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"As we approach Earth Day on April 22, 2022, our churches will be engaged in education and action through a variety of means that evoke the prophetic tradition of our faith. Many of the themes from Holy Week transfer to the focus we give God’s creation during Earth Week." ~ Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, UCC Minister for Environmental Justice (1) Prophetic Inspiration! Ames United Church of Christ is partnering with the Iowa Conference, the Central Association of Iowa, and the UCC’s National Setting to host a digital event for the entire denomination on April 23, 2022 entitled “The Faith of Prophets: Lessons for the Climate Crisis.” (Click the link to Register) (2) Prophetic art! Church members of all ages are coming together to create community climate collages that spark reflection on how our faith leads us to action. They will share their masterpieces with elected officials, especially as the Senate considers groundbreaking climate measures. (3) Prophetic worship! Creation Justice Ministries provides materials each year that help congregations focus their education and worship on a theme. This year’s theme is “Weathering the Storm: Faithful Climate Resilience.” An April 13, 2022 webinar will explore this theme and more. (4) Prophetic love! For their annual Faith Climate Action Week from April 22nd to May 1, 2022, Interfaith Power & Light has chosen the theme "Sacred Trust: Our Children’s Right to a Livable Future.” They suggest ways churches can work to safeguard our Earth for younger generations. The Faith of Prophets: Lessons for the Climate Crisis The best-selling Catholic writer Joan Chittister has written, “What this world needs most right now is a new generation of prophets.” This is especially true as we confront the climate crisis today. Yet, we can no longer wait for others to be the prophets that were needed yesterday. We have to find the prophet in each of us. We are the ones who can make a profound difference right now. To answer the urgent call for prophetic action today, this April 23, 2022 event will focus on what the Hebrew Prophets can teach us as well as what current prophetic leaders have to say. The event will consist of three parts: (1) Opening Keynote via Zoom: “Why Prophets Matter Today” by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt, Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ (7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. PDT). (2) Panel Discussion via Zoom: April 23, 2022 with the Rev. Michael Malcom from the People’s Justice Council, Nellis Kennedy-Howard from Honor the Earth, and Hector Arbuckle from the Ames Climate Action Team (8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.,m PDT). (3) Local Action in Your Own Community: Create and deliver a community climate collage to the district office of your Congressional Representative or Senator. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/PropheticAction

In researching the topic of "tradition" I came upon this engrossing 1 hour, 39 minute, YouTube video by Dr. Robert Lustig, where he unveils, among other things, how sugar addiction has resulted in a national epidemic of obesity. Lustig is the author of The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains. The four C’s: Connect – empathy – serotonin vs. dopamine Contribute – altruism, volunteerism, philanthropy Cope – sleep, mindfulness, and exercise. Cook – real food Five modest proposals: Healthy Beverage Initiative Type 2 diabetes should be renamed “Processed Food Disease” Roll back subsidies for processed foods: Corn, Wheat, Soy, and Sugar “Eat Real” trust mark Remove sugar from the “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) list.

I enjoy Matthew Fox's Daily Meditations delivered to my email inbox. I am grateful for the Via Positiva as a counterbalance to the Via Negativa we experience daily through media recounting: war in Ukraine; refugees; discord of American politics; crisis in democracy; voter suppression; human-caused degradation of our fragile ecosphere; social and economic injustices; genocide; lies and misinformation; incivility and coarseness; pandemic; anxiety and psychological distress; inflation; financial collapse; greed; crime; violence; surveillance and loss of freedoms; cyberattacks; depression... Returning to the sacred and Original Blessing is absolutely essential in the face of human folly at work today as we face our own extinction and that of other species. ~ Matthew Fox "A good dose of the Via Positiva goes a long way to feeding us with the beauty and goodness and love that allows us to persevere in combating Evil and its many, many faces. Returning to the sacred and Original Blessing is absolutely essential in the face of human folly at work today as we face our own extinction and that of other species." We are not powerless victims but “participants in the primary sacred reality in a time of darkness and unknowing." Let our lives sing a love song to the world.

