The Religions in a Climate Changed World
In our second week, we introduced a few of the core concepts and principles of Asset Based Community Development, an approach to transforming communities “from the inside out” that we’ll be adapting for this class over the coming year. We briefly named some of the many assets existing within the congregation, including individual, institutional, physical, cultural, economic, and associational, which we will together identify, connect, and mobilize as Hennepin’s vision for faithful ministry and witness in a climate changed world emerges this coming year. We also discussed a reading from Larry’s Rassmussen’s Earth Honoring Faith, inviting persons to reflect on a few core questions:
- How have you experienced the transformative power of religion in your own life?
- Where do you most experience the disconnect between the Christian religion today and the realities of climate change?
- Where are you today in the process of learning to sing the Christian faith anew in a climate changed world?
Finally, individuals were invited to begin engaging in a contemplative practice in the natural world (e.g. having a Sit Spot).