“The Climate Ribbon is an arts ritual to grieve what each of us stands to lose to Climate Chaos, and affirm our solidarity as we unite to fight against it.” explains the Climate Ribbon website. How the ritual works: each individual person writes their name, age, home town, and an answer to the prompt, “What do you love and hope to never lose to climate chaos?” on a ribbon and then weaves it into a public collection of ribbons.

At the 2015 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association, UU Ministry for Earth and the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice engaged UUs in the climate ribbon project, having each participant weave their ribbon into the structure of a 5-foot-tall chalice that I created with a discarded patio umbrella. Together, the individual ribbons created a collective testimony to Unitarian Universalism’s connection and commitment to climate justice.

The chalice was used in a worship service organized by the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice:

Now, I am renovating the Climate Ribbon Chalice for continued use as an interactive community art installation throughout 2018 and beyond, inviting UU climate activists to use the Climate Ribbon activity as a way to engage members of your congregation in climate justice ministry. A general toolkit for doing the Climate Ribbon ritual can be found on the project’s website.

You can save your ribbons for display at your congregation &/or mail them to me for incorporation into the Climate Ribbon Chalice installation. If you are feeling inspired to create your own climate ribbon chalice, I am also happy to consult and support you through the process. Email me at alytharp[at]uuministryforearth.org for shipping address information or consultation on participating in this community art project.