Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim on Serendipitous Creativity, Religion, and Ecology
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim are a husband and wife team of Senior Lecturers and Research Scholars at Yale University in the School of the Environment, the Divinity School, and the Department of Religious Studies, with specializations in East Asian religions and Indigenous religions. They co-direct the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and are the creators of the new Coursera series, Religions and Ecology: Restoring the Earth Community. In this episode, Mary Evelyn and John discuss their decades of work at the intersection of ecology and the world’s religions, as informed by their mentor Thomas Berry and with the hopeful, deep-time perspective of our evolving universe.
Resources:
Coursera courses by Mary Evelyn and John:
Religions and Ecology: Restoring the Earth Community
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/religion-ecology
Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/journey-of-the-universe
Yale Forum on Ecology and Religion: https://fore.yale.edu/
Journey of the Universe film/book/podcasts: https://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/
Thomas Berry Website: https://thomasberry.org/
United Nations Environment Programme Faith for Earth Initiative:
https://www.unep.org/about-un-environment/faith-earth-initiative
Greenfaith: https://greenfaith.org/
Ecology and Religion, by John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker. Washington DC: Island Press, 2014
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams. New York: Celadon Books, 2021
Wonder in All Seasons: Red Oaks Forest School and the Value of Nature-Based Education
Tina Brouwer is the co-founder of Red Oaks Forest School in Eastern Kentucky. Amid the beauty and ecological diversity of the Red River Gorge area, Red Oaks invites youth to connect deeply with the natural world in creative ways and in all sorts of weather. In this episode, Tina shares how interweaving nature and education helps cultivate wonder, curiosity, trust, vulnerability, courage, and mindful groundedness.
Resources:
Red Oaks Forest School:
https://www.redoaksforestschool.org/
https://www.facebook.com/redoaksforestschool
https://www.instagram.com/redoaks_explorers/
Children and Nature Network: https://www.childrenandnature.org/
Natural Start Alliance: https://naturalstart.org/
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest: https://bernheim.org/
Talking to the Rivers, Listening to the Wind and Stars: Victoria Loorz on Church of the Wild and Restoring the Great Conversation with Nature
Victoria Loorz is the co-founder of the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild, and she’s the author of a new book, Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred. In this c…
A Restored Earth: Quaker Environmentalist Justin Mog on Opening Our Hearts to Right Relationships
Dr. Justin Mog, Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives at the University of Louisville, describes himself as a “car-free, TV-free, vegetarian, beekeeping, gardening Quaker with a f…
Freed from Prisons of Our Own Making: The Enneagram as a Tool for Belonging Fully to Self, Society, and the Earth
Halida Hatic is long-term student of the Enneagram, a tool for personal self-understanding and transformation. She serves as the Community Weaver for the nonprofit Enneagram Prison Project, with a…
A Spiritual Startup: The Thomas Berry Place as a New Form of Ministry and Mission
Anthony Mullin is the founding executive director of the Thomas Berry Place, a non-profit center for spirituality, community empowerment, and ecological stewardship, in New York City. In this…
We Are Rhythm: Jeshima Lewis on the Sacred Power of Drumming
Jeshima Lewis is a percussionist, a music educator, and a spiritual guide. This conversation explores how drumming, one of the most primordial modes of music, can be a path into deeper mindfulness,…
Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest’s Mission to Connect People with Nature
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a 16,000-acre non-profit nature preserve near Louisville, Kentucky. This conversation features Bernheim’s executive director Dr. Mark Wourms, and Dr. K…
Dreaming New Dreams: Johnetta Roberts on the Opportunities and Challenges of Community Development
Johnetta Roberts specializes in community project development and asset-building initiatives in West Louisville, an historically underserved area of the city. Johnetta played a key role in the…
All the Earth Shall Sing: John Gage on Music as a Force for Good
John Gage is a Louisville-based folk singer-songwriter and a former public radio host. For decades, his music has engaged deeply with spirituality, social justice, and care for the Earth. John…