It was a “special event,” one visiting scholar noted. The scholar was talking about a conference held Nov. 7-9 at YDS on “Living Cosmology: Christian Responses to Journey of the Universe.” A year in the planning and attended by more than 400 people, the event was organized by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, senior lecturers and research scholars at YDS and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. They are also directors of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale, which was the lead sponsor of the gathering.
The event revolved around two key elements. One was the Emmy Award-winning PBS film Journey of the Universe, which was co-produced by Tucker and Grim and hosted by Brian Swimme. Shown at the start of the conference, the documentary connects the birth of the cosmos some 14 billion years ago to Earth’s evolutionary dynamics and the current impact of humans on this process. The film has an accompanying book from Yale University Press and a series of 20 conversations with scientists and environmentalists. The event was also a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Berry (1914-2009), a leading historian of religion who was a mentor to Tucker and John Grim. They have edited his books—and a new one was issued at the conference, Selected Writings on the Earth Community (Orbis Books, 2104).
James Jenkins ‘15 M.Div., a speaker at one of the 11 panel discussions held over the weekend, praised the event, emphasizing the important role of religion in sustainability.
“For me, it’s always been that biblical phrase—‘Seek first the kingdom of God’—that has been my way of bringing together my interest in food and justice.”
Indeed, “Living Cosmology” was about food and justice—and much more.
It amplified diverse Christian voices on the state of the environment and Christian responses to it ranging from Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Quaker. Participants came from a wide range of religious traditions and included an attorney-Catholic nun, several Christian artists, a children’s book author, a celebrated civil rights leader, and a practicing Buddhist, among others, each offering a clear message that defined ecological stewardship as a religious commitment.
A false dichotomy: ecological sustainability versus social justice
Christiana Peppard ‘05 M.A.R., ‘11 Ph.D., author of Just Water: Theology, Ethics and Global Water Crisis, expressed concern over the looming scarcity of water. She described her approach as an exercise in “theopoetics,” which combines a devotional approach to a sacred text with a postmodern theological perspective. “How water is understood will determine how we will address it as an issue, how it will define us,” she said.
Other panelists concurred with Peppard’s observations, adding that the scarcity of fresh water is not a rights or economic issue alone. They unanimously expressed the opinion that to treat water as either an environmental issue or a human concern creates a false dichotomy between sustainability and justice.
For others, a homecoming
For Andrew Barnett ‘12 M.Div., ‘12 M.E.M., Stephanie Johnson ‘10 M.Div., ‘12 STM, and Jim Antal ‘78 M.Div., the conference was a homecoming.
Barnett, who was recently appointed Chair for Environmental Studies and Food Justice for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, is a graduate of the joint degree program offered by YDS and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (FES).
Johnson is Assistant Priest at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Fairfield, CT, and Energy Stewardship Minister for the Episcopal Province of New England. In that role, she travels around New England helping local parishes reduce their carbon footprint. Recently, she also helped organize members of the YDS community to go to New York City to take part in the People’s Climate March, which was attended by over 400,000 people. Johnson helped to organize the celebratory service in Marquand Chapel that concluded the Living Cosmology conference.
Antal is a veteran climate activist and the president of the Massachusetts conference of the United Church of Christ. Recently, he led the conference in passing a resolution demanding the denomination divest from fossil fuel companies. He has been widely quoted as saying, “We can’t continue to profit from wrecking God’s creation—not through our pensions, not through our endowments, not through our personal investment.” As a result of his efforts, the United Church of Christ has created a trust that eschews any holdings in fossil fuel companies.
A future of hope
Also in attendance were numerous recent alumni, current students, and members of the administration. (For a full list of participants, see this.)
For Jason Brown ‘11 M.A.R., ‘11 M.F., Living Cosmology was timely. As a doctoral student in Canada writing his dissertation on monastic landscapes of western American, he experienced the conference as a pilgrimage back to his interest in ecology and religion.
“It is not an overstatement that this is indeed a special event,” he said. “Different themes have been compartmentalized, yet one still gets a sense that the overarching scholarly experience [at the conference] is one of integration.”
Brown considers this interdisciplinary approach unique to the emerging field of religion and ecology. “Opportunities in this field are endless,” he said, “ranging from conservation of religious sites to consulting and management services.”
Similarly, Zach Minuto ‘15 M.A.R. voiced appreciation for the conference as a career resource and affirmation of his academic pursuits. “As someone interested in doctoral studies in the field, the experience has indeed been formative and exhilarating,” he said.
Constance Royster, YDS Director of Development, observed that Living Cosmology was a unique opportunity for YDS to open up its doors and invite the world into the vibrant life of ecological concern for Christians.
‘Living in deep time’
Thomas Troeger, J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor of Christian Communication, offered reflections on the conference during a jazz-themed service in Marquand Chapel that closed the event. He challenged participants to consider the creation story in Genesis, like the covenant God made with Noah, as a religious commitment to environmental stewardship.
“That is how you live in deep time,” he said, “attuned to all of God’s creation.”
Clearly this desire to explore how we live in evolutionary time is part of the appeal of Journey of the Universe, which has been rated by more than 66,000 viewers on Netflix in the past year.
Conference sponsors included the Forum on Religion and Ecology, the Porter Fund at Berkeley Divinity School, YDS and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. For his commitment to environmental justice, Gus Speth, former dean of FES and author of Angels by the River, was awarded the Thomas Berry Award in a special ceremony during the conference.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on February 3, 2015.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 marquand.png | 396.54 KB |