Black Alliance & Social Empowerment (BASE) has announced a partnership with Unite Oregon on climate change. On July 28, 2022, at 6-8 p.m., PT BASE will be having a virtual meeting on an environmental mapping tool, and your input matters. Only 20 spaces are available. and those who decide to participate will also receive $200. Register Here Black Alliance & Social Empowerment (BASE) is a volunteer nonprofit community organization that provides events, community information-sharing, connection, support, and resources that work towards the well-being and advancement of Black residents living in Southern Oregon. They are located at 325 S. Riverside, Suite 4435, Medford, OR 97501 Community@baseoregon.org | www.baseoregon.org "Unite Oregon, Rogue Valley is an independent chapter of Unite Oregon and a newly merged organization from Oregon Action and the Center for Intercultural Organizing. They provide the organizational base for participatory democracy, just communities, and a fair economy. They dig into issues including raising wages for workers; continuing racial justice work like ending police profiling; fighting for justice and dignity for our immigrant neighbors; addressing the affordable housing crisis in the Rogue Valley; and expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare. Other issues include the student debt crisis and college affordability, transportation access and affordability, economic justice for working women, and civic engagement. All of their work is approached through a racial justice lens and with a focus on developing the leaders of tomorrow as they build a powerful movement for justice."

Rogue Climate urges us to take time this Earth Day 2022 to celebrate the recent incredible victories in our region. "From defeating Jordan Cove LNG to passing historic laws that move forward a just transition to clean energy, Rogue Climate communities have a lot to celebrate this Earth Day! People across Southern Oregon and the South Coast have shown up, again and again, to fight for climate justice -- and keep winning." "At the same time, our communities are facing unprecedented heat, wildfires, drought, and more. This month, the world’s top scientists released a report that urges the world to act fast if we want to avoid the worst consequences of climate change." Rogue Climate communities will continue to fight for climate justice, while also building a future where we can thrive despite the impacts of climate change we are already experiencing." South Coast - working to ensure that the Coos Bay estuary continues to be protected against impacts similar to those of Jordan Cove LNG. Rogue Valley - continuing to support Almeda fire survivors while pushing for local solutions to transition away from fossil fuels. Statewide - continues to advocate for policies that ensure Oregon’s energy systems are clean, reliable, and affordable. This Earth Day you can help fight for climate justice by making a donation to Rogue Climate. Join the movement by becoming a Rogue Climate volunteer by signing up here! P.S. You can also celebrate the victory against Jordan Cove LNG by buying a victory t-shirt, sweatshirt, mug, and more online here! Image Credit: From Allie and the Rogue Climate Team

Heather Cox Richardson @HC_Richardson has just tweeted "The Supreme Court has gone rogue. We are in a full-blown Constitutional crisis. Congress must act. And we must pressure Congress to act, while it still can." Today June 30, 2022 the Supreme Court of the U.S. voted to restrict the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to mandate heat-trapping gas emissions reductions, specifically those related to the power sector. The High Court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA (20-1530) " Congress did not grant the Environmental Protection Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan." Electricity is currently responsible for a quarter of U.S. emissions and the Biden administration has set a goal to eliminate these emissions entirely by 2035. Today’s ruling doesn’t stop climate action in the U.S.; but it does make it a lot harder to address the climate crisis at a time when we need to be doing all we can. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe articulates the stakes during this segment with MSNBC's José Díaz-Balart. "If we don't fix climate change, it will fix us." Bill McKibben @billmckibben tweeted: "Understand that today's EPA ruling is the culmination of decades of careful and patient work by big business using dark money... The Supreme Court to Physics: Drop Dead." Contact your Congressman today. Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss Read Climate Brief: Can Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss Be Tackled Together? What is Your Carbon Footprint? Does your congregation, small business, or nonprofit want to step on the carbon scale, measure your carbon footprint, and see what you can do together to reduce it? Climate Stewards USA has developed a new, free carbon footprint calculator called 360carbon that lets organizations measure their carbon footprints and figure out how to start cutting them.. More than two dozen churches across America are already using this tool. Talk to your organizations about using 360carbon today!

