Dear friends:

Conversation: the meeting of minds, the exploration of ideas, the sharing of insights, the discovery of meaning and purpose, the solving of problems, the transformation of hearts — as human beings in community with others, as individuals in societies, we need good conversation.

In her poem "Turning to One Another," Margaret J. Wheatley, American writer, teacher, speaker, and management consultant offers this invitation, this challenge:

In reflecting on this poem, and on the collection by the same title, published in 2002, Wheatley writes, "When Turning to One Another was first published in 2002, I made a rash statement: 'I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again.' I still believe this. I still believe that if we turn to one another, if we begin talking with each other — especially with those we call stranger or enemy — then this world can reverse its [distressing] direction and change for the good. And I know with all my heart that the only way the world will change is if many more of us step forward, let go of our judgments, become curious about each other, and take the risk to begin a conversation."

So with the arrival of September, I'm thinking about the power of a good conversation, and I'm excited about some good and important conversations that we will host this month:

Next week, on Thursday, September 9, we will welcome Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, noted author, teacher, and climate change activist, who will facilitate conversation with Heather McTeer Toney, Mary Anne Hitt, and Madeleine Jubilee Saito, three contributors to the eco-anthology All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. We've been looking forward to this conversation for months. Take a minute and check out the details here and below, and plan to join us!

And then at the end of the month, we will convene our annual Convocation, a signature program of The BTS Center, held annually since 1905, this year focusing on the theme "We Are God's Soil: Spiritual Leadership in a Climate-Changed World." Previously we have introduced you to our keynote speaker, Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, and our Convocation musician, Pax Ressler. Today we're elated to announce an incredible line-up of four conversationalists who will be inviting us to go deep — to explore big ideas, to consider new possibilities with them — on both Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1:

Now is the time to register for Convocation 2021!

So this month, as summer begins to transition to fall, let's step forward. Let's reconsider some of the ways of being that we've held as non-negotiable. Let's adopt postures of humility and curiosity. Let's take the risk to engage in conversations that matter.

With gratitude and hope,

Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill

Executive Director • The BTS Center

$15 registration fee. We have unlimited scholarships available for this event. If you would like to participate but cannot afford the fee, we invite you to go ahead and select the “$0 - I’m participating with a scholarship” option on the online registration form.

Climate change is a multi-faceted problem that requires an equally multi-faceted movement of solutions. One significant, root-level solution is spiritual reorientation to feminist wisdom. That means shifting away from delusions of individualism, toward creative collaboration; away from greed and apathy, toward generous mutuality; away from habits of domination, toward practices of regeneration. And it means heeding the leadership of those who are moving culture in that direction. The All We Can Save Project is that kind of cultural force.

In All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, editors Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson and Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson assert that — while the work at hand is hard and uncertain — “building community around solutions is the most important thing.”

Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson is an author, strategist, and teacher, working to heal the planet we call home. Her books on climate include the bestselling anthology All We Can Save (2020, co-editor), The Drawdown Review (2020, editor-in-chief and lead writer), the New York Times bestseller Drawdown (2017, lead writer), and Between God & Green. Dr. Wilkinson co-founded and leads The All We Can Save Project with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, in support of women leading on climate. She also co-hosts the podcast A Matter of Degrees, telling stories for the climate curious with Dr. Leah Stokes.

A self-proclaimed 'recovering politician', Heather McTeer Toney served as Regional Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Southeast Region, under President Barack Obama and two term Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi. She currently serves as National Field Director for Moms Clean Air Force. She wrote the essay “Collards Are Just as Good as Kale” in the All We Can Save anthology.

Mary Anne Hitt is Senior Director of Climate Imperative, an Energy Innovation project that aims to cut emissions at the speed and scale needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. She served for 12 years at the Sierra Club as National Director of Campaigns and also worked for a decade as director of the Beyond Coal Campaign. Mary Anne was listed in 2015 as one of the POLITICO 50. She co-hosts the climate storytelling podcast No Place Like Home, and wrote the essay “Beyond Coal” in the All We Can Save anthology.

Madeleine Jubilee Saito is an artist, UX / UI designer, and branding expert. As an artist, she makes intimate, poetic comics about the environment and the sacred, which appeared in the bestselling All We Can Save anthology and which were recognized in Best American Comics 2019. Madeleine has a BA in art (graphic design emphasis) from Yale University.

Montreal City Mission

To encourage collaboration following the event, we are offering a $5 discount to anyone attending as part of a team from a congregation or organization. Also, with hopes of making Convocation accessible to everyone, we are offering an unlimited number of full scholarships. Simply click the $0 payment option and we will be happy to welcome you for free.

 Our mission is to catalyze spiritual imagination with enduring wisdom for transformative faith leadership.