Blog - Page 11 of 198 - Sam Harrelson

Take Care of Your Tiny Notebooks

I like to think every time I open up Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations that I’m peering into something I shouldn’t be privy to… as I would always tell my students, he didn’t write those words for me, but only for himself. Yet, here we are.

I gave away little composition notebooks to my students that we called “Tiny Notebooks.” I’d like to think some of them still are tempted to use them!

Take Care of Your Little Notebook | Charles Simic | The New York Review of Books:

I very much hope these notebooks I see in stationery stores, card shops, and bookstores are serving similar purposes. Just think, if you preserve them, your grandchildren will be able to read your jewels of wisdom fifty years from now, which may prove exceedingly difficult, should you decide to confine them solely to a smart phone you purchased yesterday.

California Monarch Numbers Plunging

I’m speaking a bit on this situation with monarchs at a conference at UC Santa Barbara this Spring. There’s no mystery as to why the insect is seeing such diminished numbers (a 95% drop since the 1980s in California), but there is a mystery as to why we continue to allow pesticides to harm pollinating species (as well as humans).

Insect species numbers are known to ebb and flow, but this sort of trend line is not good.

California monarch butterfly numbers plunge; wildfire wipes out Topanga habitat – Los Angeles Times:

“We know pesticides are a key driver of monarch and other pollinator declines. Yet there are glaring gaps in the EPA’s oversight of pesticides: the vast majority of pesticides have never been tested for their impacts on butterflies,” said Rosemary Malfi, director of conservation policy at the Xerces Society, in a statement. “How can we protect these essential species if we’re missing the basic information needed to make better decisions?”

Aristotle’s Metaphysics and The Categories

Aristotle’s Metaphysics as well as The Categories are two of my favorite books to pick up when I need to scratch my head or be humbled in my knowledge of ancient Greek. I find Plato more sensible, but there’s something about these two books (especially Metaphysics) that keeps bringing me back in my own work and research on religion and ecology and consciousness.

Fun quote here (and good read if you’re looking for a long-form first take on Metaphysics).

Aristotle: Metaphysics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

The Metaphysics inevitably looks like an attack on Plato just because Plato’s books are so much better than anything left by Thales, Empedocles or anyone else.

There’s so much more I’ll say about this in the future.

Also, here’s an amazing thread you should review if you’re interested in reading more philosophy (and theology) in the new year instead of doom scrolling on social media.

We Almost Made it 20 Years

I joined Twitter in the good ol’ days of “twttr” in 2006. Things were complicated then, but I loved that service so much. It’s sad to see it go.

Substack and WordPress

Given the current implosion of WordPress (and Matt Mullenweg), I’ve been working on a few other platforms to see what our options might be for myself and clients. Substack is particularly interesting (albeit “closed” source… but “open” source isn’t really helping WP these days). However, the support side of Substack is pretty much awful. What a weird setup and scenario for a platform aimed at creators. But good on them for getting lots of attention. It’s attractive if you’re starting fresh. Trying to move over with years of content is not so easy though.

So, looks like I’m hanging out with WordPress for the forseeable future here.

What a time to be alive.

“We are now confident we know how to build AGI…”

That statement is something that should be exciting as well as a “woah” moment to all of us. This is big and you should be paying attention.

Reflections – Sam Altman:

We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it. We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies. We continue to believe that iteratively putting great tools in the hands of people leads to great, broadly-distributed outcomes.

We are beginning to turn our aim beyond that, to superintelligence in the true sense of the word. We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. With superintelligence, we can do anything else. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.

Isaiah 43, Ecology, and the “New Thing” God Is Doing

One of the most inspiring aspects of my studies in Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion as a PhD student (even at 46, we new students can be inspired!) has been deeply exploring and reflecting on how ancient texts speak directly into our modern ecological context. Although the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament is ancient in his authorship and structures, passages like Isaiah 43 continue to spark deep conversations about our relationship with the land, with animals, and with the Creator.

Merianna and I are still figuring out our church situation after moving back here to Spartanburg this fall. With a hurricane, professional career changes, new schools, new routines, new roads and trails and parks to explore, and this week’s snow storm under our belt, we’ve had quite the process of figuring out which faith community we’re being called to ultimately join. There are many solid contenders and each have their own strengths, connections, histories, and pulls. I don’t want to label this process “chruch shopping” as that seems gross and capitalistic to think of such a prayerful process something akin to picking out new pants or a new car.