On July 5, 2022 thirty-five faith groups from seven countries today announced their divestment from fossil fuel companies. They have called for no new fossil fuels as 20 oil and gas companies plan to spend nearly $1 trillion on new projects in violation of UN and IEA warnings. "Organized by the World Council of Churches, Operation Noah, Laudato Si’ Movement, Green Anglicans, and GreenFaith, this latest divestment announcement comes from faith institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the UK, and the US. It comes just three weeks before Anglican bishops from around the world gather for the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, UK" The World Council of Churches is "a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism." Operation Noah was set up in 2004 to provide a Christian response to the climate crisis, is a small charity with big ambitions. The Laudato Si’ Movement (founded as Global Catholic Climate Movement 2015) is "a community of Catholics, responding to the Pope’s call to action in the Laudato Si’ encyclical. We are lay people, priests, religious, bishops, and a global network of member organizations working together on the climate change crisis." Anglican Communion Environmental Network is" a network for those who care for God’s creation - Anglicans and Episcopalians worldwide concerned with environmental issues. The Anglican Communion Environment Network strives to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth." "GreenFaith is building a worldwide, multi-faith climate and the environmental movement. Together our members create communities to transform ourselves, our spiritual institutions, and society to protect the planet and create a compassionate, loving, and just world." "We envision a world transformed, in which humanity in all its diversity has developed a shared reverence for life on Earth. Religious and spiritual communities everywhere generate a moral awakening to the sacredness of Earth and the dignity of all people. Together, we are building resilient, caring communities and economies that meet everyone’s needs and protect the planet. The era of conquest, extraction, and exploitation has given way to cooperation and community." ~ Greenfaith

Addressing the challenge to stop and reverse global warming is not just a matter of facts and convincing verbal arguments - motivation to change our economic and political systems as well as corporate and individual behaviors must also speak to our hearts and our worldview. Stories and ideas are often best communicated through essays, art, interviews, poems, reviews, books, questions, and videos. Center for Humans and Nature (CHN) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization with "a mission to explore and promote human responsibilities in relation to nature." CHN's online digital publications are housed under Stories & Ideas. These “Stories & Ideas” are featured in a diversity of forms - essays, art, interviews, poems, reviews, and videos. A variety of contributors share their diverse perspectives on themes such as Animals & Plants, Care, Climate Change, Community, Cosmos, Culture, Healing, Justice, Land & Water, Language, Practice, Reciprocity, Sacred, Sovereignty, and Urban Nature. CHN contributors have included Rebecca Solnit, Adrienne Maree Brown, Tommy Orange, Mary Midgley, David Sloan Wilson, Benjamin Barber, Robin Kimmerer, David Abram, Maude Barlow, Herman Daly, Bill McKibben, Sharon Olds, Nalini Nadkarni, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Vandana Shiva, and James Gustave Speth, among others. CHN also publishes Minding Nature, currently, an annual journal that “explores ecological responsibilities, values, and practices.” You may also subscribe to their weekly newsletter for the latest stories and ideas. Photo Credit (above): Bobtail Squid, by NOAA

Where are all the young people looking for a spiritual home in a post-evangelical Christian world? They probably aren’t interested in organized religion and they aren’t in churches that offer a tired liturgy from a bygone Christendom era or a faith that doesn’t embrace science! Some in the younger generation may listen to The Liturgists Podcast because it encourages lively, irreverent conversations exploring that awkward transition space between abandoning old understandings and traditions while looking for new, more meaningful expressions. The Liturgists Podcast is a Christian program that is dedicated to serving the “spiritually homeless and frustrated.” “The Liturgists are creating a global conversation, blending science, art, and faith to explore the most vital issues of our time. In an age where the Church is mainly known for culture wars, we send a different message: there is room at the table for all who are hungry.” They offer Advice For Anyone Who Has Ever Doubted Their Religion. The Liturgists are Mike McHargue (Science Mike) and Michael Gungor. Mike McHargue describes himself as a “Christian turned atheist turned Jesus follower, spiritual & skeptical.” His book Finding God in the Waves tells the story of how his evangelical faith dissolved into atheism as he studied the Bible and science (the latest research in neuroscience, cosmology, and physics.) A mystical experience led him back to faith with a new understanding of God. His vimeo channel is best known for What Color is this Dress? Science Knows, which went viral on the internet a few years ago. Michael Gungor is a musician and co-founder. I like this hour-long YouTube video interview (above) of Richard Rohr by The Liturgists. “Art opens us up to mystical, non-dual knowledge and experiences.” Closing the door of one era is often not seen as the opening of another door of opportunity. There is a painfully awkward “hallway between the two doors” – a lack of understanding between two generational points of view. Those drawn into change experiment with new ideas and expressions of our common humanity, before something new emerges. It’s sort of like the gap in understanding and compassion, artfully portrayed in the Netflix movie Kodachrome, where broken relationships can be healed as new doors are opened. There is room at the table for everyone ~ Carrie Newcomer #postchristendom #Enneagram #Generations #Spirituality #meditation

