelchair ramps for locals - Ironton Tribune
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An award-winning religion journalist who has reported on The United Methodist Church at all levels for 35 years, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011. "Crisis Watch" forms part of Insight's participation in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of some 500 news outlets around the world committed to enhance climate coverage. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.