By Forrest Inslee
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The podcast currently has 113 episodes available.
In this archive episode Forrest and James talk to Norman Wirzba, professor and author of a book called Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land. In this book, Dr. Wirzba makes the case for a kind of spirituality that is grounded in deep awareness of creation. Among other things, this sort of humble, earthy spirituality that he encourages us to practice stands against the illusion of certainty and control that has made much of the church seem increasingly irrelevant these days—especially to younger generations.
You can also watch the video of this conversation by going to YouTube.com/@circlewood. Or navigate first to the general YouTube site and search for us using our handle: @Circlewood
Guest: Dr. Norman Wirzba – Duke Divinity School
o Author of Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land
o Editor of The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry
Mentions:
Circlewood Village in development
The term “agrarian”
The interconnectedness of life on Earth
Earthkeepers’ interview – WhatYour Food Ate, with authors Montgomery and Biklé
Humans as soil, animated by the breath of God in Genesis 2:7
Earthkeepers’ interview – Farming Heals Us: Yeawa Asabi and Ray Williams of Black
Farmers Collective and Yes Farm
Injustice for migrant farmworkers
“Dark night of the soul”
God inviting mankind to work in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:4-17
God delighting in creation in Genesis 1:31 – 2:3
The fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:19-26
Keywords: agrarian, interconnection, microbiome, soil, body, political, economic, social, food, agriculture, coercive labor, environmental justice, social justice, spirituality, descent, humility, prayer, generosity, embodiment, mystery, hope
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This is a different sort of episode from our normal format. Basically, it is a small book review followed by a conversation between that book’s author and Christine Sine. The book is called The God of Wild Places, by a chap named Tony Jones. It is a deeply honest account of the author's life, filled with stories of failure, self-doubt, and redemption. Jones also explores themes of nature, hunting, death, and the inevitability of mortality--all presented with a voice of vulnerability and relatability.
Points
Keywords: book recommendation, The God of Wild Places, Tony Jones, failure, self-doubt, redemption, nature, hunting, death, mortality, vulnerability, relatability, conversation, dones, church, divine, outdoors, God, Spirit, hope
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Leah Kostamo, a counselor and spiritual director, discusses the ways in which her helping practices integrate and collaborate with nature. She emphasizes the shared meaning of caring for creation as a way of joining in God’s work and finding hope thereby. In her musings about self-care and creation care, she emphasizes the ways that nature can heal us. She also highlights the growing recognition in psychology of the role of nature in the healing process. Connecting with nature is, she points out, also a way for pushing back against climate despair.
Also, just a quick heads up: If you’d rather, you can actually WATCH this episode with Leah Kostamo on YouTube! Go to YouTube and search: "Earthkeepers podcast" or click the link HERE.
Leah Kostamo’s website and counseling service
Leah’s work at A Rocha
Mentions
A Rocha Canada
Your Brain on Nature (book and website)
Bill Plotkin, Animas Valley Institute
Human-Nature Counselling Society
Takeaways
· Caring for creation is a shared meaning among Christians and a way of joining in with God's work.
· Nature has a healing power and can reduce stress and anxiety.
· There is a growing recognition in psychology of the importance of nature in healing and well-being.
· Guides are needed to help people reconnect with nature and learn to listen, receive, and connect again. Connecting with nature can provide a container for processing deep emotions and wounds.
· Parents can support their children who are struggling with climate despair by listening and learning from them.
· Being present in nature and practicing mindfulness can help cultivate a deeper connection with creation.
· The church can play a role in mediating nature and providing opportunities for people to connect with creation.
Keywords: Leah Kostamo, counselor, spiritual director, A Rocha, Christian environmental organization, conservation, creation care, shared meaning, hope, encouragement, healing power of nature, self-care, psychology, guides, reconnect with nature, nature, climate despair, hope, parenting, listening, learning, presence, church, creation care
Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
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In this episode Forrest talks with Liuan Huska, about her work with what she calls “liturgies of restoration”. Commissioned by the Au Sable Institute, Liuan has developed a workbook, which is now the basis of a course—one that helps people to explore how habits of thought and action shape our character, and inform the larger stories we tell ourselves—especially as they relate to our relationship with creation and our role as earthkeepers.
Guest: Liuan Huska
Mentions:
Keywords: faith, worship, creation care, spirituality, embodiment, illness, chronic illness, pain, bodies, climate crisis, church, ecology, future, children, responsibility, anger, community, indigenous, liturgies, counter liturgies, stories, relationships, God, fear, news, habits, restoration, creativity, progress, joy, purpose, pleasure, goodness, stewardship, hope, Au Sable
Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
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Forrest, the Earthkeepers podcast host, also works for the Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship on Whidbey Island, off the coast of Washington State. This episode focuses on one of PRI's partners, an organization called the Au Sable Institute, which serves undergraduate students whose vocational interests lie in some form of earthkeeping work. Have a listen to Au Sable’s Executive Director, Jon Terry, as well as two Au Sable alumni—Sarah and Carson--about the faith-shifting, mind-and-heart-expanding influence of this organization. These students offer honest reflections about why they've chosen an earth-keeping vocational path, and on how they maintain motivation in the face of climate change and ecological degradation.
