Grounding:

In this tender and tactile episode, Jessica David steps out of her hosting role and into practice leadership, guiding listeners through a deeply personal ritual that blends lamentation and gratitude — with help from candles and beans. Drawing inspiration from her love of list-making, Jessica offers a sensory-rich experience for naming griefs and exaltations, helping us hold the complexity of life in a climate-changed world.

Main Practice:

Through this embodied ritual, we’re reminded that:

This practice is accessible, creative, and well-suited for individuals, groups, and even children — with plenty of room for improvisation and personalization.

Next Steps:

Share your experience with us:

Revisit the earlier practices in this series, offered by Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Ash Temin, and Peterson Toscano.

Meet the Guest / Host:

Peterson Toscano is the producer of the Climate Changed podcast and a longtime collaborator with The BTS Center. A skilled storyteller, performance artist, and climate communicator, Peterson brings creativity and depth to every episode. Learn more at his website, PetersonToscano.com

This episode concludes our Behind the Scenes mini-series — four practices for spiritual grounding in a climate-changed world.

How do we hold space for what feels unanswerable?

In this episode of the Behind the Scenes Edition, host Jessica David welcomes Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Program Associate at The BTS Center, to guide us through a contemplative practice. This episode isn’t about solving anything — it’s about embracing what feels impossible.

Main Practice:

Key themes include:

Listeners are encouraged to move outside (if possible), settle their bodies, and gently bring their impossible questions into presence, not to “figure them out,” but to tend to them as holy.

Next Steps:

Share your experience with us:

Keep journeying with us — the next episode in this series features a practice led by Jessica David.

Meet the Guest:

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt is a Program Associate at The BTS Center. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and NYU Tisch, she brings her background in experimental theater, farming, and caregiving into her work. Madeline is passionate about creating spaces for radical imagination, deep embodiment, and joyful resistance, especially as we navigate life in a climate-changed world.

Meet Our Host:

Jessica David is a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, founder of Local Return, and President & CEO of Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative. With 20 years of experience working at the intersection of people and place, Jessica focuses on the intersection of spirituality and money, supporting community wealth-building and strategic organizational development.

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team.

Guest: Madeline Bugeau-Heartt

 How do we hold space for what feels unanswerable?

In this episode of the Behind the Scenes Edition, host Jessica David welcomes Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Program Associate at The BTS Center, to guide us through a contemplative practice. This episode isn’t about solving anything — it’s about embracing what feels impossible.

Main Practice:

Born from personal experience and deep spiritual reflection, this practice reframes uncertainty as sacred, not something to be avoided, but something to be honored.

Key themes include:

Listeners are encouraged to move outside (if possible), settle their bodies, and gently bring their impossible questions into presence, not to “figure them out,” but to tend to them as holy.

Next Steps:

📲 Share your experience with us:

🧭 Keep journeying with us — the next episode in this series features a practice led by Jessica David.

Meet the Guest:

 Madeline Bugeau-Heartt is a Program Associate at The BTS Center. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and NYU Tisch, she brings her background in experimental theater, farming, and caregiving into her work. Madeline is passionate about creating spaces for radical imagination, deep embodiment, and joyful resistance, especially as we navigate life in a climate-changed world.

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team.

Grounding:

This episode opens with Jessica David reflecting on how grounding practices can help us remain present and compassionate in a world shaped by climate disruption. She’s joined by podcast producer and longtime BTS Center collaborator Peterson Toscano, who invites listeners into an immersive sonic experience. Through a guided soundscape meditation, Peterson helps us attune our ears — and our hearts — to the world around us.

Main Practice:

Key themes include:

This episode features a short soundscape, recorded and led by Peterson, to help listeners practice listening deeply. Whether you’re familiar with contemplative practices or new to them, this is an invitation to pause, notice, and reconnect. 

For the best experience, we recommend using headphones or earbuds. 

Next Steps:

Share your experience with us:

Explore additional grounding practices in the upcoming episodes with Madeline Bugeau-Heartt and Jessica David.

Meet the Guest:

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team.

How do we stay grounded in a time of climate disruption?

Each guest shares how they engage in grounding practices, what works for them (and what doesn’t), and what these practices offer us in the midst of fear, grief, and uncertainty. The episode features a beautiful, nature-based practice led by Ash, with more practices to come in the next two episodes.