This morning we attended The Episcopal Church of the Advent, which is a lovely campus and congregation. There are some familiar faces there from our time in Spartanburg previously as well as Merianna’s cousin who is a Priest there. As a Baptist, I’ve always found Episcopal liturgy beautiful and moving if not something out of a Hollywood movie showing what church should “feel” like in its setting and order of worship (that’s not meant as a slight by any means). Part of the worship this morning included a reading of Isaiah 43, and I was glad to have the chance to make some notes in the bulletin on the connections between my own studies in Religion, Spirituality, and Ecology with that passage and how it “fit” into a service commemorating the Baptism of Jesus by John (also a fellow Baptist who shared my righteous indignation about society in general).

Isaiah 43 is typically read as a promise of deliverance to a weary people and a “nation” of Israel. God is reminding Israel that they have been created, redeemed, and will be guided through fire and water. But there’s an ecological dimension to these verses that also calls us to see more than a metaphor about a “nation” (I use that term loosely as there were no nations as we think of them – or did think of them) or group of people being tested. When we consider Isaiah’s imagery of turning deserts into fertile gardens and making a way in the wilderness, we recognize a God who is intimately involved not just with people’s well-being but with the healing of the land itself.

From an ecotheological perspective, this passage offers hope that God’s plans for restoration isn’t limited to saving souls or guiding humanity alone; it encompasses rivers, deserts, and all of creation. That’s a powerful message today as we wrestle with climate crisis, habitat loss, and the fragility of life on our planet from Hurricane Helene’s devastation here and in our beloved Western North Carolina to the ongoing situation of California’s wildfires

In my Christian tradition, salvation is often taught as a personal or communal experience and is God’s intervention in human affairs for the sake of our redemption (again, we Baptists love to talk about salvation and redemption!). Yet, Isaiah 43 suggests a broader and more holistic narrative. God’s redemptive mission includes making rivers spring forth in parched landscapes, reimagining deserts as places teeming with life. This isn’t just about human salvation and all that it implies such as our species being somehow distinct or alien to our surrounding ecologies.

Where many of us have learned about salvation exclusively as a human-centered event, Isaiah’s words remind us that nature isn’t an afterthought in the Creator’s plan. Humanity and the environment are woven together in this tapestry of divine renewal that can be extended to concepts like our own baptisms. Instead of picturing a future rescue from a doomed earth, this passage hints at a glorious transformation that involves all of the earth itself.

We are, in a very real sense, co-participants with God and the land and sea and rivers and creatures and soil and all things in the ongoing act of creation.

Isaiah 43 aligns beautifully with that perspective. God’s pledge to “do a new thing” signals a broader cosmic renewal. Some theologians see this as a foundational text for talking about ecological hope. If the prophetic imagination envisions deserts blossoming and creation singing for joy, we’re invited, maybe even obligated I dare say, to participate in nurturing that vision. If it’s in the Bible, then it must be true, right? I’m just using my Baptist toolbox here.

Reflecting on Isaiah 43 also invites us to reconsider our responsibility as “stewards” (again, that is a loaded term that needs to be unpacked in a different post) of creation as set forth over and over again in the Old and New Testaments since the beginning in Genesis. If we believe the land is part of God’s redemptive plan, then our everyday actions, how we treat the environment, engage in sustainable living, advocate for just policies and ethical considerations of both the human and non-human, become acts of worship and devotion.

Isaiah’s words, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (43:19), continues to challenge me. In the face of environmental degradation, such as deforestation, overfishing, or global warming causing actions such as our cars, paving over nature with petroleum products that burn petroleum in the manifest destiny of “progress,” this verse holds out a hopeful expectation. God is still active, still creating pathways in the wilderness, still nourishing deserts into blossoming landscapes (and not just paving over them).

The question then becomes: Do we have the eyes to perceive it? In a world that can feel increasingly cynical about the fate of our planet, Isaiah 43 reminds us to look deeper. Renewal might be slow, but it is happening, and we can either join in or stand by and not fulfill our duty and ethical demands as we so often do (I’m being cynical).

Ultimately, Isaiah 43 offers more than a comforting word to a people in exile. It’s a biblical rallying cry and a still small voice for those of us who believe that spiritual transformation isn’t separate from ecological transformation. The same divine force that wills rivers in the desert also wills flourishing life for the ecosystems we depend upon.

