Book Discussion
We held a book discussion which grew into two additional discussion meetings, one including our minister. For each session the steering committee selected two chapters of the book to read and discuss. Our goal was to have one chapter be conceptual and the other practical, with the second chapter illustrating the application of the ideals described in the first chapter. This lead to in-depth discussions of various topics, including some emotional responses.
Our group included members of our Green Sanctuary Ministry and also our Social and Environmental Justice team, as well as other members of the congregation. Our minister lead the session on three chapters: Ecotheology, Cherishing Our World: Avoiding Despair in Environmental Justice Work, and Transforming Unitarian Universalist Culture: Stepping Our of Our Silos and Selves.
I know of at least one small group that is using the book for similar discussions, helping to spread the word further in our congregation.
Out of this experience several of us are now volunteering at a community garden in Pontiac, Michigan--a very depressed and downtrodden area. It has also served to re-energize some of our advocacy work especially in the area of water rights in Detroit and Flint. While we did not cover every chapter in discussion, we did have three excellent mornings talking and thinking about intersectionality and environmental issues, how they are important to our faith and how we can make a difference in the fight against climate change.
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