A climate change training for Christian leaders.
June 14-16, 2023
Wednesday afternoon-Friday afternoon
Duke University Marine Lab
Beaufort, North Carolina
In the face of the looming climate disaster, many of us do little about it. We may feel anger, anxiety, or nothing at all. We may feel powerless in this global societal crisis, keeping us from engaging. How can churches help people engage the climate crisis? How can Christians be work side-by-side with scientists to address the challenges before us?
Pastors and other church leaders are unique in bringing together social, emotional and spiritual roles. The training helps empower pastors and other leaders to effectively engage science, broaden climate action in a congregation or ministry setting, and move people from denial and inaction to congregational action and political advocacy.
The retreat is a transformational experience that aims to weave together scientific, theological, and ministry approaches to climate change. Our goal is to increase opportunities to connect pastors and scientists around climate change.
Join us to:
The sessions begin with lunch on Wednesday, followed by the openings sessions and worship, and continue until Friday lunch.
We are looking for Christian leaders from across the spectrum of engagement climate: from seasoned activities to those who have never said the words “climate change” in church.
Pastors and other church leaders are unique in bringing together social, emotional and spiritual roles. The training helps empower pastors and other leaders to effectively engage science, broaden climate action in a congregation or ministry setting, and move people from denial and inaction to congregational action and political advocacy.
The retreat is a transformational experience that aims to weave together scientific, theological, and ministry approaches to climate change. Our goal is to increase opportunities to connect pastors and scientists around climate change.
Join us to:
- Build connections with ministry leaders and scientists to engage as faithful climate advocates.
- Explore the pastoral care implications of social psychological research on climate.
- Learn from scientists about how the changing climate is altering the human and ecological realities of the coastline.
- Experience congregational resilience in the face of climate injustice and how climate impacts frontline communities most vulnerable to natural disasters.
- See how the Christian tradition can foster a wild hope in the midst of tragic consequences.
- Worship in ways that engage our embeddedness in nature.
- Learn how your church community can create a supportive network of activists engaged in climate resilience and advocacy deeply rooted in our faith.
The sessions begin with lunch on Wednesday, followed by the openings sessions and worship, and continue until Friday lunch.
We are looking for Christian leaders from across the spectrum of engagement climate: from seasoned activities to those who have never said the words “climate change” in church.
LogisticsWho is eligible?
All Christian leaders (clergy and lay) are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to those in the coastal areas of the Southeast U.S. (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina) Participants from previous years are eligible to apply, but must pay the full $350 price for attendance. What is the timeline? Priority will be given to applications by May 7. Selected participants will be notified by May 15, then on a rolling basis. How much does it cost? Pastor/Ministry leader: Free Lay leader who brings pastor/ministry leader: Free Lay leader/congregant: $350 Other participants: $350 **This pricing covers all expenses except travel** |
LocationDuke University Marine Lab, a coastal campus located in Beaufort, N.C., operates year-round to provide educational, training, and research opportunities.
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Co-sponsors:
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If you would like to co-sponsor this event, email info@creationjustice.org!
Workshop Guides
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Dr. Norbert Wilson, Professor of Food, Economics, and Community at Duke Divinity School
Professor Wilson’s research touches on several food issues, such as access, choice, and food waste. He continues to work on food safety and quality issues in international trade and domestic food systems. Wilson is an ordained vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church USA. Additionally, his work is moving to explore equity in food access. He has published in AEA Papers and Proceedings, World Development, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Public Health, Food Policy, Agricultural Economics, and other publications. Before joining Duke Divinity School, Wilson was a professor of food policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (2017-2020). He was also a professor of agricultural economics at Auburn University (1999-2016). While at Auburn, Wilson served as a deacon at St. Dunstan’s, the Episcopal Student Center of Auburn University (2011-2016). He was an economist/policy analyst in the Trade Directorate (2004-2006) and the Agriculture Directorate (2001-2002) of the Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) in Paris, France. In 2014-2015, Wilson was on sabbatical leave at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. |
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Dr. Wylin Wilson, Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School
Professor Wilson’s work lies at the intersection of religion, gender, and bioethics. Her academic interests also include rural bioethics and Black church studies. Prior to joining Duke Divinity School in 2020, she was a teaching faculty member at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics and a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. She has also served as visiting lecturer and research associate at the Harvard Divinity School Women’s Studies in Religion Program. Professor Wilson is the former associate director of Education at the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, and former faculty member in the College of Agriculture, Environment, and Nutrition Sciences at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. Professor Wilson served on the Mount Auburn Hospital Ethics Committee in Cambridge, Mass., the advisory board for the Rural Child Hunger Summit, and as volunteer spiritual care giver for Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services in Somerville, Mass. She is a member of the American Academy of Religion’s Bioethics and Religion Program Unit Steering Committee. Among her publications is her book, Economic Ethics and the Black Church. |
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Dr. Betsy Albright, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Environmental Science and Policy Methods at the Nicholas School of the Environment