My hope, both as a student of theology fascinated by the Old Testament and as someone immersed in the study of ecology, spirituality, and religion, is that these ancient words continue to point us toward a deeper reverence for creation and a stronger commitment to stewardship. In the grand narrative of redemption, the desert isn’t forgotten. Neither are the forests, nor the oceans, nor the skies. Even the mosquitos and gnats have a part to play.

God’s “new thing” involves all of it, and each of us has a place in that unfolding story.

Isaiah 43

But now thus says the Lord,
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
   Ethiopia^* and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my sight,
   and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you;
   I will bring your offspring from the east,
   and from the west I will gather you;
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
   and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
   and my daughters from the end of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.’

⁸ Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
   who are deaf, yet have ears!
⁹ Let all the nations gather together,
   and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this,
   and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,
   and let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’
¹⁰ You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
   and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor shall there be any after me.
¹¹ I, I am the Lord,
   and besides me there is no saviour.
¹² I declared and saved and proclaimed,
   when there was no strange god among you;
   and you are my witnesses, says the Lord.
¹³ I am God, and also henceforth I am He;
   there is no one who can deliver from my hand;
   I work and who can hinder it?

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord,
   your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send to Babylon
   and break down all the bars,
   and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation.^*
¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One,
   the Creator of Israel, your King.
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord,
   who makes a way in the sea,
   a path in the mighty waters,
¹⁷ who brings out chariot and horse,
   army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
   they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
¹⁸ Do not remember the former things,
   or consider the things of old.
¹⁹ I am about to do a new thing;
   now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
   and rivers in the desert.
²⁰ The wild animals will honour me,
   the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
   rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
²¹   the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

²² Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
   but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
²³ You have not brought me your sheep for burnt-offerings,
   or honoured me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
   or wearied you with frankincense.
²⁴ You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
   or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
   you have wearied me with your iniquities.

Let’s Preach About This…

Amen and amen… this should be the focus point of way more sermons every Sunday morning in our united states. Reminds me of the great Thomas Berry:

rapid transition, deep transformation – by John Seng:

In the westernized world, especially in the domain of policy and politics, we are trained to demand timely, quantitative solutions. We’re going to have to grow to operate outside of that narrow lens on life. We need to evolve as a species, to embrace our role as one of many life forms, and find joy in a lifestyle that is compatible with the basic properties of our beloved planet. Only when we learn to honor and appreciate our relationships with all of the living world will we be able to transition to ways of life that protect us from extinction. Unlike purely technological fixes, which can be imposed through the hammers of policy and finance, a shift in the direction of right relationship with our planet needs to happen outside of the halls of power, within our own hearts and minds.

Disparities of Urban Heat Islands Over Time

Fascinating study here that moves beyond the normal mode of similar studies that focus on a fixed point in time (say mid-Summer) and look at long term data across a wider region. This is important work for our future.

A new study by Yale School of the Environment researchers found that communities of color in the U.S. face more heat exposure and have fewer cooling options than predominantly white communities and those disparities are increasing.

Source: People of Color Exposed to More Extremely Hot Days

“What is life?”

Beautiful meditation here for this Advent season…

“What is life? God’s being is my life.” Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart illustrates the height of western non-dualism. This is why he is largely impossible to understand with our usual dualistic mind. When Eckhart says, “Let us pray to God that we may be free of God,” our logical mind would see this as nonsense! It takes unitive consciousness to discover what Eckhart means. There is no concept of God that can contain God. Your present notion of God is never God. As Augustine said, “If you comprehend it, it is not God.” We can only come to know God as we let go of our ideas about God, and what is not God, is slowly stripped away.

Meister Eckhart, Part II: The Reality of Godliness — Center for Action and Contemplation

Beyond the Corporate Gloss: A Deeper Critique of Google’s 2024 Environmental Report

In reviewing Google’s 2024 Environmental Report, it’s hard not to be impressed by the sleek presentation, optimistic targets, and promises of a more sustainable future. But as someone who approaches environmental issues through the lenses of ecology, spirituality, and activism (and who respects the wisdom held by Indigenous communitie), we must ask ourselves: Is this report truly a step forward, or is it a carefully curated narrative that still falls short of meaningful transformation?

Below are some reflections and critiques that emerged as I dug deeper into Google’s latest sustainability claims. My hope is that these points inspire more honest conversations about corporate environmental responsibility, and encourage Google to become a force for genuine, not just performative, change. Google notes that this is the 10th year of their reporting, and while laudible, a decade is a long time to have not made much progress in the areas below.

