Submitted by Susan Oxley, North American Climate Justice Team
The North American Climate Justice Team of Community of Christ has created two engagement sessions for online reunions to offer participants in the Sacredness of Creation and concerns over Climate Change. Each is designed to be a stand-alone hour-long session. Here are summaries of the content, and contact information is provided at the end of each summary.
Spiritual Formation/Worship/Discussion session: “Creation is Sacred”
The North American Climate Justice Team of Community of Christ has created a spiritual formation session utilizing prayer and lectio divina to explore the Sacredness of Creation and God’s call for a prophetic community to emerge to bring peace on and for the earth.
This session is flexible and can be adapted to a variety of purposes. It can be used as an alternative to a prayer and testimony service, or a teen/adult class. If you add some music, it functions as a worship service. It includes a breakout session for sharing. The plan can be implemented easily by a local member of the reunion staff, or you can request the assistance of the North American Climate Justice Team in leading it. It’s designed to last 60-70 minutes. If you are interested in receiving the instructions and outline for this session, please contact: Joan Thompson, joantcanuck@hotmail.com or Rod Downing, rdowning94@shaw.ca.
Class Session on Climate Change
In Community of Christ history, we honor the Zionic ideal of community over isolated individualism. The hour-long reunion class created by the North American Climate Justice Team of the Community of Christ challenges participants to embrace a community-oriented perspective in responding to climate change. The class includes a TED talk that explores how all of us tend to deny and avoid climate issues, and ties denial to the Christian story of the Apostle Peter. The transformation from denial through fear to Christian community and perseverance provides a template for facing the multiple crises threatening our world today.
This class can be used as part of a morning class, an enrichment experience for afternoon chats, an option for evening discussion, or an exploration in a post-reunion setting. The stand-alone class outline and instructions can be implemented by a local member of the reunion staff, or you can request the assistance of the North American Climate Justice Team in leading it. It’s designed for 60 minutes, and includes 1-2 breakout sessions. If you are interested in receiving the instructions and outline for this session, please contact: Dean and Susi Wight, deantw@aol.com and sewwight@aol.com