Hurricane Helene has changed how many people think about the effects of climate change. On October 23, 2024, CRE director Andy Thompson facilitated a discussion with Bishop Brian Cole and Sara McIntyre of Sewanee's Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability about the damage the storm caused in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, the shifting calculus of climate resilience, and what churches and communities can do to respond.
On September 14-16, 2024, the Center for Religion and Environment, together with the Diocese of East Tennessee and Good News Gardens, hosted a 3-day event for environmental leaders from dioceses in the Southeast titled "Learning to Lead from the Land". Participants visited the University Farm and the University Art Gallery, and walked Sewanee's Black History Trail and hiked in Lost Cove. CRE advisor Jemonde Taylor led a workshop on environmental justice and listening to the land. The group closed with Eucharist, where Sister Hannah of the Community of St. Mary preached about Hildegard of Bingen.
"Learning to Lead from the Land" was part of the larger "Field Days" project supported by an Episcopal Church grant.
Dr. Andrew Thompson, associate professor of ethics and director of the Center for Religion and Environment, delivered "Worldmaking and Environmental Reparations" as the keynote lecture at SUMMA theological debate camp. In his lecture, Dr. Thompson proposed a model of reparations for long-standing environmental and social injustices and also addressed how reparative actions are being explored at the University of the South
On April 25, 2023, CRE Director Dr. Andrew Thompson and the Rev. Simion Kinono, Environmental Coordinator for the Diocese of Buye in Burundi, offered a webinar on how churches are confronting climate change around the world. Rev. Kinono presented his own reforestation work in Burundi leading community workshops and planting more than 10,000 trees. Dr. Thompson identified how the latest climate research can inform churches' environmental ministries.
Read more about Rev. Kinono's reforestation work below.
The Center for Religion and Environment co-hosted a virtual book launch for Dr. Christopher Carter's book, The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice.
Learn more about Professor Carter's book at the link below.