Get Rooted, Get Ready!
March 20 – May 23, 2022

Spring for Change: a Season of Sacred Activism — from March 20 (Spring Equinox) through May 22nd (International Day for Biodiversity) — is an invitation to the Unitarian Universalist faith community to embody the transformational, regenerative power of Spring through sacred activism for Earth and all our relations.

The 2022 Spring for Change theme was Get Rooted, Get Ready! We look forward to partnering with you next Spring- in 2023!

Over the Spring season, we became “rooted” in our faith communities, our spiritual practices, and our relationships to the ecosystems we are home to. Together, we worked to be “ready” by facing the facts and forecasts of our climate and ecological crises with courage, moral clarity, and a commitment to act for justice.

Please explore the menu of past opportunities from the 2022 season of sacred activism!

Past Events

“Get Rooted, Get Ready!” Earth Day Worship Service

“It will take all of us, working with all of us…doing what none of us can do alone” –All of Us, a new hymn by Dana Clark

Our faith calls us into relationship with the sacred elements of Earth and to put power in the hands of the many and not the few.  This Earth Day, join UU Ministry for Earth for a grounding worship with meditation, song, and stories to honor nature’s elements and respond to the call of life for justice.

Click the link below to watch the worship service, &/or sign up to share it with your congregation.

“Displacement & Human Rights: All in for Climate Justice”
Intergenerational Spring Seminar
April 22 – May 1

Hosted by the UU Office at the United Nations (UU@UN), UU Ministry for Earth, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and Side With Love

“Sacred Trust: Our Children’s Right to a Liveable Future”
Faith Climate Action Week
with Interfaith Power & Light and Many Partners

Biodiversity Sunday
May 22

Biodiversity Sunday 2022 is on May 22, directly following Endangered Species Day on May 21, and on the International Day for Biodiversity. This is a day for honoring, celebrating, and committing to restore and protect the Web of Life. It is also the final day of Spring for Change: A Season of Sacred Activism.

UU Ministry for Earth is aiming to form a cohort of families and congregations who want to participate in the 2022 Biodiversity Sunday and Endangered Species Art Project.

This program is ideal for families &/or congregations who are seeking new Religious Education content for April-June 2022, and are interested in building multi-generational connections and spiritually nourishing experiences with their families, youth groups, climate/environmental teams, and worship teams.

This Endangered Species Art Project is based in methodologies of popular education and arts-organizing, using collective learning and creativity as a vehicle for community building and social change. 2D and 3D artwork and creative writing that emerges from this project will be displayed at the UUA General Assembly, in Portland, OR, June 22-26.

Stay tuned for more details!

Nourish: Spring Equinox Dinner Church
March 20 @ 5pm PT / 6 MT / 7 CT / 8 ET

Nourish your body and spirit! UU Ministry for Earth is excited to partner with Nourish UU. Together, we offer a plant-based dinner church experience for all those working for justice to gather, restore and prepare for the work now and ahead!

World Water Day
March 22 – All Day

Plan your own observance of World Water Day to celebrate and honor the waterways where you live, &/or the water protector movement!
Join Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) & UUMFE in an advocacy push for a strong Water Resources Development Act of 2022! Stay tuned for more details!

Congregational Climate Convergence
March 22
10am-1:30 pm PT / 11am-2:30 pm MT / 12-3:30 pm CT / 1-4:30 ET

Calling all congregational lay leaders and religious professionals passionate about climate justice! Join Side With Love, Green Sanctuary 2030, and UU Ministry for Earth for a day of community nourishment, resource sharing and skill-building to support your local eco ministries!

Ecology As Scripture: Awakening the Masses on Climate Change
with Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone

March 23, 9am-Noon PT / 10am-1pm MT / 11-2 CT / 12-3 ET
For Ministers, Seminarians, Religious Educators & Lay Leaders

As our planet nears the brink of environmental catastrophe, the pace of humanity’s desire to make meaningful change remains woefully inadequate. Gaining the human momentum necessary to halt climate change will require a massive reordering of our values and motivations. Spiritual beliefs and teachings to do the ‘right thing’ are valuable and necessary, but if we are to change hearts and minds, religious and spiritual leaders and activists need to link our ‘calling’ directly to good science that will help underscore and organize our choices and actions. People from all faiths must become voices for change and climate action using a framework that connects science to spiritual practice and peace education.  This workshop is an exploration of climate change and how connecting that to religious beliefs, teachings, and practices can inspire local and global actions.

Participants will develop a sacred activism plan that embodies Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone’s Four E’s:

Entry: examine various wisdom traditions’ root callings and responses to environmental justice

Empathy: explore ways of bringing Climate Change data, urgency, and Planetary Stewardship into religious settings

Evidence (data): increase understanding of Climate Change and Ecology

Engagement: accountable action steps

Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. She holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and an Ed.D. in Peace Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. {Additional degrees include BA in Biology (Ithaca), Ed.M in Science Education (Western Washington), M.A. in Comparative Education (Teachers College).} Rev Leonisa specializes in Buddhist, interfaith, anti-oppression, and earth-based spiritual work. Working as a scientist and science educator before becoming a UU minister has given Rev. Dr. Leonisa a unique and well-rounded perspective on how best to engage congregational members, religious educators, lay leaders, and community activists in discussions about Global Climate Change. In this area of her work, she aims to help Clergy, Religious Educators, and Lay Leaders engage with the scientific and spiritual aspects of climate change fostering an ethic of planetary stewardship.

UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
Movement Training Workshop Series
Saturdays, 3/26 – 4/9

UUYACJ is hosting a movement training workshop series for young adults (18-35) as part of UUMFE’s Spring for Change! Join us across three Saturdays to be supported, resourced, and empowered in your justice work. They are independent workshops, so register for just one or all three!

Spiraling In and Out of Eco-Grief (March 26th, 3 pm ET)
Presented by Rev. Karen Johnston and Rev. Stacy Craig

Jail Support 101 (April 2nd, 4 pm ET)
Presented by Casey Clowes, Antoinette Scully, Hanan Robinson, and Alex Sherwood.

Health and Wellness: For the Moment/For the Future (April 9th, 3 pm ET)
Presented by Rev. Elizabeth Mount

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Environmental Justice & Heather McGhee: March 30 @ 5pm PT/6pm MT/7pm CT/8pm ET

For questions and inquiries about how to participate in Spring for Change 2022, contact Aly Tharp, alytharp[at]uumfe[dot]org.