1. More than a Numbers Game: Transparency and Context
Google’s report is filled with metrics: carbon offsets, renewable energy installations, and progress toward “24/7 carbon-free” ambitions. On the surface, this data sounds promising. Yet the numbers often come without the context that would allow us to evaluate their true impact. We need to know how these figures are changing over time, where and why setbacks occur, and how absolute emissions reductions are measured beyond short-term offsets. Without clear year-over-year comparisons, transparency in methodologies, and explanations for where goals haven’t been met, these metrics risk feeling more like strategic PR rather than a window into substantive progress.

2. A Holistic Ecological View—Not Just Carbon
In the ecological world, everything is interconnected—water usage, land stewardship, biodiversity, soil health, and species protection are all part of the larger puzzle. Too often, corporate sustainability efforts narrow their focus to carbon emissions. While that’s a crucial piece, it’s not the full story. The development of data centers, the sourcing of rare earth minerals for hardware, the water required for cooling, and the potential displacement of local communities or wildlife—these all have tangible ecological effects. Google’s report would be more authentic if it acknowledged these complexities. It’s not enough to claim net-zero this or carbon-free that or water-usage here; we need to know how their operations affect entire ecosystems and the countless living beings (human and non-human) who share those habitats.

3. Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives
For millennia, Indigenous communities have developed rich, place-based knowledge systems that guide sustainable stewardship of land and resources. Their approaches aren’t just about preserving nature for posterity; they recognize the sacred interdependence of human life and the Earth. Indigenous environmental philosophies emphasize reciprocity, relational accountability, and long-term thinking—values that our high-tech era desperately needs. Yet, Google’s report barely touches on how local knowledge systems or Indigenous voices factor into its environmental strategies. True environmental leadership means not only incorporating Indigenous perspectives but also creating platforms where those communities can shape corporate policies and decision-making. A genuine partnership with Indigenous peoples would push beyond mere consultation toward co-creation of sustainability solutions.

4. The Moral and Spiritual Dimension of Environmental Care
Sustainability isn’t just a business metric; it’s a moral imperative. Many faith traditions and spiritual frameworks teach that the Earth is not merely a resource to be exploited, but a sacred gift that we are entrusted to protect. When companies like Google talk about sustainability without acknowledging the deeper moral currents—respect for Creation, the call to love our neighbors (human and nonhuman), and the need to protect the vulnerable—they risk missing the heart of the matter. Earth care is not just about polished reports; it’s a sacred calling. If Google truly wants to lead, it must recognize and uphold this responsibility as part of its corporate identity.

5. Justice, Equity, and Community Engagement
Climate change is not an equal-opportunity crisis—frontline communities, often Indigenous peoples and people of color, bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm. There’s a human face to pollution, species loss, and extraction, and companies have a moral duty to see it. Yet the report often focuses inward—on Google’s own campuses, energy grids, and supply chains—without sufficiently addressing how it will engage with and support communities directly affected by its operations. Where is the acknowledgment of environmental justice? Where are the stories of local partnerships, community-based mitigation plans, or compensation for environmental damage? Until these voices and their realities are meaningfully included, sustainability efforts risk becoming top-down strategies instead of inclusive, equitable solutions.

6. From Incremental to Transformative Change
Corporate environmental narratives often hinge on incremental progress: small steps toward greener operations, a handful of offset projects, a few solar panels here and there. But a company with Google’s resources could champion systemic changes that transcend the status quo. It could lead research in scalable regenerative practices, revolutionize supply chains to eliminate environmental harm, or fund open-access environmental science tools that empower others. By fully embracing the call for systemic transformation, Google could serve as a beacon of hope, paving the way for a truly sustainable economy that values regeneration over extraction, and community well-being over profit margins.

Envisioning a More Genuine Path Forward
Critiquing a sustainability report may seem like a small gesture, but honest criticism matters. It’s a reminder that we must look beyond the corporate gloss to see the true health of our planet—and to hold powerful entities accountable. The world needs leaders who understand that ecological well-being, moral responsibility, Indigenous wisdom, and social justice are interwoven strands of the same tapestry.

Google’s 2024 Environmental Report certainly isn’t the worst corporate sustainability document out there in the tech space. But given the company’s global influence, wealth, and technological prowess, “not the worst” isn’t nearly good enough. We deserve, and the Earth demands, better. True environmental leadership would blend hard data with moral courage, incorporate ancestral wisdom, support vulnerable communities, and invest in regenerative systems that honor both people and the planet. That’s the vision we need, and it’s the vision that a company like Google could help realize, if it dared to do more than just follow the colonialist corporate script.

