A Cultural & Spiritual Transformation

A week or so ago, I attended a presentation a colleague of mine gave on a grant project she will be leading in the next three years, on environmental education with the Maasai, using the system of Lutheran schools and confirmation classes. It is a great project, with the following components: Decolonizing climate science messaging…… Continue reading A Cultural & Spiritual Transformation

Creation as our Prayer Shawl

Like many churches and other Christian organizations, Wartburg Seminary has a little prayer shawl ministry. People in our community knit or crochet beautiful, soft shawls that are then given to others who request them. What is unique about them, of course, is revealed in the name. What differentiates a prayer shawl from any other wrap…… Continue reading Creation as our Prayer Shawl

Expanding our Ideas of Beauty

In anticipation of Earth Day tomorrow, I want to share this great story from National Geographic, which is about animal conservation, a topic near and dear to my heart: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/conservation-cant-just-be-a-popularity-contest?loggedin=true The pictures in the article alone are “click-worthy”–they are from the Photo Ark Project by Joel Sartore. Some years ago, I was able to see…… Continue reading Expanding our Ideas of Beauty

Seeking Peace in Hard Times

Tributes have been pouring in all weekend to Ruth Bader Ginsberg, may she rest in peace. Regardless of your politics, you can and should admire her tenacity, her endurance, and her long, rich life that was characterized by a fierce commitment to issues of justice, equality and dignity. She was a dynamo in a compact…… Continue reading Seeking Peace in Hard Times

A Love Letter to Mary Oliver, on her Birthday

Dear Mary Forgive the formality, but I feel as though we are old friends, because I know your words so well. Today is your birthday, and it seems to me to be a fine time to write you a love letter. And, I promise I will take your advice: consider this my few words patched…… Continue reading A Love Letter to Mary Oliver, on her Birthday

Earth Day 2020: In Gratitude

Today, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and in a time of COVID-19, I am giving thanks for the body of the earth with a new sense of gratitude and deep appreciation. As I have said before, I am finding this new world of social distancing, self-isolation, and face masks very alien and challenging…… Continue reading Earth Day 2020: In Gratitude

Ash Wednesday & (Cosmic) Dust

It was a very fortuitous circumstance that today, Ash Wednesday, my feminist theologies class was finishing up Ask the Beasts, by Elizabeth Johnson. This is a lyrical, prophetic text, in which Johnson makes a compelling argument that care for creation belongs at the heart of Christian faith, and that God Herself is deeply present in…… Continue reading Ash Wednesday & (Cosmic) Dust

The Speeding Rate of Extinction. Why You Should Care.

Last week, I read another article in The New York Times about the threat humans pose to other animal species and the environment in general.  Read it here: The Speeding Rate of Extinction  Sadly, this news is not new, nor does it come as much of a surprise.  What is new–and this also just seems to get…… Continue reading The Speeding Rate of Extinction. Why You Should Care.