July 2024 Blog
A group of about 60 participants gathered for a pastoral retreat at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park in Maine June 20-22.
Leaders Emerging
Director’s Note, Rev. Douglas Day Kaufman
10 July, 2024
A key strategy of Anabaptist Climate Collaborative is developing emerging leaders who can lead communities to seek climate justice. We have done this two ways — the first is through pastoral and leadership programs. A primary element of this are the pastoral care for climate retreats I have led the past six years.
What started as a project among Mennonites has become much greater. I spent June engulfed with planning and participating in two retreats. The first was with Duke University and Creation Justice Ministries (CJM) at the Duke Marine Lab. This partnership began 3 years ago as Creation Justice Ministries wanted a way to engage pastors in climate justice, knowing that they could influence their congregations to do the same.
We weave together theology and science through the participation of both the Divinity School and the School of the Environment at Duke. We hold in common our concern about the climate crisis. Scientists can talk about fire suppression, natural disaster response, and health impacts while theologians such as Jerusha Neal, Ellen Davis, and Norman Wirzba speak to how these issues have appeared in our Scriptures and how we are compelled to respond.
While the amazing Duke event has continued each year on the coast of North Carolina, I have worked with CJM in finding additional partners. Another incredible gathering happened over summer solstice at Acadia National Park, this time with the BTS Center, the former Bangor Theological Seminary, in Maine. The United Church of Christ in New England, which BTS represents, have been leaders in climate activism.
A special part of this event was hearing from John Bear Mitchell, of the Penobscot nation in Maine, and Jason Brough, a Shoshone leader who works with the Penobscot. They spoke to us of traditional ecological knowledge of Acadia. An ancient petroglyph from indigenous ancestors is under threat as sea levels rise.
I was invited to respond, and spoke of several Anabaptist mystics who found a deep connection with the land. Early German Anabaptist Hans Hut first wrote about the gospel of all creatures, from Mark 16:15, seeing the presence of Christ in all creation. Javanese mystic Ibrahim Tunggul Wulung, one of the founders of the Indonesian Mennonite Church, found Christ on the mountain rather than from the preaching of Dutch Mennonite missionaries.
Two Mennonite congregations in New England were part of the 12 congregations who participated by sending a team of four. One leader was Andrea Welty Peachey, who shared about the impact: ““We still have time” to build relationships with indigenous folks. What a powerful statement of grace from Jason Brough.”
Pastor Steve McCloskey of Taftsville (VT) Chapel Mennonite Fellowship said: “I found myself feeling more connected to the land, other living kin, and the broader Body of Christ as we joined in prayer, singing, sharing stories, meals, and conversations about what faithfulness in a climate-changed world looks like for us and for generations ahead.”
In spite of our small size, through collaborative partnerships we have led five of these the past year, in addition to the Youth and Young Adult Climate Summit at the Mennonite Church USA Convention last July. Another highlight last year was a collaboration with Eastern Mennonite Seminary where a pastoral cohort of Americans and Canadians met throughout the year in person and on Zoom to lead their congregations and ministries in a climate-related project. Over the past six years we have led 18 of these events impacting 850 church leaders.
I look forward to continuing to move ahead on these with a partnership developing with Mennonite Church Canada for another pastoral cohort over time, and a potential cohort of pastors and leaders in Elkhart County, Indiana. We find that working with people over time, rather than just at one retreat, leads to more meaningful changes.
The second way we develop emerging leaders is through student programs, which you can read about in other articles this month. Ally Welty Peachey, and yes, she is the daughter of Andrea who I quote about the Maine retreat, has served as a climate ambassador on the Eastern Mennonite University campus and is now the summer advocacy intern at Mennonite Central Committee in Washington DC. Read about the new group of 6 climate ambassadors from Anabaptist-related campuses affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada and the US Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church.
Campus Climate Ambassadors
Emerging Leaders
Attendees to the March 2024 ACC/SAN retreat in Chicago, IL talk with a member of the PO Box Collective, a creative collective & intergenerational social practice center dedicated to building community through radical art making, mutual aid & programming.
Introducing our 2024-2025 Campus Climate Ambassador Cohort
We’re excited to introduce our new cohort of ambassadors for the coming school year! Here’s a bit of info about who we have on board.
Not pictured: Lilith Jackson, Bethel College
Lilith Jackson is a student at Bethel College, and a guerrilla gardener devoted to reinforcing and preserving the beauty of nature.
