Sacred Conversations on Earth’s Future  

The earth is nearing a climate tipping point in the next few years. Warming of the atmosphere, changing rainfall patterns, millions more people going hungry, increased deaths from respiratory illness are already results of our fossil fuel dependence. We are at a critical moment in history, faced with two distinct futures.  If we continue on our current path, we face catastrophic consequences for generations to come.  If we choose a new path, we can create a sustainable and more just future for all of the planet’s inhabitants.

GOAL: Create Committed Congregational Action on Clean Energy to pass forward a more Just, Sustainable World.

ACTION: FUSE has created “Sacred Conversations on Earth’s Future”.

This is a resource to engage congregations in earnest conversations about the kind of earth we are called by God to pass forward to our children, grandchildren, and all of God's creatures. By discussing sacred texts, actively listening to scientific information, and centering in prayer participants face their fears and identify their hopes about climate change. They engage in discussions:

• What new direction do we sense God calling us in our congregation and our households to conserve energy, use more clean energy, and reduce our carbon emissions?
• How do we organize ourselves as people of faith to advocate for public policy solutions at the scale of the problem in order to create a more just and sustainable world?  

The three sacred conversations are action-oriented. Participants are urged to try out something new in their use of energy as individuals, congregations and citizens, and to share back what they learned. 

In the First Sacred Conversation we’ll share our fears and our hopes about the climate crisis. By discussing sacred texts, actively listening to scientific information, and centering in prayer we will ask ourselves, “What new direction do I sense God calling me to take with my use of energy?” Then we’ll each choose one thing to do in our personal lives that cuts our carbon emissions.  

In the Second Sacred Conversation we’ll discuss our one small change in energy use, and what differences we noticed in our awareness. We will discuss a sacred text and several short videos that point toward a sustainable and more just world. We will ask ourselves, “What can we do in our congregation to reduce carbon emissions?”  

The Third Sacred Conversation is a “Green Team” meeting. The primary questions are: How

do we maintain ongoing action and education in our congregation and our households to conserve energy, use more clean energy, and reduce our carbon emissions? How do we organize ourselves as people of faith to advocate for public policy solutions at the scale of the problem? 

What Makes a Conversation Sacred?

Conversations about earth’s future will be sacred if we: 

Make an Intentional Effort to be Aware of the Presence of God: Praying when we gather, when we close, and when anyone in the group feels a need for it.   

Anchor the Conversation in the worth of every person. Recognize the diversity in which God has created people also brings a richness of perspectives through which God’s Spirit loves to speak in new ways. Anchor the conversation in the worth of all creation because as a young John Muir learned while at Cedar Key, Florida, “Nature is valuable for its own sake, not only because it is useful to man.” (Anchoring the conversation in these two ways aligns it to core values found in many faith traditions to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself).  

Seek to Respond to God’s Timing by listening to the ways creation is speaking. Is there a sense of urgency? What level of response do we feel God calling us to take?  

Affirm that We Are All Connected, and that our actions as individuals and societies impact the highest good of other peoples and creatures. What changes in how we treat each other will be needed in order to pass forward a world in which our children, grandchildren and all of God’s creatures can thrive?  

Encourage People to Speak from their Hearts by covenanting to not only speak our truth, but to listen deeply to the truth of others. Goal: Speak without fear; listen without judgment. This happens when we set aside for a while what we believe or think to be open to whatever God may want us to hear, do, or change. Listening is crucial for any authentic conversation, especially one where we are seeking to hear the still-speaking Spirit of God calling us to care for creation. 

End Each Conversation with at least one tangible and specific commitment to action on behalf of earth’s future. This conversation is not a one-time event, but a continuing journey of organized discernment & action as individuals, communities of faith, and as human beings who are part of creation.    

www.fusenow.org      

701 SW 27th Avenue, Suite 1204, Miami, FL 33135

877-775-3873

Rev. Dr. Warren Clark, Associate Director

12207 Brightwater Blvd.  Tampa, FL 33617

Ph: (813) 246-2741  e-mail: revwarren@fusenow.org