Trees and a Renewal of Hope During Advent

We Christians are in the season of chopping down fir trees and bringing them into our homes so that we can adorn them with ornaments, sentiments, and lights (our family prefers color lights, but my beloved Mom prefers white lights).

In the midst of that, here’s a beautiful piece about the role that our plant partners can play in our own mindsets as we continue to recover from Hurricane Helene here in the Upstate of SC and in Western NC.

Conservation Corner: In times of tumult, plant trees to renew hope (Spartanburg Herald-Journal):

Would you believe me if I told you that even before the recent tropical storm damage, Charlotte and Atlanta maintain a higher tree canopy percentage than Spartanburg and Greenville?

Planting trees is a belief in, and a faith act for a better future. One does not plant a tree believing hope is lost for the next generation. Since that first Arbor Day, countless trees have been planted by millions of students, teaching the eternal importance of this tradition.

Ecological Consciousness: A Phenomenological Approach

We face a troubled relationship with the Creation. From plastics to pollution to the impacts on our climate, it cannot be argued that we live harmoniously with nature. The very concept of living harmoniously in an ecological system stands in direct conflict with our lived experience of modern conviences and technology. This troubled relationship stems not only from industrial practices or consumption patterns but from a fundamental disconnect in how we perceive and relate to the natural world. The framework of phenomenology, the philosophical study of conscious experience, offers a powerful framework for reimagining this relationship and cultivating an “ecological consciousness” (Merleau-Ponty 1968, 123).

The Embodied Experience of Nature

At the heart of this approach lies Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s concept of embodied consciousness. Our bodies are not separate from the environment but are deeply enmeshed within it. When we walk barefoot through a forest, the sensation of soil beneath our feet, the scent of pine needles, and the filtered sunlight through the leaves are not merely external stimuli—they are part of our lived experience. This embodied understanding challenges the traditional Western view of nature as something “out there” to be observed, analyzed, and controlled. Instead, it redefines our connection to nature as one of reciprocity and participation (Merleau-Ponty 1962, 239).

Living Ecological Consciousness

The Gullah-Geechee communities of the southeastern United States provide a compelling example of this phenomenological approach in practice. Their traditional ecological knowledge demonstrates a lived understanding of environmental interconnectedness (Goodwine 1998, 31). The Gullah people’s relationship with coastal landscapes, from their sustainable fishing practices to their agricultural methods, reflects a deep awareness of natural cycles and an embodied connection to the land. Their traditional practices of root medicine, crop rotation, and seasonal harvesting exemplify a way of knowing that transcends the subject-object divide common in Western thought (Goodwine 1998, 42).

From Theory to Practice

This phenomenological perspective transforms how we might approach environmental stewardship. Instead of seeing trees merely as carbon sinks or resources to be extracted, we begin to experience them as living presences with which we share our world. This shift in consciousness carries practical implications for conservation efforts and environmental policy (Abram 2011, 45).

Consider how Gullah communities design and maintain their living spaces. Gardens aren’t merely decorative or utilitarian—they’re spaces of cultural memory and ecological relationship. Traditional Gullah yard designs incorporate both practical and spiritual elements, creating spaces that nurture both human and non-human life. These practices offer valuable insights for modern urban planning and conservation efforts, serving as examples of how to design public spaces that foster ecological awareness and community cohesion (Goodwine 1998, 57).

Toward an Ecological Future

The development of ecological consciousness requires moving beyond the extractive mindset that sees nature as a mere resource to be managed. By recognizing our fundamental interconnection with the natural world, we open possibilities for more sustainable and harmonious ways of living (Nishida 1990, 63). The Gullah example shows us that this isn’t merely theoretical—it’s a practical, lived reality that can inform everything from personal choices to community environmental initiatives.

Through this phenomenological approach to ecology, we can work toward a cultural transformation that emphasizes interconnectedness and care over domination and extraction. The path forward lies not in abstract environmental policies alone, but in rekindling our embodied relationship with the natural world. Ultimately, ecological consciousness means seeing ourselves as part of the web of life, capable of empathy not only toward our fellow humans but toward all forms of existence (Merleau-Ponty 1968, 149).

References (if you’d like to do some more reading on the subject!):

Abram, David. Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology. New York: Pantheon Books, 2011.

