March 14, 2024

Dear friends,

All around us here in Maine, the signs of new life are emerging from their winter hibernation. The bulbs are pushing their green leaves through the warming soil, the trees are spreading their energy into sap and buds, and the birds are greeting each morning with renewed song. Though spring has come early in these altered, climate-changed seasons, still we find joy amidst the anxieties and sorrows. The sunshine feels like a gift after the dreariness of late winter.

These networks of life are teaching us about adaptation and resilience in times of profound change. Networking is a word that we most often associate with, well, work — a corporatization of connection into something oriented toward productivity and technology. Yet the life all around us shows us that networks are relational — think of the mycorrhizal networks that, through bacteria and fungi, allow trees to communicate with one another. We are part of these vast networks of kinship and belonging, and we are offered so many opportunities to be healing participants in this great web of creation.

We hope that the work we do at The BTS Center enables a greater awareness of this beautiful network of life we all share. And we're excited to offer a number of opportunities to engage with us in the coming weeks and months. Next week, we will be hosting a film discussion on the new documentary Inundation District — a powerful and timely look at the impacts of climate-change-driven sea level rise in Boston. Join us for a lively conversation with the director and special guests!

Later this spring, we're looking forward to a book study on the thoughtful work of T. Wilson Dickinson — Singing the Psalms with My Son: Praying and Parenting for a Healed Planet, starting in May. And also in May, we'll be hosting our first Green Teams Gathering. If you're in reach of Southern Maine and are involved (or would like to be) in congregational climate work, this in-person offering might be for you!

We are grateful to be in this network with you, and we hope to see you at one of our programs soon!

With best wishes,

Join us for these Upcoming Programs:

Inundation District: A Film Discussion

• Tuesday, March 19 • 7.00 - 8.00pm (Eastern) • Online
• A discussion with producer, director, writer, and cinematographer David Abel and guest Rev. Rob Mark
• Registrants will receive a link to view the film ahead of the discussion

Group Spiritual Direction Circles

• 8-month cohorts starting in March and April
• Several circles to choose from — various days, times, and facilitators
• Gathering monthly in groups of six over Zoom, each two-hour session is centered on a prompt related to climate change, liminality, or uncertainty

Singing the Psalms with My Son: A Book Study

• May - June • 5 weekly sessions • Online
• Two options for days and times each week
• Offered in collaboration with Lutherans Restoring Creation and Moms Clean Air Force

Green Teams Gathering

• Sunday, May 19 • 2.00 - 5.00pm (Eastern)
• In person at Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church in Cape Elizabeth, Maine
• An opportunity for those engaged in congregational climate work to gather, connect, and learn

Claiming Your Call for a Climate-Changed World

• A three-day retreat and community of practice for New England congregations
• Thursday, June 20 – Saturday, June 22 • Schoodic Institute, Winter Harbor, ME
• Participation by application; retreat expenses covered by The BTS Center
• In collaboration with Creation Justice Ministries and the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative

Climate Justice Camp at Pilgrim Lodge

• Sunday to Saturday • July 21 - 27, 2024
• At Pilgrim Lodge, a ministry of the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ, on beautiful Lake Cobbosseecontee in West Gardiner, Maine
• For campers entering grades 9-12 and new high school graduates

All episodes of Season Two of Climate Changed, The BTS Center's podcast, are now available for listening! Head over to our Podbean page to listen to all of the episodes from both Season One and Season Two! On our webpage, you'll find links to all the episodes as well as descriptions, full transcriptions, and specially developed discussion guides which you can use in your congregation or community setting.

And we're hard at work on Season Three, coming your way this fall!

What We're Reading, Listening To, and Wondering:

• We're reading Singing the Psalms with My Son: Praying and Parenting for a Healed Planet by T. Wilson Dickinson

• We're listening to the Climate and YOU podcast

• We're wondering: What beings are in your network?

A final word for your reflection:

"Whereas we often place our hopes for change in the centers of power, we would do well to also turn our energies to the relationships that surround us. There is a place in between unthinkably large systems and lone individuals. On this level there are households, communities, networks, and movements. So long as we continue to try to face down these large systems on our own, the road to change will appear to be blocked by a gaping chasm. By acting together on a communal scale, we can begin to find beautiful alternatives and cultivate collective power. The primary task, then, is not to change the minds of individuals, but to find ways to transform our shared lives that are sustaining and just. This shift also means that our primary shared work concerns healing our broken communities and ecosystems, rather than fretting over everything we must give up as individual consumers."

— T. Wilson Dickinson, Singing the Psalms with My Son: Praying and Parenting for a Healed Planet

The BTS Center | 207.774.5212 | info@thebtscenter.org | www.thebtscenter.org

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