I truly can’t wait to visit The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center in Highlands, North Carolina, this August 4-9th for a climate justice retreat — and I hope you will consider joining me. The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center is on ancestral Cherokee lands, in the southern Appalachian Mountains and Nantahala National Forest.

I first learned about The Mountain a few years ago when they were fundraising on Faithify to support the Many Hands Peace Farm permaculture food forest project that provides the retreat center with fresh food for its guests. As a food forest-er myself, I was very excited to learn about a UU-established food forest.

This — along with North Carolina’s strong faith climate justice movement and history as a birthplace of the environmental justice movement — contribute to this strong call that I feel to go The Mountain in August.

Throughout the retreat, I will be leading an afternoon workshop track with Reverend Karen Brammer, the UUA Senior Associate for Climate Justice and Manager of the Green Sanctuary Program:

Unitarian Universalists Unite to Create Climate Justice

Offered by the UUA Green Sanctuary Program and UU Ministry for Earth, this workshop series focuses on equipping Unitarian Universalists to create and sustain prophetic, impactful ministries for climate justice and environmental justice. Participants will deepen their understanding of the climate justice and environmental justice movements; connect UU history, principles and values to climate justice; assess their congregational, local, and regional contexts; and gain a wealth of practical knowledge about how to leverage the resources of the Green Sanctuary Program, UU Ministry for Earth, and Create Climate Justice campaign to work meaningfully and effectively for climate and environmental justice in solidarity and partnership with most-impacted communities and multi-faith coalitions.

I will also be collaborating with The Reverend Gary McAlpin, a Cherokee UU Community Minister from Talequah, Oklahoma, to offer programming about Decolonization and Climate Justice as well as identity-based space/programming at the retreat as part of UUMFE’s commitment to the 2016 DRUUMM Call for Renewal.

There will be many other great programs at the retreat at well. Registration and the full program details are available at The Mountain website. See you there?

Do you want to come, but need financial support to make that possible? Reach out to the organizers listed at the bottom of the information page. Efforts are being made to make this an accessible and multi-cultural, multi-generational event.