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BridgeWorks in the News Articles, Press Releases, and Publications This page was last modified on Tuesday, January 20, 2009
"Environmentalism for the Faithful" The Rev. Rebekah Simon-Peter, a leading speaker on Christian environmentalism, is bringing her message to two area churches this month. Colorado Springs Gazette
"Making Visible the Invisible: A Litany" Liturgy written for the 2007 Rocky Mountain Conference Opening Worship Service was published on the General Board of Discipleship website. Click here to see.
Wyoming "Common Ground" Troops Marching Statewide Ever since the "Sacred Ground" conference last year, Wyoming religious leaders and some of their congregation members have been knocking on doors, asking for time at city council meetings and setting up community seminars around the state -- all to find some "common ground" on often-divisive issues. Public News Service
First United Methodist Plans Seder Rituals and symbols will highlight the Jewish Passover Seder (pronounced SAY-der) to be held on Holy Thursday, March 20, at First United Methodist Church, 332 E. Second. Casper Journal
Reflections on Sacred Ground: Faith and the Environment (This article appeared in the Sunday, October 21, 2007 edition of the Casper (WY) Star Tribune as an op-ed piece.) While an Environmental Studies student at the University of Vermont some 25 years ago, I first learned about the climate change we are now experiencing. Somebody’s going to do something about this, I thought. Somebody’s got to. It took awhile, but last month, I met those “somebodys” at a gathering of the faith and conservation communities in Lander. This conference, “On Sacred Ground: Faith and the Environment,” co-sponsored by the Wyoming Association of Churches and the Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund, drew almost 200 people for 2 days of inspiration, education, and application.
Nationally recognized keynote speakers Rev. Peter Illyn and Rev. Peter Sawtell challenged and inspired us. Professional workshop leaders educated us. Creative trade show participants engaged us. Stunning field trips renewed us. Locally grown food nourished us. Dedicated organizers wowed us. I am grateful to each and every one for their amazing contributions. I even had the privilege of being part of this group.
But it was the people who came from Douglas, Cheyenne, Shell, Rock Springs, Green River, St. Stephens, Rawlins, Casper, Powell, Dubois, Ethete, Torrington, Arvada, Sheridan, Elk Mountain, Worland, Saratoga, Laramie, Baggs, Gillette, Cody, Lander, and Jackson that most impressed me. Clergy and conservationists, educators and ranchers, students and biologists, parents and grandparents gathered from all over the state. Some were church folk and others were not. But all of us agreed: It’s time to recover and take seriously our faith traditions. Whether Quaker, Catholic or Native American, we are called not only to love the Creator but to care for Creation. For Evangelicals and Methodists alike the message is clear: we have to get involved. It’s time. It’s past time.
It’s not that I haven’t known other impassioned people. I trained with The Hon. Al Gore and The Climate Project in Nashville. I’m one of 1500 global presenters committed to getting the word out about the climate crisis. I’ve met all kinds of committed people.
But not like this group. Since the conference, they have been hard at work in their own communities all across the state. They’re meeting, planning and I daresay praying. Their goals are many: scaling back “McMansion” developments that eat up valuable natural habitat; boosting local recycling programs; planting community gardens; becoming “green” communities of faith; planning local events to share the vision of a vibrant Creation with their neighbors. The ripples have even spread as far away as Denver.
Since the end of the conference, I’ve received emails, letters, and phone calls from conference participants across the state seeking advice and input. “How can we get our clergy involved?” one group asked. As one who has pastored local churches, that question hit home. I remembered how it was for me. Trying to keep a flock together in the midst of economic, spiritual and moral challenges often meant putting the larger issues on the back burner. The future integrity of Creation had to wait while I dealt with the disagreement over the church kitchen. It’s a cop out, I know. One we pastors too often take because of the pressures of tackling a potentially divisive issue. “Show them that you’re passionate about caring for Creation. Start by taking action yourself. Lead and your pastor will follow.” Knowing these persons, I have no doubt they will.
Yes, I’ve met the “somebodys.” They are the regular people in our towns. They are the people who go to church and teach school. They are business people and military. They are grandparents and librarians and secretaries and surveyors.
It’s too early to know all that the Sacred Ground conference accomplished. But this I know for sure: it was an historic, ground-breaking event. It established common ground among people who don’t normally meet, let alone talk.
Some people said such a conference couldn’t be done in Wyoming. Maybe even shouldn’t be done. After all, aren’t environmentalists the “bad guys”? But how true is that? Even my husband, a native of Rawlins and life-long Catholic who loves his work in the natural gas fields, has a broad perspective. “We’re all in this together. I grew up in Wyoming. I care about this land.” Don’t we all? Wyoming is, after all, sacred ground.
Wyoming Folks Work to Reduce Carbon Footprint Click here to read about it in the Casper Star Tribune.
Step It Up 2007 Congress: National Day of Climate Action. On April 14, citizens gathered all over this country with one message for Congress: "Cut CO2 emissions 80% by 2050." Over 40 of us got together in Rawlins WY for an old-fashioned teach-in. Check out what happened in other places.
The Climate Project Training |
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