Elizabeth's current research centers on how policies and decisions are made in response to extreme climatic events. Further, she is interested in collaborative decision making processes, particularly in the realm of water resource management. She has received a grant from the National Science Foundation and a Fulbright Scholarship to support her scholarship. The Midwest Political Science Associated recently awarded Elizabeth the 'Best Paper by an Emerging Scholar' award at their national conference. Her geographic regions of interest include the southeast US and Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to completing her Ph.D. Elizabeth worked for the State of North Carolina in water resource management. |
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Dr. Nicki Cagle, Lecturer in Environmental Science and Policy, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Nicholas School of the Environment
I am a dedicated ecologist and environmental educator with a passion for writing. I work as a Lecturer in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University where I teach courses emphasizing natural history and environmental education & communication. I am also the Director of the Environmental Science Summer Program at Duke and Director of the NSOE Communications Studio. |
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Dr. Jerusha Matsen Neal, Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School
Professor Neal’s scholarly work examines the action of the Spirit on the performative borders of body and culture. Her research interests focus on postcolonial preaching, climate stewardship, preaching and gender, and a theology of the Spirit in sermon performance. Her most recent book, The Overshadowed Preacher: Mary, the Spirit, and the Labor of Proclamation (Wm. B. Eerdmans), asks the sticky question of what is meant when preaching is described as “anointed.” It challenges preachers to leave behind false shadows and be overshadowed by the Spirit of God. It received a 2020 Christianity Today Jesus Creed Book Award for the Preaching Life. Neal is an ordained American Baptist minister with broad ecumenical experience, most recently serving as a Global Ministries missionary to the Fiji Islands through the United Methodist Church. During her years in Fiji, she served as Dean of Studies at Davuilevu Theological College, the oldest theological seminary in that nation. She has written numerous articles and book chapters reflecting on preaching in the Fijian context and the importance of a global homiletic conversation (selected examples include: Bible in Folklore Worldwide (2021); The Future Shape of Christian Proclamation (2020); Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology (2021)). A former actress and playwright, she has authored a collection of dramatic monologues, Blessed: Monologues for Mary (2012). |
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Brian G. McAdoo, Associate Professor of Earth and Climate Science at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment
Brian studies the effects of disasters triggered by natural hazards. How are humans impacting the physical systems that keep us alive, and how are marginalized populations specifically affected? Current research projects in Nepal (earthquakes, landslides and road development) as well as Borneo and Brazil (deforestation, ecosystem services and community health) seek to apply a Planetary Health framework to understand how coupled human-environment systems and geohazards interact with the ultimate goal of informing community resilience and reducing environmental suffering. |
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Dr. Liz Demattia, Research Scientist and Director Community Science Initiative, Duke Marine Lab
I am an ecologist interested in the intersection of science and community. I am currently working on issues of plastic pollution education from a marine debris perspective and a stormwater/microplastic perspective. I have written curricula regarding marine debris (elementary) and community science and microplastics (high school) and collaborate with researchers at the EE lab of NCSU to study the role of intergenerational learning in changing perspectives on plastic pollution. |
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Rebecca Vidra, Senior Lecturer, Marine Conservation and Ethics, Nicholas School of the Environment
Rebecca Vidra's work examines the interstitial spaces between ecological restoration and cultural restoration, between science and ethics, and between hope and despair. She strives to reconnect students to their deep sense of purpose, and to restore their ability to wonder. Part of the Marine Science and Conservation Faculty at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Rebecca teaches a wide range of courses, all of which have community at their core, but her favorite moments happen in the field, working alongside her students, sharing sunsets over the sea. |
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Dr. Nina Balmaceda, Consulting Faculty; Associate Director for the Center for Reconciliation
Dr. Nina Balmaceda is a scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on civic leadership development and education for peace and reconciliation. Nina is president of Peace and Hope International, a nonprofit that works through local organizations in Latin America to prevent and confront violence and other forms of injustice against the most vulnerable. |
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Avery Davis Lamb is a Co-Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries. He is an activist, ecologist, and public theologian working at the intersection of Christianity and environmental justice. Avery has a background in both ecological research and faith-based environmental organizing, studying ecology in various ecosystems and organizing faith communities across the country in support of action on environmental justice. Previously he has worked for Sojourners and Interfaith Power & Light. He serves on the board for The Center for Spirituality in Nature and is a Fellow with the Re:Generate Program at Wake Forest Divinity School and the Foundations of Christian Leadership Program at Duke Divinity School.
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Derrick Weston is the theological education and training coordinator for Creation Justice Ministries. Derrick is a writer, filmmaker, podcaster, speaker, and educator whose most recent work has focused on the intersection of food and faith. He is the co-host of the Food and Faith podcast and producer of Spoon, Spade, and Soul, a podcast highlighting food and land-based ministries in the Episcopal church. Additionally, he is the producer of the short film series "A Wilderness Like Eden" highlighting the work of churches engaged in food justice work. After two decades of being a pastor and community organizer, Derrick is a strong believer in the potential of local congregations to enact change in their communities. Derrick received his B.A. in film studies from the University of Pittsburgh and his Masters of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He also has a certification in health ministry from Wesleyan Theological Seminary and was a part of the Re:Generate fellowship on food, faith, and ecology through Wake Forest Divinity School. Derrick is the co-author of the book The Just Kitchen: Invitations to Sustainability, Cooking, Connection, and Celebration and has written numerous articles for several publications. He and his wife Shannon have four children and live outside of Baltimore, Maryland.
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