March 2024 ACC/SAN Retreat
Anabaptist Climate Collaborative’s Campus Climate Ambassadors and the Sustainability Alumni Network members gathered in Chicago for three days in March for a retreat focused on food justice. Attendees participated in a food justice summit organized by the Chicago Food Policy Action Council, volunteered at gardens and creative reuse shops in the Chicago area, and had a multitude of conversations surrounding climate work.
A particular highlight of this retreat was a panel discussion with two Chicago-based young adults in climate careers: Erin Rhodes, a wetland delineator, and Elise Peletier, who had recently left a job focused on sustainability and food justice in the Chicago school system. The conversation centered around finding one’s footing and managing burnout in justice-oriented careers.
These gatherings are always a great source of meaning and motivation for continuing climate work, and this one was no exception! We look forward to our next gathering, taking place in Harrisonburg, VA from July 25-28, during which we will be training our next cohort of Campus Climate Ambassadors. More information & registration for that retreat can be found here.
Welcome Ally Welty Peachey, ACC Advocacy Intern
Ally Welty Peachey (she/her) is joining Mennonite Central Committee’s National Peace and Justice Ministries in Washington, D.C. for the summer as a climate advocacy intern through Anabaptist Climate Collaborative! Ally is a rising senior studying Biology and Environmental Science at Eastern Mennonite University. At EMU she is the president of Earthkeepers, and is actively involved in environmental issues on campus through her involvement as an ACC’s Campus Climate Ambassador role for the year of 2023-2024. She is eager to learn about climate advocacy and policy.
We're excited to have Ally on board for the summer!
Ally recently wrote an article on the use of Inflation Reduction Act funding to carry out a solar installation at a Mennonite church in Kansas — read the full article here.
Upcoming Events
Recent writings by Executive Director Douglas Day Kaufman
Can early Anabaptist thinking offer us hope during our current climate crisis? Read more from ACC on the Gospel of All Creatures in the Learn, Pray, Join Climate Justice: Seeking Shalom series from Mennonite Church USA.
Doug has two essays in a recently published book appearing in both English and Korean. This stems from his presentations to the Korea Global Mission Leaders Forum last November. The book and conference have the same title: Hope for Creation: Missional Responses to Environmental and Human Calamities. His essay is “Evangelizing All Creatures: Pastoral Ecology as Mission.” In response to Insoo Kim’s essay on the Dandelion Community, Doug notes their similarities to the Hutterites and Bruderhof, describing them as alternative political economies to global capitalism. If you are interested in a copy, contact us and we can provide one for a contribution of at least $20.
Doug Kaufman with the discussion group he led at the Korea Global Mission Leaders Forum in Yeoju, South Korea. (left to right, Rev. Joseph Duyol Choi, Doug, Rev. Dr. Christopher J.H. Wright, Rev. Sun Man Kim, Anna Lisa Mudahy, Dr. Keun Sam Chung)
Other Events
The Vacation Bible School held at Silverwood Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN, July 29-31 has designated the children’s offering to go to Anabaptist Climate Collaborative! We will talk about our student programs and how each of us can do something about climate change. This VBS is held in conjunction with Berkey Avenue, 8th Street, Assembly and Faith Mennonite Churches.
Doug is preaching at 8th Street Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN, July 28, and Belmont Mennonite Church and Belmont Neighborhood Fellowship, both in Elkhart, IN, August 11.
He recently preached at Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship in Woodstock, Vermont, Hopewell Mennonite Church in Kouts, IN, and Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church in Goshen, IN. His sermon at Berkey Avenue, called “Hoping in the Wild” will soon be posted on their website with their other sermons. He welcomes opportunities to preach and will be in Harrisonburg, VA and Lancaster, PA, in October.
This fall the Season of Creation has a Mennonite worship resource through our partners at Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. We encourage congregations to observe the Season of Creation every fall around the time of World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, September 1, 2024 and the Feast Day of St. Francis, patron saint of ecology, every October 4. The theme of the series “Hope and Act for Creation” is taken from this broader church connection.
Now Hiring: Climate Communications Intern
The Communications Internship is a part-time (10 hours/week) internship over the school year for students with an interest in Climate Communications and Writing or Video media development. Students will engage in media research, online communications, article writing and developing newsletters and reports for Anabaptist Climate Collaborative (ACC) and its website.
The Communications Internship is a remote position, with 10 hours per week expected. For more information go to https://www.anabaptistclimate.org/jobs or contact joseph.harder@anabaptistclimate.org.
