« Eco-Ministry on Center Stage at Interfaith Conference »

Eco-ministry and eco-spirituality were all the buzz and focus at the Big “I” Conference (the “I” stands for words like interfaith, interspirituality, integral, independent). I hopped on Amtrak, the most ecological way for me to travel to San Francisco, and had a great ride up to Berkeley where my daughter lives. The next morning we rode the subway under the San Francisco Bay to a conference center in Burlingame, California, just outside San Francisco. It was a great immersion for me in interfaith activism with roots in contemplative practices. It brought scientists and religious vocations together in a most desireable mix.

For years ecumenical and interfaith gatherings frustrated me. They resulted in participants diluting their own spiritual paths so as not to offend others. No longer! Now the emphasis is the reverse! “You’re a Hindu? Great. Give me the best eco-ministry rituals, thoughts, actions, and ceremonies your spiritual path has.” All of us were to show up with the best practices we knew because everyone wanted the richness of spiritual diversity, not some diluted, monoculture of faith. It’s like having a garden rich with diversity of vegetables, not only broccoli. The result was soul nourishing. Lots of learning! Lots of participation in unfamiliar rituals from First Peoples, Buddhism, Christian, Judaism, Hindu, and spiritual-but-not religous paths.

Emotions surged in me as I presented to this audience! Energies stirred so vigorously that my heart seemed to be perforated and expanding! Sharing ideas that have been changing how I think, getting me more aligned with OneEarth ways, gave me nerve-wracking vulnerable feelings along with exquisite excitement. It confirmed how priceless such settings are! They help us get over any feelings that we’re one of just a handful when we talk to people from around the country practicing eco-ministry and eco-spirituality. The setting also helps us discover words that name what we’re feeling. We babble our way to better articulation. We see that some of our ideas really work and some can be set aside. New ways of framing issues appear. And, of course, there are always personalities that trigger things in us that we can work on. 

Achieving OneEarth living is far more likely when all spiritual paths recognize the acute need to reframe religious and spiritual thought, activism, prayer, and ceremonies in the context of what Earth is saying today.

Cheers to interfaith eco-spirituality immersions!