Goodwine, Marquetta L. The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of African American Culture. Atlanta: Clarity Press, 1998.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by Colin Smith. London: Routledge, 1962.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. The Visible and the Invisible. Edited by Claude Lefort, translated by Alphonso Lingis. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1968.

Nishida, Kitaro. An Inquiry into the Good. Translated by Masao Abe and Christopher Ives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich

I have my own spin on this that I’ve made for years, but the NY Times version isn’t too far off (I like the idea of creating a “cranberry mayo” by combining the ubiquitous cranberry sauce with a bit of mayonnaise!)…

The sandwich you make with all the prized leftovers the day after Thanksgiving might be even better than the main event. Assembling this leftover Thanksgiving sandwich is easy, but the details matter. The white and dark turkey meat each get special love and attention: The breast is warmed in butter, while the dark meat is shredded, then warmed in gravy. This club ditches the usual third slice of bread for a slab of crisp, fried stuffing instead. When heating the stuffing, make sure your pan is good and hot so the stuffing fries up fast without falling apart in the skillet. A generous swipe of cranberry mayo brings the whole thing together.

Source: Best Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich Recipe (gift article)

How Churches Can Integrate Ecology into Ministries

My PhD studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies this fall as well as working with incredible scholars in the field of Ecology and Religion have deepened my understanding of ecological issues and reinforced my belief that the Church must be at the forefront of ecological discussions and action in their ministries and community roles. My field of Ecology and Religion is, of course, concerned with processes and theories around this push, but I often hear church leaders confused about where to start with real and actualized implementation of emphasis or programs around ecological concerns or issues.

Connected with that is a real blurring of understanding about the terms “environmental” and “ecological” because of the fairly newness of “Ecology and Religion” as a field of study and practice as well as the fact that most seminaries don’t require much in the way of coursework around ecological issues (though that is changing across the North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe (I’m not aware of programs in Australia but I’m sure they exist).

First, For those seeking answers on how to include ecological concerns or awareness into ministries, I highly recommend picking up a copy of John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker’s important work “Ecology and Religion.” Grim and Tucker were instrumental in establishing the field of Ecology and Religion with a series of conferences at Harvard in the 1990s, followed by the establishment of Yale’s Forum on Religion and Ecology (sadly, it was instituted a few years after I graduated there in 2002 but I was able to take several ethics courses and classes on phenomenological philosophical considerations that grew this spark of passion).

“Amid the challenges of modernity and the growing environmental crises, the ecological dimensions of religions are becoming clearer. Scientists and policymakers, along with religious practitioners and scholars, recognize that religions have shaped views of nature for millennia. Simultaneously, religions themselves have been formed by their interactions with landscapes and the life therein. This is what we will explore as religious ecologies (Tucker and Grim 2014, 1–2).”

By embracing ecological considerations, churches can fulfill their calling to be caretakers of God’s creation, promoting a message of hope and restoration in a world that desperately needs it.

Churches have a unique position of influence and can lead by example in the following ways:

Education and Awareness: Hosting seminars and Bible studies on environmental stewardship can enlighten congregations about the spiritual imperative to care for creation.

Sustainable Practices: Simple changes like adopting energy-efficient systems, reducing waste, and supporting sustainable agriculture can make a significant impact.

Community Engagement: Collaborating with local environmental groups for clean-up drives or tree-planting events fosters community spirit and environmental responsibility.

Advocacy: Churches can use their voices to support policies that protect the environment, emphasizing that ecological care is a matter of faith and moral duty.

This is a rapidly developing and fascinating field of integrated studies and methodologies. Churches and church leaders would be wise to explore ecological (and decolonial) methodologies of worship and to become community examples. Wide-ranging concern in the wake of Hurricane Helene, heat outbreaks, unusual weather patterns, and an awakening of ecological consciousness in the mainstream culture despite political divides are at the forefront of many peoples’ minds these days as they contemplate their faiths and spiritualities.

Facial Recognition Tech in Smart Glasses

Law enforcement and the military have had this capability for a while via Clearview, but it’s (also) scary to see it being implemented outside of those domains…

Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers:

A pair of students at Harvard have built what big tech companies refused to release publicly due to the overwhelming risks and danger involved: smart glasses with facial recognition technology that automatically looks up someone’s face and identifies them. The students have gone a step further too. Their customized glasses also pull other information about their subject from around the web, including their home address, phone number, and family members.