The United States military is one of the world’s biggest polluters. As an institution, it leads the world in oil consumption and emits enormous amounts of greenhouse gases! To grasp the environmental impact of the U.S. military, however, requires us to go beyond statistics and numbers. One must listen to those from the communities directly affected. UCC Environmental Justice Ministries is having a webinar on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at 10 a.m. PST to provide an overview of environmental justice concerns pertaining to the U.S. military. Register here. The webinar will feature the voices of those engaged in the struggle to stop the pollution of the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on the island of Oahu. Faith communities will not only learn about the issues but also how they can take action for justice. Featured panelists will include: Wayne Tanaka, Executive Director of the Sierra Club in Hawaiʻi Danny Tengan, Disaster Coordinator for Hawaiʻi Conference of the United Church of Christ Lorah Steichen, Outreach Coordinator for the National Priorities Project Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and they will send you a link to a recording of it. This monthly installment of Creation Justice webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcolm who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People's Justice Council. The Just Peace Network of the United Church of Christ is a co-sponsor of this event. #CreationJustice #JustPeace #ClimateChange #Pollution #EnvironmentalJustice #UCC

Senator Tom Udall and Dr. Enric Sala explain why Americans must protect 30x30 in this YouTube video. A May 2019 United Nations report says that the world is currently facing an extinction crisis, with over one million species endangered globally. 1,300 species are threatened or endangered in the U.S. today. Some experts estimate that one-third of all species could be extinct by 2070. The U. N. report says this is due to human activities. These culprits are, in descending order: (1) changes in land and sea use (2) direct exploitation of organisms (3) climate change (4) pollution (5) invasive alien species Why does this matter? The Hall of Biodiversity in New York’s American Museum of Natural History notes: “In the past, natural events caused large-scale transformations of the environment and five global mass extinctions. Now, ecosystems are again undergoing a massive loss of biodiversity. This time, the changes are caused mainly by human activity… following the invention of agriculture around 10,000 years ago and the resulting population boom, our impact has intensified.” The world’s five prior extinctions were brought about by a variety of factors including glaciation (Ordovician extinction); global warming and change in ocean chemistry (Permian extinction); asteroid impact (Cretaceous extinction). On January 27, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Section 214 of this order is to “protect America’s natural treasures, increase reforestation, improve access to recreation, and increase resilience to wildfires and storms, referred to as #30 x 30. 450 state and Local officials support this. This matches one of Biden’s campaign promises of “Protecting biodiversity, slowing extinction rates, and helping leverage natural climate solutions by conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030.”

Have you been looking for a way to reduce your food waste? Now you can drop them off at the Ashland Farmers Market on Tuesdays at the Armory 1420 E Main St., Ashland, OR 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The market opens this Tuesday (March 1, 2022) so start saving those carrot peelings. This is a project of the Ashland Rotary Club, funded by an Ashland Food Coop grant (thanks!) Rogue Produce will pick up the scraps and take them to a local farmer for composting. This is a great way to enrich our soils and foods, to increase water retention in fields, and reduce methane created when food scraps go into the landfill. A list of Do's and Don'ts can be found on Rogue Produce's website, but basically, no meat, bones, or seafood, no paper plates or cutlery even if it says compostable. no coconuts. Tea bags, egg shells, and coffee grinds are OK. #composting #farmersmarket #Ashland

