Sacred Curiosity: Community Recommendations for Inspiration

These resources can help deepen our
understanding about the environmental justice issues facing our state and the world.

Podcasts

Justice Rising

November 2023, Cecelia Flores, host of the Justice Rising Podcast, interviewed our own Rev. AC Churchill on the topic of “Organizing as Repair and Restoration.”

It is a thought-provoking interview in which they offer a vision of a process for the removal of Salmon River dams that doesn’t sacrifice people or communities.

Holding the Fire

Award winning journalist Dahr Jamail hosts the podcast series, published by Resilience.org. Each episode features an Indigenous leader and activist sharing about their connection to those mentioned themes. We hope you take some time to listen to one or all of the episodes in this fantastic series.

An Interview with Tyson Yunkaporta

During the interview Dr. Yunkaporta speaks of the importance of relationality and “how do we bring ourselves and the world back into right relation before it’s too late? Well, not before it’s too late, after it’s too late. Now that it’s too late, [laughs] how do we bring everybody back into right relation?”

Climate Justice Y’all

S3E12: Climate Solutions: Community Organizing 101 with Lindsay Harper and Celida Soto

Listen to experienced community organizers Lindsay Harper and Celida Soto talk about how to effectively work with communities towards grassroots solutions.   

“Community organizing is knowing when to listen to lived experiences, when to step back, and when to step forward.”

Books

Not Too Late:
by Rebecca Solnit &
Thelma Young Lutunatabua

Not Too Late brings strong climate voices from around the world to address the political, scientific, social, and emotional dimensions of the most urgent issue human beings have ever faced. Accessible, encouraging, and engaging, it’s an invitation to everyone to understand the issue more deeply, participate more boldly, and imagine the future more creatively.

The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas

The Intersectional Environmentalist examines the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and promotes awareness of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people — especially those most often unheard. Written by Leah Thomas, a prominent voice in the field and the activist who coined the term “Intersectional Environmentalism,” this book is simultaneously a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all, and a pledge to work towards the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet. 

Emergent Strategy
by adrienne maree brown

Inspired by Octavia Butler’s explorations of our human relationship to change, Emergent Strategy is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help designed to shape the futures we want to live. Change is constant. The world is in a continual state of flux. It is a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, this book invites us to feel, map, assess, and learn from the swirling patterns around us in order to better understand and influence them as they happen. This is a resolutely materialist “spirituality” based equally on science and science fiction, a visionary incantation to transform that which ultimately transforms us.

Not The End of the World
by Hannah Ritchie

Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Dr. Hannah Ritchie is “a book that is full of hope and reframes the narrative around sustainability.” 

The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity

“In this interfaith and multicultural fable, eloquent representatives of all members of the animal kingdom—from horses to bees—come before the respected Spirit King to complain of the dreadful treatment they have suffered at the hands of humankind. During the ensuing trial, where both humans and animals testify before the King, both sides argue their points ingeniously, deftly illustrating the validity of both sides of the ecology debate.”

A Future We Can Love
by Susan Bauer-Wu

A book about climate change that explains clearly what to expect and positive ways to fight climate change and how to deal with eco anxiety.

Sacred Text Studies

Footprint of the Foothills
(United Methodist Church, Ohio)

Global warming can seem like a problem too big to do anything about. Yet in the Appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio, there is a growing network of people who are building local, sustainable ways of life. The Footprint of the Foothills Bible Study is a free resource for people of faith who are interested in looking for local solutions to the global crisis of climate change. This video-based study can be used by individuals, small groups, Bible studies, UMW circles, or Sunday school classes.

Creating Hubs of Climate Resilience
Recording & Resources (UUA)

Side With Love joined Denise Abdul-Rahman from Black Sun Light Sustainability, Shina Robinson from Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Miguel Yanez-Barnuevo from Environmental and Energy Study Institute for an informative discussion on ways you can turn your faith into action to create hubs of climate resilience for our communities. This was the second session of our webinar series on Clean Energy as a Human Right.