Reflecting on Brazil’s Wildfires and Drought

The record-breaking wildfires and persistent droughts in Brazil are urgent reminders of our need to rethink how we relate to the natural world. These ecological crises highlight the consequences of viewing nature merely as a resource for human use, rather than as a dynamic participant in a sacred web of life. The concept of ecological intentionality calls us to recognize the agency of non-human elements—like forests, rivers, and climate patterns—and to foster a more intentional relationship with our ecosystems.

Contents

Theological Reflections on Ecological Crisis

From a biblical perspective, the notion of ecological intentionality aligns closely with scriptures that emphasize humanity’s role as caretakers of creation. In Psalm 24:1, we read, “The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,” suggesting that our stewardship is meant to be characterized by respect and reverence, not domination. Likewise, Genesis’ account of Noah’s Ark reflects God’s concern for the preservation of all species, underscoring biodiversity as a divine priority. The fires and droughts in Brazil challenge us to reexamine our faithfulness to this sacred duty.

Isaiah 24:4-5 poignantly describes a land that “mourns and withers…because they have broken the everlasting covenant,” reminding us that our ecological crises are, at their core, spiritual crises. The Earth, groaning in Romans 8:22, is a plea for healing and renewal—a call for humanity to restore right relationships with creation. Brazil’s environmental disasters amplify these biblical calls to action, pushing us to consider how our theology can contribute to ecological reconciliation.

Integrating Indigenous Wisdom

Indigenous perspectives, like those of Ailton Krenak, a prominent indigenous leader and thinker from Brazil, provide critical insights into this conversation. In his work “Ideas to Postpone the End of the World,” Krenak advocates for viewing the Earth not as a resource to exploit but as a living entity with which we are deeply interconnected. He critiques the dominant worldview that separates humanity from nature and calls for a return to a spiritual relationship that honors the Earth’s inherent value and vitality.

Krenak’s perspectives complement the biblical teachings of stewardship and care, offering a vision of ecological intentionality that is inclusive of diverse spiritual understandings. His call to recognize the sacred interdependence of all life resonates deeply with the idea that we must foster a participatory awareness, where both human and non-human elements are seen as co-creators in the ongoing story of creation.

Humans only talk about human rights, and environmental law is anthropocentric, it has no interest in whether the forest will die, the river will be polluted.

– Ailton Krenak

A Call to Action: Toward Ecological Reconciliation

Ecological intentionality challenges us not only to reflect but to act. We are called to cultivate practices that acknowledge our profound interdependence with the natural world, such as supporting sustainable policies, engaging in mindful consumption, and embracing indigenous stewardship methods. Beyond practical actions, we must cultivate spiritual disciplines that honor this interconnectedness—whether through prayer, community worship that integrates environmental concerns, or personal practices that express gratitude for creation.

Colonial thinking is powerful because it uses instruments such as economics, which globally institutes the possession of things and land. It is associated with the appropriation of technologies that accelerate extractivism in ecosystems, oceans, mountains and deserts

– Ailton Krenak

Reimagining Our Relationship with Creation

The wildfires and droughts in Brazil are a clarion call for deeper spiritual and theological engagement with our ecological reality. By integrating biblical insights with indigenous wisdom, like that of Ailton Krenak, we can move toward a more holistic understanding of our role in the divine community of life. Ecological intentionality invites us to reimagine our relationship with creation, recognizing that the health of our spirits is inseparably linked to the health of the Earth.

May we heed this call with urgency, wisdom, and humility, living in ways that honor all that God has made, and recognizing that we are not separate from, but deeply connected to, the entire web of life.

Ecological Intentionality and the Unseen Intelligences of the Non-Human World

In the vibrant tapestry of life on Earth, we humans often see ourselves as the central thread… the primary actors in a grand narrative of progress, conflict, and survival. Yet, this perspective risks blinding us to the complex and interwoven intelligences that animate the non-human world. As I delve deeper into the concept of ecological intentionality, I find myself more attuned to the subtle, often overlooked ways in which non-human intelligences… from trees and fungi to rivers and mountains… participate in the unfolding story of our planet.

Ecological Intentionality: Beyond Human Consciousness

At its core, ecological intentionality challenges the anthropocentric view that intentionality… the capacity to have thoughts, desires, or purposes directed toward something… is the exclusive domain of human beings. Traditional phenomenology has long centered on human consciousness and its relationship to the world, but what if we extend the idea of intentionality beyond human minds? What if we imagine a world where other forms of life, and even so-called “inanimate” entities, possess their own kind of intentionality… their own ways of interacting with, responding to, and even shaping their environments?

