From World Water Day (March 22) through Earth Day (April 22) -- plus a bonus week of action! -- Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith and conscience are taking collective action for climate justice:
Climate justice is a global fight to dismantle the paradigm that disadvantages marginalized people and approaches Earth as supply source and sewer rather than a system of interdependent life -- a single, beloved community. Climate justice pays deep attention to those most affected by climate change to find transformative solutions grounded in profound connections with Earth and each other.
Change your Social Media profiles for Climate Justice Month! Check out our full selection of images in our Climate Justice Month Google Photo Folder!
Climate Justice Month 2015 focused on spiritual grounding and making commitments. Climate Justice Month 2016 centered water justice, honoring International climate commitments, reclaiming our democracy, and personal reflection through poetry. The program for Climate Justice Month 2017 is inspired by Joanna Macy's Spiral of the Work That Reconnects -
"The activist's inner journey appears to me like a spiral, interconnecting four successive stages or movements that feed into each other." -- Joanna Macy
The Spiral of the Work that Reconnects is a spiritual practice that can help individuals or communities to find deeper levels of authenticity and actualization.
Climate Justice Month 2017:
Week 1: Opening to Gratitude
Week 2: Honoring Our Pain for the World
Week 3 & 4: Seeing With New Eyes
Week 5 & 6: Going Forth
CHECK OUT THE FULL CLIMATE JUSTICE MONTH TOOL-KIT!
Week 2: Honor Our Pain For the World -
March 29 - April 4th
Commit2Respond: Pause! Reflect! Write! Sometimes life and the pressures we face have us moving so quickly that pausing to meditate and reflect must be an intentional action! For week two of Climate Justice Month, take some time to honor your pain for the world. Write a journal reflection, or some poetry to share with your local community or on the April 17th Climate Justice Poetry Mic Night. Take some time to reflect about why climate change and environmental justice matter to you.
Important Dates
People’s Climate Resistance Story Circles
The People’s Climate Movement (PCM) is encouraging communities to gather together as “circles of resistance to vision our future” for story sharing to inspire for our artwork and messages at the April 29th March for Climate, Jobs, & Justice. Commit2Respond will be hosting numerous virtual story circles (web -- Zoom.us -- and phone based) for faith activists to attend, on March 30th, April 1st, April 3rd and April 16th These gatherings will help shape the message that our community will carry with us for the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C., and it will help prepare anyone who wants to host a story circle gathering in their local community for a PCM Sister March. RSVP at the links above.
Readings & Resources:
Resources on Honoring our Pain from Joanna Macy
“The 5 Stages of Climate Change Grief” with Bill Nye & Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Mourning our Planet” by Dahr Jamail
This is How Scientists Feel Blog
“Let’s All Take a Breath Together” by Jen Myzel Swanson
“Working Through Environmental Despair” excerpt (audio and text) with Joanna Macy -- 7.5 minutes
Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change: A Clinician’s Guideby Leslie Davenport
Poetry:
Deep Times: Journal That Reconnects Fall 2016 Issue
No Condition is Permanent: 19 Poets on Climate Justice & Change
Week 1: Opening to Gratitude - March 22 - 28th
Spiritually grounding and opening to gratitude is a powerful way to sustain and nourish your spirit, your community, and your work. We begin Climate Justice Month by opening to gratitude.
Commit2Respond: This World Water Day, the US Department of Interior (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - BOEM) sold hundreds of thousands of mineral acres to fossil fuel corporations for deep-sea fossil fuel extraction in the Gulf of Mexico in a lease auction (a regular, bi-annual event). CONTACT Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke and BOEM on Twitter (or share Commit2Respond’s tweet), to say “We need to re-think the way we are wholesaling our Gulf of Mexico waters to fossil fuel corporations!”.
Important Dates
Spring Equinox: March 20
Spring seemed to arrive six weeks early for some of us this year (February 2017 was the second-warmest February in 137 years of modern record-keeping), which is all the more reason to celebrate and witness theSpring Equinox. This Equinox -- the first day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and first day of Autumn in the Southern hemisphere -- is a sacred time in many faith traditions. Let us welcome the changing of seasons with gratitude.
World Water Day: March 22
Mni Wiconi - “Water is Life” - is a message that has shaken the consciousness of the world, and centered the prayers and actions of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock. Water is a sacred source of life. The UU Young Adults for Climate Justice will host a virtual worship (by web and phone), at 8:30pm Eastern / 5:30 Pacific, to celebrate World Water Day (RSVP HERE) as part of their 100 Worships for Climate Justice campaign. All are invited to attend, or to practice gratitude for water in your personal spiritual practice on March 22nd and for the duration of Climate Justice Month.
Preparing for the March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice: March 23 Webinar
7:30pm Eastern / 4:30 Pacific
RSVP HERE to attend or receive the recording.
In Washington D.C. and sister cities around North America, people will be marching and meeting on April 29th for a People’s Climate Movement March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice --- bringing together people of many diverse sectors and struggles. Join a webinar on March 23rd, at 7:30pm Eastern / 4:30 Pacific, with Rev. Karen Brammer (Manager of the UUA Green Sanctuary Program) and Aly Tharp (Programs Coordinator of UU Ministry for Earth & UU Young Adults for Climate Justice) to learn more about how you can participate in the People’s Climate Movement - March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice on April 29th, alongside Commit2Respond and a large number of activists of faith.
Readings & Resources
Education, Culture, and Worship:
Resources on Coming from Gratitude from Joanna Macy
The Radical Gratitude Project by Barbara Ford, Unitarian Universalist
Five Fold Path of Gratitude meditation by Dennis Rivers
Water Justice Trinity Institute 2017 Reading List
Water Communion Ritual for Justice-Making
“Water Flows” by Thich Nhat Hahn
The 72 Names of God: Technology for the Soul, Yehuda Berg, p. 170-171, 2004, Kabbalah Centre International
People’s Climate Movement Preparation:
RSVP to go to the March on the Commit2Respond Website
Young Adult Program: GROW Climate Justice - Washington D.C. 4/27-30th
People's Climate Movement Organizing Toolkit
People’s Climate Movement Website
Change your Social Media profiles for Climate Justice Month! Check out our full selection of images in our Climate Justice Month Google Photo Folder!
Designs created by Abigail Clauhs, a Unitarian Universalist young adult and seminarian.
CHECK OUT THE FULL CLIMATE JUSTICE MONTH TOOL-KIT for more information about how to participate in Climate Justice Month 2017.
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