Guest: Jon Terry
Mentions:
Keywords: youth, nature, outdoors, education, field work, field experience, outdoor education, students, teachers, environment, animals, diversity, wildlife, sustainability, water, creation, science, creation care, God, sacred, kin, relationships, perspective, purpose, passion, jobs, vocation, despair, inspiration, church, community, utilitarian, intrinsic value, resources, hope, public information, ignorance, future, plan
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In recognition of the recent summer solstice, we are releasing an episode from the podcast archives. This is in fact an episode from season one, a conversation with Randy Woodley. Out of all the episodes we’ve done, this episode has been listened to more than any other—and for good reason!
As you listen to this conversation, you might ask yourself a practical question: What is a specific practice that I can embrace in this solstice season, to help me to become a better relative in the family of creation?
Guest: Dr. Randy Woodley
Eloheh Indigenous Center for Justice
Eloheh Seeds
Dr. Woodley's book: Shalom and the Community of Creation
Dr. Woodley’s book: Decolonizing Evangelicalism
Dr. Woodley's article - The Fullness Thereof
Earthkeepers' interview with Tri Robertson
Richard Twiss - author & teacher
Keywords: Indigenous theology, indigenized, indigenization, decolonizing, evangelicalism, empire, dualism, dualistic thinking, Native, Native American, Randy Woodley, Richard Twiss, Terry LeBlanc, Tri Robinson, colonization, Eloheh, George Fox University, creation care, kinship theology, ecotheology, intercultural studies, environmental justice, Native theology
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In this episode (part two of the conversation begun in the last episode) Forrest and Wes focus more directly on the overarching theme of season five: the idea that every vocation can somehow be made greener—and that in almost every job we can find ways to practice the values of earthkeeping. As a real estate agent in Philladelphia, Wes has given lots of thought to how his work of helping people to find homes is essentially ecological work and an expression of creation care. That’s where they pick up part two of their conversation, where they turn to questions of home, and land, and ownership.
Guest: Wes Willison
Mentions:
Keywords: youth, climate anxiety, climate crisis, home, land, ownership, real estate, earthcare, church, politics, theory, theology, systemic injustice, social justice, indigenous, traditions, camas, community, restoration, commons, ecology, generations, homeowners, mortgages, unions, renting, owning, interdependency, communal life, co-ownership, PFAS, green space, belonging, accessibility, ethics, affordability, environment, safety, resources, landlords, property management, love, hope, change, Jesus, kingdom of God, bees, beekeeping, walkable communities, physical closeness
Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
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In this podcast we speak often of the particular concerns of younger generations—including Gen X, Millennials and Gen Alpha. We try to pay attention to voices representing these generations, knowing that they are the ones who will ultimately suffer more as the climate changes—bringing increasing environmental and social disruption in the coming years. In this, the first of two episodes, Forrest speaks with Wes Willison—a guy in his early 30s who has given a lot of thought to the particular struggles that he shares in common with many other Millennials.
Guest: Wes Willison
Mentions:
Keywords: climate crisis, climate anxiety, younger generations, millennial, gen Z, earthcare, radicalization, politics, ecology, seminary, farming, worms, faith, government, policy, violence, social media, news, anxiety, depression, hope, future, children, parenting, guns, gun conversion, gun violence, gun control, sacrament, Christianity, community, ritual, tradition, cross, crucifixion, church
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Back in 2001, Brian McLaren wrote a book called A New Kind of Christian. For many, it turned out to be a revolutionary book that explored a kind of faith outside the boxes of mainstream Christianity—a faith that challenged tired, unhelpful ways of thinking and doing, and raised exciting possibilities for a reinvigorated postmodern Christianity. His latest book, called Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart he again challenges readers (of any faith, or no faith) to see the world in a fundamentally new way that acknowledges the dire challenges that face the planet, and to become the sort of people who can speak truth and offer solace in the difficulties to come.
In this cohosted episode, Forrest Inslee and Christine Sine talk to Brian about this new book, and about its profound implications for how we live and love in the face of the profound environmental and social changes facing our planet.
Guest: Brian McLaren
Mentions:
Keywords: climate, climate change, anxiety, doom, future, ecological overshoot, resources, waste, energy, life, fossil fuels, civilization, faith, advocacy, contemplation, action, being, transformation, resilience, church, scripture, Bible, hope, truth, reality, oppression, indigenous
Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
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Every now and then, Earthkeepers features an interview with an author about a new book, but only ones that we recommend . That is certainly the case with Leah Rampy’s new offering, called Earth and Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos. In the book, she explores what lies beneath our unwillingness to change how we interact with the natural world, but also what we can do to nurture deeper connections to our places.
Guest: Leah Rampy
Mentions:
Keywords: climate, biodiversity loss, ecosystem, soil, native plants, living world, grief, loss, joy, compassion, connection, earthcare, place, nature, oneness, othering, separation, unity, species loneliness, eco anxiety, solastalgia, climate chaos, hope, reconnection, awareness, intention, attention, heart, listening, eyes of the mind, eyes of the heart, relationship, church
Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
Support the Earthkeepers podcast
Check out the Ecological Disciple
The podcast currently has 113 episodes available.
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