2007 Lenten Noon Forum
See below for transcrips and sound clips as they become available
The Church of St. John the Divine
1611 Quadra Street, Victoria
Tel: (250) 383-7169 www.stjohnthedivine.bc.ca12:00-1:00 p.m. Wednesdays Feb 21, 2007 through April 4, 2007
Bring a bag lunch – coffee and tea provided“God, Climate Change and Us”
February 21 Transcript not yet available For centuries it was understood that humanity had been gifted by God with two great books or stories, the book of scripture and the book of creation. We are being made aware of the necessity to read both books.
Herb O’Driscoll is a widely-read writer and speaker whose stimulating reflections about faith in our time have given many a new way of relating to faith.
February 28
Can we still work things out?Transcript not yet available Franciscan reflections on the environment with Br. Clark Berge, SSF. Br. Clark will speak about a Franciscan perspective on the environment and climate change, focusing on the interdependence of all creation and the impact each of us makes on the environment.
Br. Clark Berge is the Assistant Minister provincial of the Province of the Americas , Anglican Society of St. Francis as well as Guardian of Little Portion Friary in Mt. Sinai, New York and the Vocations Director for the Province. He has served as a community organizer, director of a medical unit serving homeless poor in New York City, University chaplain.
March 7
Restructuring and Climate ChangeTranscript not yet available Human communities are as vulnerable to climate change as are the plants and animals. This talk will consider the effect of environmental change on the spirit of coastal communities in British Columbia and on Canada's east coast.
Dr. Rosemary E. Ommer is the Director, Special Projects, in the office of Research at the University of Victoria. She has led the Coasts Under Stress Major Collaborative Research Initiative (SSHRC/NSERC) research project, involving six universities in Canada and 70 researchers, studying the effects of climate change on coastal communities.
March 14
The Stewardship of CreationTranscript not yet available The Primate (senior bishop) of the Anglican Church of Canada will reflect on issues of faith, environment, the church and the world.
Archbishop Hutchison represents the Anglican Church of Canada within this country and to Anglican and other churches and faiths around the world.
March 21
and Pursuing Pax Gaia (the Peace of Earth)Click here for the transcript Drawing primarily from the wisdom of Thomas Berry, this reflection focuses on Christian response-ability within a multi-species community at a critical time for planet Earth. A mature Christianity does not hesitate to respond to the needs of a comprehensive community in need.
For almost two decades Maureen Wild, SC, MEd, has focused her ministry on education for Earth healing. She is the visionary founder of the Centre for Earth and Spirit in East Sooke and was its first director. Maureen is a freelance speaker and retreat guide for many religious groups and professional organizations in Canada and the US.
March 28
an Ecological ChristianityClick here for the transcript Bruce Sanguin will present a spirituality and a theology based in the wisdom tradition of Sophia, which can contribute to a renewed ecological ethic, reflected in the church's liturgy and mission.
Bruce Sanguin has been in congregational ministry for 18 years, the last 11 at Vancouver's Canadian Memorial United Church and Centre for Peace. He is a Clinical Member of the B.C. for Marriage and Family Therapy. Last year he published “Summoning the Whirlwind: Unconventional Sermons for a Relevant Christian Faith” and on Earth day this year, April 27, will publish “Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos: An Ecological Christianity”
April 4 Click here for the transcript
Click here for the soundA bold progressive-Christian response to the global warming crisis should not only be about the preservation of God's creation. In certain ways, global warming offers the chance for Canadian Christianity to rescue itself from the smothering embrace of a culture fixated on economic growth and individual abundance. The global warming crisis offers Christians a new chance to emerge as the countercultural force that the Gospels clearly envisioned.
Mark has worked in international development fieldwork positions in Egypt and in India, and spent a miserable year as a short-order cook in the Caribbean. Mark now works as a fundraiser at Ecotrust Canada, an environmental non-profit which works at the intersection of economic development and environmental conservation in rural and First Nations communities on BC's coast. Mark has a continuing interest in the ways in which a new perspective on personal lifestyle and its planetary implications is arising across the generations.
