This month there are a wealth of virtual events being hosted around the country and the world, related to the intersection of faith and the environment. The inability to hold most in-person events due to CoVid has not stopped this from being a very exciting season for engagement in the field. We’d like to draw your attention to a few of the highlights:
October 2, 9-11am EST
Religions, Ecology, & Our Environment:
An interreligious and intergenerational conversation on religion and ecology
This webinar is being sponsored by Religions for Peace and the Yale Forum on Religions and Ecology who have partnered to engage youth in the exploration of how religious, spiritual, or ethical approaches to environmental issues can complement approaches from science, policy, law, economics, or technology. We will introduce the work of the Yale Forum, listen to perspectives of young people of faith and of academic engagement, establish a knowledge base founded on a concrete academic background, and promote creative and informed interventions to actively engage the issue of environmental protection from religious, spiritual, and ethical perspectives. Speakers will include two members of the Forum team, Anna Thurston and Samuel King, as well as and youth members of RFP and their partner organizations.
To register for this webinar, go here. You can also watch the webinar via livestream on the Religions for Peace Facebook page. The flyer with full info can be found here.
October 5-8
Faith for Nature: Multi-Faith Action
This international online conference has been organized by Forum partner, UNEP Faith for Earth. Their objective is to “lay the foundation for interfaith collaboration for sustainable and regenerative development to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).” The conference is hosted by the Ministry of Industries and Innovation of the Government of Iceland. Speakers include His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, and moderated dialogue partners include Forum Advisory Group members Karenna Gore, Kusumita Pedersen, and Fazlun Khalid.
See the full agenda for more information on all speakers and sessions. Full participation in this event is by invitation only, but you can watch many of the events via livestream, here.
Oct 13-17
G20 Interfaith Forum:
Bringing Faith and Policy Together
The 2020 G20 Interfaith Forum will take place online, preceding the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Saudi Arabia. The Forum “offers an annual platform where networks of religiously linked and faith-inspired actors engage on global agendas, within the broad framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the G20 host country’s agenda.” The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on will be the focus of this year’s discussions. , an effort in which religious actors continue to offer crucial partnership and creative solutions.
The draft schedule of events. Parts of the event are by invitation only, but you can register for the livestream of the public plenaries here.
October 16-17
FORUM2020:
Science, Spirituality, the Climate Emergency and Our Future
This 2-day event will mark the 60th Anniversary of the Temple of Understanding. On 10/16 from 10am-1pm EST, they will offer a wonderful array of speakers on three panels: State of the Earth (which will include our own Mary Evelyn Tucker); Women in Leadership on the Environment (featuring Forum Advisory Group members Ellen Bernstein and Erin Lothes Biviano); and Intergenerational Wisdom & Our Future. Then, on October 17 from 10-11:30am EST, a Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth will be held, offered by Indigenous and world religious leaders and accompanied by sacred music. https://templeofunderstanding.org/edge/forum-2020/
General information on the event can be found here or go here to register for both days.
October 23, 8:30am-3:30pm EST
Net Zero 2020:
Reimagine, Rebuild, Renew: Jumpstarting a Clean, Green, and Inclusive Economy for Cape Cod and the Islands
Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative’s annual Net Zero conference will be held online this year. Highlights include a focus on “clean energy impacts, jobs, training, and entrepreneurial opportunities for growth and activism that will help kickstart a robust, just, and equitable economic recovery while moving the region toward a carbon-free future.” The keynote speaker of the event is Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of the sustainability nonprofit organization Ceres, Inc.
You can view the full agenda, here and you can register for this free event, here.
Oct 29-30
Interreligious Responses to Laudato Si:
A Fifth Anniversary Celebration and Reaffirmation of Pope Francis' Encyclical on Care of Our Common Home
This conference is being organized by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and is co-sponsored with other departments at Georgetown, as well as the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. The program consists of three online sessions over two days. The keynote will be delivered by Cardinal Miguel Ayuso, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim will offer reflections after Cardinal Ayuso’s address. Other speakers include Forum Advisory Group members, Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, Rev. John Chryssavgis, and Vasudha Narayanan.
To register for this event, go here and click “RSVP Required.” You can also find the full agenda and further information on the speakers on the same page. Captioned recordings of the sessions will be available for viewing on the conference page after the event.
You can always find more opportunities for online engagement on the Events page of the Forum site. To have your upcoming religion and ecology-related event listed, please contact elizabeth.a.mcanally@gmail.com.