Six New Things – Week of November 15, 2021

There is a direct correlation between how a culture treats women and how it treats Earth. At the close of the COP26 Summit, it’s time to rethink how we treat both – redefining “strength” and embracing vulnerability as we go.

ONE

We might start by listening more intently to Indigenous women, many of whom are leading the way in defending the earth.

Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West (Penguin Random House) is the courageous nonfiction story of a young Apache girl and her family as they struggle to protect their way of life and their sacred lands from a multinational mining corporation.

Sallie McFague would move us toward A New Climate for Christology: Kenosis, Climate Change, and Befriending Nature (Fortress), which finds echoes in Thich Nhat Hahn’s Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (HarperOne).

TWO

Inspired by the extraordinary courage and strength of Indigenous women leading the way in climate care, we look to other strong women, like:

Find additional resources for Confronting Misogyny in our lib guide.

THREE

All of this might be helped along if we could learn to see God in the vulnerable and fragile – even (and perhaps, especially) Loving What Doesn’t Last: An Adoration of the Body (Morehouse).

FOUR

And we might get further in our efforts if we could develop some Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Co-Exist with People Who Drive You Nuts (Random House).

FIVE

If we can rethink the incredible power of humility, white folx might also find great strength in owning the real history of America: Black Hands White House: Slave Labor and the Making of America (Fortress) furthers essential conversations on race and offers steps toward restorative justice.

SIX

And, let’s take advantage of the church year bringing us toward a time of introspection and more regular practices by bolstering families’ at-home practices:

Find additional resources for Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany faith formation in our lib guide.