Oregon Just Transition Alliance and its member organizations are encouraging Oregon State Legislators to pass three key policies in 2022 to advance environmental, racial, and economic justice in our state: Farmworker Overtime - HB 4002 Farmworkers in Oregon have extremely tough jobs and often work long hours in dangerous conditions. In the past year alone, roughly 80,000 Oregon farmworkers worked to feed families through the pandemic, wildfires, hazardous air quality conditions, and deadly heat waves. Yet farmworkers have been unfairly excluded from overtime pay due to an outdated law that has perpetuated institutional racism in our state and our country for generations. Fair pay is a key step to increasing community resilience as Oregonians face more and more climate crisis-fueled disasters and extreme weather events. Oregon legislators must take action to ensure our field and hand-harvest farmworkers are no longer excluded from overtime laws. Long-term and Emergency Heat Relief - SB 1536 During the record heat wave last year, at least 96 Oregonians died and countless others suffered without access to life-saving cooling devices such as air conditioning or heat pumps in their home. As climate change fuels more extreme weather, it is essential that Oregonians are protected from the deadly impacts of heat waves and storms. Oregonians deserve access to affordable, efficient, and safe heating and cooling during extreme weather events. Health professionals, energy advocates, and environmental justice organizations worked together to craft thoughtful heat relief policies to protect vulnerable Oregonians and build more resilient communities. Environmental Justice Council Mapping - HB 4077 People of color, low-income, and rural and tribal communities have been at the front line of environmental and climate injustice in Oregon. Equitable environmental strategies offer more support, resources, and capacity to communities that carry a bigger burden of environmental problems. Oregon’s Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) works to design collaborative, data-driven solutions to environmental threats and inequities in our state. HB 4077 provides the EJTF new tools to help identify patterns of pollution and climate burdens, identify disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, and assess environmental vulnerabilities. #EJTF #Farmworkers #HeatRelief #Mapping

Siskiyou Permaculture is offering a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) beginning February 26, 2022 meeting every other weekend until May 8th. It meets in the spacious community room at the Jackson Wellsprings, 2253 OR-99 N, Ashland, OR 97520, allowing for some physical distancing. This 72-hour certificate course is based on a curriculum developed by Australian founders, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, with lots of local stories and examples from our Southern Oregon bioregions. Instructors Hazel Ward, Melanie Mindlin and Karen Taylor have over 60 years of combined experience teaching, consulting and coaching people on the principles and practices of Permaculture, and are passionate about sharing their knowledge. They will be joined by guest teachers, Lion Waxman, Dan Wahpepah, and Rhianna Simes. Permaculture is a whole systems design philosophy used for the creation of regenerative human habitats and food production systems. It has been applied worldwide at every level, from the inner city to urban and suburban developments, homesteading and agriculture to community planning and national policy. Permaculture offers tangible solutions to the many pressing ecological issues of our time, such as how to sustainably meet the basic needs of food, water, energy, and shelter, how to vitalize our communities and restore our watersheds. It is both a land use ethic and community building movement which strives for the integration of human dwellings, energy systems, micro-climate, horticulture, micro livestock and animals, soils, and water into stable, productive systems. The course price is $800. Register here. #permaculture #sustainability #systemsdesign

On February 10, 2022 Matt Brinkley, AICP CFM Planning Director for the City of Medford, OR presented an informational update to the Climate Change Adaptation and Resiliency Plan (CCARP) to the Mayor and City Council. This study process started two years ago. The 2022 document drafted by staff is "a preliminary evaluation of the climate factors that may impact Medford. The report focuses on city-wide, and in some instances, region-wide vulnerabilities under five key categories: Natural Systems, Economy, Built Environment, Public Health, and Community." Various documents were studied, which indicate that "the Southern Oregon region will become more prone to extreme heat events and drought, ultimately becoming more Mediterranean... This plan focuses on building community resilience through adaptation to changes that are inevitable." The report draws upon the following resources; Fifth Oregon Climate Assessment January 5, 2021 Climate Change and Adaptation in Southwest Oregon Preparing For Climate Change in the Rogue River Basin of Southwest Oregon

Evangelical Christian groups are spending millions to drive a socially conservative turnout for the 2018 midterms, but Pastor Doug Pagitt of Solomon’s Porch, a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis, MN says “Vote Common Good." "I’m proud to be part of the resistance to the huge money effort to bully Christians into voting for Republicans.” ~ Doug Pagitt Vote Common Good will be barnstorming the nation Oct. 2 – Nov. 6, 2018 on a a 31-city bus tour, inviting Christians to flip Congress by voting for the Common Good – calling people of faith and conscience to move from fear to faith in this November and against Republican members of Congress in 34 congressional districts nationwide. The group opposes Trump administration policies on immigration, refugees, health care, the 2017 tax overhaul, and poverty. Pagitt maintains that Vote Common Good rallies will be more like “revivals” designed to encourage voters to oust politicians who don’t reflect the common good for all people. The events will feature live music and speeches by a rotating cast of Christian leaders who are allies of the organization, including Rob Schenck, Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, and Frank Schaeffer. “We are going into places where two years ago those places voted for a Republican, Many of the states we are in have a Senate race that is important as well (Missouri, Minnesota, Texas, Arizona.)” ~ Doug Pagitt