The Bible offers insights into this broader understanding. In Psalm 96:12, we read, “Let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.” This verse suggests that nature itself is alive with praise and has its own way of celebrating the divine, hinting at a form of intentionality that is beyond human comprehension.

Non-Human Intelligences: Trees, Fungi, and More

Consider the intelligence of a tree. Science increasingly reveals how trees communicate through vast underground networks of fungi, sharing nutrients, warning each other of danger, and even “nurturing” their offspring or neighbors in times of stress. This “Wood Wide Web” of fungal networks suggests a form of collective intentionality… a communal way of being that is responsive and adaptive to the needs of the forest as a whole. The trees do not act in isolation; they are part of an intricate community, continuously engaged in a dance of mutual support, competition, and survival.

In the Old Testament, we see a similar recognition of trees as participants in God’s creation. In Isaiah 55:12, it is written, “For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Here, the trees are portrayed as beings with their own expression, actively engaging with the divine presence.

Then there are fungi themselves… the ancient, often unseen architects of life. Fungi have existed for over a billion years, long before the first plants emerged on land, and their networks are vast, complex, and purpose-driven. Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with plants, providing essential nutrients in exchange for sugars. This exchange isn’t a simple transaction but rather an ongoing negotiation that changes with the environment, the needs of the plants, and even the health of the entire ecosystem. Here, we see another form of non-human intelligence… an intelligence that is relational, dynamic, and deeply embedded in the fabric of life.

The River’s Mind: Thinking with the Flow

Even rivers can be seen as possessing a form of intentionality. Indigenous cultures around the world have long recognized rivers as sentient beings… entities with purpose, memory, and agency. In a phenomenological sense, a river shapes its surroundings, carves valleys, creates fertile plains, and sustains countless forms of life. Its movements are not random; they are responsive to the lay of the land, the seasonal rhythms, and the larger climate patterns. To think with the river is to understand its agency in shaping the landscape and the ecosystems that depend on it. A river “knows” how to flow, how to adapt to obstacles, and how to find its way to the sea.

The Bible also reflects on the role of water in the natural world as an agent of God’s purpose. In Job 38:25-27, God speaks of His creation, saying, “Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass?” This verse portrays water as having a role in creation that extends beyond human utility… it has a purpose and a life-giving role that is part of a larger divine intention.

A New Perspective: Participatory Awareness

Ecological intentionality invites us to shift from a mindset of domination and control to one of participatory awareness. It encourages us to see ourselves not as masters of nature but as participants in a vast, interconnected web of life, where each entity… human, animal, plant, or mineral… has its own form of agency and intelligence. This perspective has profound implications for how we approach environmental stewardship, conservation, and sustainability. Instead of seeing nature as a resource to be managed or exploited, we begin to recognize it as a community of intelligent beings with whom we share our lives.

The New Testament also echoes this view of interconnectedness. In Romans 8:19-21, Paul writes, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Here, creation is portrayed as having its own yearning, its own purpose that is intertwined with the redemption of humanity.

Re-Envisioning Our Relationships with the Non-Human World

By embracing ecological intentionality, we start to ask different questions… How do we listen to the voices of the non-human intelligences around us? How do we learn from their wisdom, their ways of being, and their modes of communication? How do we honor their agency and recognize their intrinsic value, not just for what they provide to us, but for their own sake?

These questions are not just theoretical; they are urgently practical. In a world facing unprecedented ecological crises, from climate change to species loss, we need to develop a deeper, more respectful relationship with the non-human world. We need to recognize that our survival is intricately linked to the survival of other forms of life and that their intelligences… their ways of knowing and being… have much to teach us about resilience, adaptability, and sustainability.

Toward a More Inclusive Understanding of Intelligence

Ecological intentionality is more than a philosophical concept… it is a call to action. It urges us to expand our understanding of intelligence to include the vast, diverse, and often mysterious intelligences of the non-human world. It challenges us to see the world not as a backdrop to our human drama but as a vibrant, living community in which we are but one member among many.

By opening ourselves to the possibility of non-human intentionalities, we may discover new ways of thinking, new ways of being, and new ways of living in harmony with the world around us. And in doing so, we may just find the wisdom we need to navigate the uncertain waters of the Anthropocene and beyond.