In this episode:

Whether you’re seasoned in spiritual practice or just starting to explore, this episode offers a taste of what’s possible when we make time to slow down and notice the world around—and within—us.

🎧 Plus, stay tuned for upcoming practices led by Peterson and Madeline.

Rev. Ash Temin

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt

Peterson Toscano

💌 We’d love to hear from you!

🌐 Learn more: climatechangedpodcast.org

In this special episode of Climate Changed, we’re delighted to share an episode from Religion & Justice, a podcast produced by our partners at the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Hosted by Gabriella Lisi (she/they/he) and George Schmidt (he/him/ours), Religion & Justice explores the intersections of class, religion, labor, and ecology. In this featured episode, titled “Deep Solidarity and Moralizing”, they sit down with theologian Dr. Joerg Rieger to discuss the relationship between economic power structures, ecological devastation, and the role of religion in building alternative systems grounded in deep solidarity.

Dr. Rieger introduces key distinctions between privilege and power, critiques individualistic approaches to climate action, and invites us to imagine economic and spiritual solidarity that moves from the grassroots upward. He explores how worker co-ops, solidarity economies, and faith-rooted organizing might form the foundation of a more just and life-giving future.

🌱 To learn more about the Wendland-Cook Program and their offerings—including their Solidarity Circles for faith leaders—visit: https://www.religionandjustice.org

📖 Read Dr. Rieger’s article “Theology in the Capitalocene”:

We invite you to reflect on how this conversation resonates with your work in a climate-changed world. Share your thoughts with us by text or voicemail at (207) 200-6986 or by email at [email protected].

In this deeply personal episode, Harvard Divinity School student and BTS Center intern Jessica David hosts a heartfelt conversation with BTS Center leaders Rev. Nicole Diroff and Rev. Alison Cornish about lament's essential, uncomfortable, and ultimately connective role in our climate-changed world.

Together, they explore the collective practice of ecological grief — not as something to fix or diagnose, but as a sacred response to real, ongoing loss. They reflect on lament’s roots in ancestral spiritual traditions, its embodied and communal expressions, and its relevance for today’s spiritual leaders navigating climate breakdown.

Rev. Nicole Diroff is Associate Director of The BTS Center. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, she is a Maine Master Naturalist, a facilitator, and a DEI leader. She brings heart and strategic insight to the Center’s public programming.

Rev. Alison Cornish coordinates The BTS Center’s Chaplaincy Initiative and has long practiced ecological theology and interfaith facilitation. She draws from traditions such as Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects and community grief rituals to support climate spiritual care.

Ecological Grief Is Real and Sacred

Lament Is Embodied, Collective, and Ancestral

Grief Connects Across Time

Lament Is an Act of Witness and Turning

"How will your heart break? Will it break into a thousand pieces, or will it break open?" — Shared by Alison, from a rabbi friend

Referenced in the episode:

How do you practice lament? How does grief show up in your life and leadership?

About the Podcast

Climate Changed is a project of The BTS Center, a spiritual leadership organization based in Portland, Maine.

Find more episodes and transcripts at climatechangedpodcast.org

In this thoughtful second interim episode, host Jessica David talks deeply and candidly with The BTS Center team members Ben Yosua-Davis and Madeline Bugeau-Heartt about hope's complex and nuanced nature in our climate-changed world. They explore what it means to hold hope amidst uncertainty, loss, and the ongoing climate crisis.

Meet the Host and the Guests:

Jessica David is a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, a community consultant, and an advocate for local investment and social change.

Ben Yosua-Davis is the Director of Applied Research at The BTS Center, shaping their research agenda to support climate-informed spiritual leadership. Ben previously founded innovative spiritual communities and is passionate about building communities and promoting climate resilience.

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt serves as a Program Associate at The BTS Center. With a background in experimental theater and filmmaking, Madeline brings creative imagination and community organizing expertise to exploring how we navigate a radically changing world.

Main Conversation and Themes:

Guests discuss shifting perspectives away from oversimplified solutions towards a deeper understanding of hope.

Ben Yosua-Davis challenges traditional views:

"If by hope you mean am I hopeful that there is a technological or political solution that will fix climate change... the answer is no. But do I believe life can be full of meaning, beauty, and joy regardless? Absolutely."