The real danger to responsible journalism, free speech, and democracy come from within the United States, rather than from foreign intruders and social media technology. And we're not talking about the Google search engine bias or Facebook’s partnership with the Atlantic Council to suppress disinformation threatening democratic elections! The 2018 book, Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics by Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris, and Hal Roberts “finds that the right-wing media ecosystem operates fundamentally differently than the rest of the media environment,” promoting “disinformation, lies, and half-truths.” For an overview of the book, read the August 28, 2018 article by Jeffrey Toobin in the New Yorker, where he says “The book’s message is almost simple. The two sides [Fox News vs. MSNBC and CNN] are not, in fact, equal when it comes to evaluating “news” stories, or even in how they view reality. Liberals want facts; conservatives want their biases reinforced. Liberals embrace journalism; conservatives believe the propaganda.” Toobin says the authors’ conclusion is that “something very different was happening in right-wing media than in centrist, center-left and left-wing media.” Accordingly, they wrote the book “to shine a light on the right-wing media ecosystem itself as the primary culprit in sowing confusion and distrust in the broader American ecosystem.” And there is a self-reinforcing feedback loop between right-wing media and Donald Trump, who increasingly rely on cable news hosts and commentators to make decisions and determine which issues to highlight. When longtime analyst Ralph Peters left Fox News in March 2018 he sharply criticized the network, denouncing the outlet as a “propaganda machine” devoted to President Trump, and saying that it was “wittingly harming our system of government for profit.” When President Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning that Google searches were “rigged: against him, he was probably reading PJ Media, a conservative news site, which published a piece with the headline, “96 Percent of Google Search Results for ‘Trump’ News Are from Liberal Media Outlets.” So who is the puppet (the media owners, Trump, or the gullible public?); and who is really pulling the strings? And by the way, who still watches cable news channels or reads print media to get their news? At the other end of the spectrum stands the print and digital media bulwarks The New York Times, respected for reporting depth and integrity, and The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Several other regional newspapers, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal have been purchased by very wealthy men. Why do billionaires decide to buy newspapers (and why should we be happy when they do)? “If the [Washington] Post is like Amazon, happy to sell individual slices of its vertically integrated whole, the [New York] Times is perhaps more like Apple, bringing its ethos and voice to a more diverse array of products.” ~ Austin Smith. #FreeSpeech #democracy #responsiblejournalism #NetworkPropaganda #rightwingmediaecosystem

March 20th is the first day of Spring (the Spring Solstice and Equinox) – the start of a new season in the annual cycle of blossoming and growth after one of decline and darkness. The Jewish Passover seder is April 15, 2022. Easter is April 17, 2022, with its message of death, resurrection, and renewal. Origins of practices of unleavened bread and paschal lamb had little to do with the notion of substitutionary atonement. *[see note below] The Jesuit’s practical interpretation of Easter is that “new life can come from death; that we can find meaning in tough times; and that there really is light in the darkness.” Richard Rohr interprets the paschal mystery story in a broader Hebrew biblical context as “the pattern of down and up, loss and renewal, enslavement and liberation, exile and return, transformation through darkness…” But Matthew Fox’s interpretation of the pascal mystery story “may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our age.” In his 1988 book, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ Fox offers “a paschal mystery story for the third millennium… and for a new era of religious belief” – the crucifixion of Mother Earth; the resurrection of the human psyche by way of an awakened mysticism; and the coming of the Cosmic Christ, ushering in a global renaissance that can heal Mother Earth and save her by changing human hearts and ways. Put in other words, its a pascal mystery story of the divine cycle of death, rebirth, and sending of the Spirit in our time: matricide, mysticism, a new living cosmology. By using the term “cosmology” Fox means three things: A scientific story about the origins of our universe The mysticism that is a psychic response to our being in a universe Art, which translates science and mysticism into images that awakens body, soul, and society “A cosmology needs all three elements to come alive; it is our joyful response (mysticism) to the awesome fact of our being in the universe (science) and our expression of that response by the art of our lives and citizenship (art).” Matthew Fox is offering a “new wineskin with which to grasp and live out the paschal mystery for the third millennium” by proposing that “Mother Earth can be understood as Jesus Christ crucified.” “Uniting mysticism and spiritual development with ethical and prophetic witness, the creation spirituality articulated by Matthew Fox presents an inspiring vision of an alternative Christology. The Cosmic Christ is the incarnation of God in the universe and especially in Mother Earth.” Spring is a season of letting go – “We need to let go of the Enlightenment and its worldview that denies mysticism and lacks a cosmology. We need to let go of a religious worldview that bores the young, trivializes Jesus Christ, and renders our spiritual heritage almost impotent.” Mystical awakening is about the awe, wonder, and “radical amazement” (Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s phrase) and this leads to “a morality of reverence for all creation.” So as we celebrate the Spring Solstice, can we let go; open ourselves to the mystery of all of creation; and embrace a new paradigm of this divine cycle of the coming Cosmic Christ? “The cosmos is fundamentally and primarily living… Christ through his Incarnation, is internal to the world,… rooted in the world, even in the very heart of the tiniest atom… Nothing seems to me more vital, from the point of view of human energy, than the appearance and eventually, the systematic cultivation of such a ‘cosmic sense’.” ~ Teilhard de Chardin *Note: Notker Fuglister argues that “both Passover and matzot were of pre-Israelite origin.” Sacrificial practices associated with the killing of animals for food were widespread in primitive cultures throughout the world. The killing of animals for food is not a trivial thing – its life is somehow related to divinity, hence elevated to worship. “The Passover was originally a rite of shepherds, performed in the night of the full moon at the spring equinox for the protection and well-being of themselves and their flocks… The matzot belonged to the culture of a farming population, who marked the break between old and new at the beginning of the harvest by eating unleavened bread which contained no flour from the crops of the previous year. Hence Passover and matzot were two nature feasts that were “historicized” by the Israelites.” Similarly, the notion of original sin was alien to Judaism, Jesus, and first-century Christianity, but was introduced by Augustine in the 4th century, embraced by Constantine as an effective doctrine to help control citizens in a waining Roman empire, and historicized by the Roman Catholic church." Marcus Borg, in Convictions says “a major historical problem that negates the notion that Jesus’s death as a payment for sin is the only correct understanding is this: it is not central to the first thousand years of Christian belief.” Borg attributes the idea to the archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm in 1098. “It is not part of ancient Christianity and so not part of biblical and traditional Christianity. Tags: Cosmic Christ, Mysticism, Cosmology, MotherEarth, Pashcal Mystery Story, Matthew Fox, Richard Rohr, Marcus Borg Spring, Renewal, Spring Solstice, Easter, Passover

WECAN International is organizing and hosting Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 from 1:00 to 8:30 p.m. at The Green Room (second floor), 401 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA. This event will also be available for allies worldwide via Facebook Livestream. This will be “an extraordinary gathering of women leaders from across the United States and around the world, joined in solidarity to speak out against environmental and social injustice, draw attention to root causes of the climate crisis, and present the diverse array of visions and strategies with which they are working to shape a healthy and equitable world.” “International advocates, grassroots, Indigenous, and frontline women leaders, and policy-makers, will discuss topics including the intersectionality of gender and environment; Indigenous rights; a just transition to renewable energy; women and forest protection and regeneration; fossil fuel resistance efforts; women and agroecology/soils; environmental racism; and women’s leadership and calls for action within a climate justice framework.” This dynamic public Forum is to be presented the day before the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in California. A list of collective key Calls to Action from the Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice will be presented to the leadership of the GCAS the following day. Details and tools to share are available via the WECAN International webpage. Art by Christi Belcourt On Saturday, September 8, 2018, at 10 a.m. Women For Climate Justice Contingents at ‘Rise For Climate, Jobs, Justice‘ will be marching in San Francisco. Rise up and join them to build a fossil-free world.