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt expands the concept:

"Hope isn't an antidote to despair... but I am hopeful that the mystery of the day, spontaneous beauty, and love between people can always be found."

Ben and Madeline explore embracing change through metaphors of hospice and midwifery, recognizing endings and nurturing new beginnings.

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt articulates the dual practice:

"What are we choosing to hospice, and what are we choosing to midwife into being?... It's about being part of what the world is already doing."

Ben Yosua-Davis reflects on communal acceptance:

"When people hit the point [of hospice], there's peace and joy that leads to hope—focusing on living, enjoying, appreciating those closest to us."

The conversation emphasizes hope as fundamentally collective and relational.

Ben Yosua-Davis emphasizes community:

"I don't think you can practice hope individually... humans were not built to be hopeful without community."

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt underscores collective action:

"In community, hope gains muscle… I hope for different things in collective than when I'm by myself, longing for things way beyond myself."

Additional Resources:

Join the Conversation:

Where do you fall on the hope spectrum? What practices do you use to cultivate hope—or maybe you don't?

Share your reflections via email at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 207-200-6986.

Climate Changed Podcast is a project of The BTS Center in Portland, Maine. Produced by Peterson Toscano. Music comes from EpidemicSound.com. Closing song: Home by Ludlow. Visit climatechangedpodcast.org for more episodes of the Climate Changed podcast.

In this special interim episode, guest host Jessica David sits down with Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill, Executive Director of The BTS Center, and Debra Coyman, Chair of The BTS Center's Board of Trustees, to explore what spiritual leadership means in a climate-changed world. Together they unpack critical questions around faith, community action, and ecological responsibility.

Meet Our Guest Host:

Jessica David is a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, founder of Local Return, and President & CEO of Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative. With 20 years of experience working at the intersection of people and place, Jessica focuses on the intersection of spirituality and money, supporting community wealth-building and strategic organizational development.

Meet Our Guests:

Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill serves as Executive Director of The BTS Center. Ordained in the United Methodist tradition, Allen previously co-pastored HopeGateWay in Portland, Maine, and founded Moral Movement Maine. He has a longstanding commitment to social justice advocacy, faith-based organizing, and progressive Christianity, with extensive experience addressing issues such as climate justice and immigrant solidarity.

Debra Coyman has served on The BTS Center Board since 2017, including roles as Treasurer and Vice Chair. With an extensive background in business strategy and human resources leadership at IDEXX Laboratories, Debra brings significant nonprofit governance experience. She actively volunteers for conservation and animal welfare organizations, serves on multiple boards, and passionately engages in outdoor recreational activities.

Join the Conversation:

What do you think is the most important contribution spiritual leaders can make in responding to climate change?

Share your reflections via email at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 207-200-6986.

Climate Changed Podcast is a project of The BTS Center in Portland, Maine. Produced by Peterson Toscano. Visit climatechangedpodcast.org for complete show notes, transcript, and more.

In this special episode, Nicole Diroff introduces a thoughtful exchange between Rev. Dr. Andi Lloyd, an ecologist and theologian, and Rev. Andy Nagy-Benson, her pastor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they explored deep connections between ecological science and Christian theology through heartfelt letters. These letters are now compiled in their book, Letters from the Ecotone: Ecology, Theology, and Climate Change.

Rev. Dr. Andi Lloyd and Rev. Andy Nagy-Benson engage in a thoughtful dialogue about the ecological and theological definitions of self-interest versus the common good. Key discussion points include:

Rev. Dr. Andi Lloyd is an ecologist and professor whose work bridges ecological science and Christian theology. She explores ecological interconnectedness and moral responsibility in the context of climate change.

Rev. Andy Nagy-Benson serves as a pastor deeply engaged in theological explorations of community solidarity, ethical responsibility, and ecological consciousness, reflecting thoughtfully on the intersection of personal spirituality and ecological ethics.

Next Month:

Join Jessica David, BTS Center intern and divinity school student, as she steps behind the mic for a special mini-season of Climate Changed. In this behind-the-scenes series, Jessica explores big questions about spirituality, hope, grief, and imagination—diving deep into how we navigate a complex world with curiosity and compassion.