A Season of Sacred Activism: 2023 Spring for Change, Active for Earthcare
2023 Virtual Worship Resources for Earth Day & Spring for Change
As part of Spring for Change: A Season of Sacred Activism this year, Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth is producing a robust and beautiful virtual worship service for viewing online on Earth Day, or using in full or in part by participating congregations this Spring.
Thank you to all who joined us for our Zoom Broadcast on Thursday, April 20th!
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, Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth was delighted to offer in meditation, song, and stories to honor nature’s elements and become Active for Earthcare – a call to engage in the face of the climate crisis. Read our 2023 Earth Day Order of Service and contributor biographies here!
Still interested to watch or re-watch? Register below for personal or congregation use!
If you would like to enjoy the service again or share the worship service with your entire congregation, we are happy to offer in two formats:
Complete service: a video of the entire service, including all worship elements, will be available online to congregations to stream via the platform of their choice.
Distinct worship elements: videos of elemental piece of the service will be available for congregations to choose from and integrate into their own liturgies.
Timing
This service is being developed with “Earth Month” in mind, but can be used on whatever Sunday works best for your congregation’s worship calendar. Once your congregation is registered, the videos will be sent to you by our Program Director!
Cost
We are asking that congregations make a donation to UUMFE for this worship service resource, much like they would pay a guest worship leader and/or musician.
We recommend using the UU Ministers Association’s Scale of Professional Fees as a guide ($315 – small congregations; $350 – mid-sized congregations; $385 – large congregations; $500 – very generous congregations). If such a donation is beyond the abilities of your congregation, please pay what you can. We encourage larger congregations with bigger budgets to donate more.
Your donations are critical to the work of UU Ministry for Earth to sustain and nurture UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, UU BIPOC Caucus on Climate Justice, Strengthening Local Climate Commitments, and all the justice-seeking initiatives of UU Ministry for Earth.
We also ask that your congregation dedicate a Sunday offering to UU Ministry For Earth on the day you use these materials, if possible. We will provide the invitation to the offering, as well as instructions about how to give, in the worship video(s).
If you commit to making a contribution to UUMFE in either or both of these ways, you will receive follow-up communication from us about how to complete your donations. Your generous contributions allow UUMFE to continue our shared ministry to create a better world rooted in environmental and climate justice. We appreciate your participation, and your generous support.
We look forward to worshiping with you!
Sign Up Here
Other Worship Readings & Resources
Selected Readings by Stephen Shick
The Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth wishes to extend deep gratitude to the Reverend Stephen Shick for his willingness to share the following pieces of writing as worship resources to support Spring for Change: a Season of Sacred Activism.
This resource contains seven new unpublished works, as well as twelve selected readings from Stephen Shick’s two Skinner House publications: Be the Change: Poems, Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers and Consider the Lilies.
Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have a practice of sharing their Sunday offering with community organizations and groups: some congregations give away their entire offering one Sunday each month; others “split the plate” every Sunday and give half of the offering to a deserving cause.
Now that we have all had time to process this year’s GA, I thought it would be useful to share thoughts on the experience some weeks later. I decided to volunteer this year with UUMFE because I am passionate about environmental work and demanding attention from large organizations on the topic. This was my very […]
In this time of reckoning, repair, and transition, we are committed to supporting congregations like yours with resources that cultivate deep, lasting connection to each other and your local communities and ecosystems.
We believe this requires going beyond conventional environmental education and curriculum design.
UUMFE is excited to announce the development of “May You Survive and Thrive,” a new multi-generational, arts-based family ministry curriculum designed to cultivate and sustain ecological awareness within and between congregations and communities.
We are looking for congregations like yours to help pilot this draft curriculum! Join the Survive and Thrive Cohort, a cohort of committed congregations who will be among the first to use the curriculum with support from UUMFE and each other.
Building lasting connections between people, place, and our faith.
The overarching goals of Survive and Thrive are to:
Cultivate Biodiversity Sunday as an annual event on the UU church calendar,
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist cultural and spiritual practices of honoring the Web of Life in our congregations, local climate justice events, and at the UUA General Assembly,
Strengthen multi-generational relationships and connections between UU climate/environmental team members and the children and youth in their congregation and other congregations across bioregions, and
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist communities’ understanding, relationship, and ethic of accountability to Place and to the Rights of Nature.
The Curriculum
Developed by Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, and Vassar College students Elliot Porcher, Oliver Mendel, James Grosjean, Grace Cazzaniga, “May You Survive and Thrive” is an accessible, experiential curriculum that facilitates creative, embodied connection to the natural world, each other, and local endangered species and habitats. Our goal is to make this available to congregations across the country to foster a felt, sustained awareness of our 7th principle–our interconnected Web of Life–in this time of climate crisis and transition.
The curriculum culminates with an Endangered Species Creative Art Project, which congregations can use in their own worship and programming, to participate in local eco-activism events, and/or to the annual Procession of the Species at General Assembly! UUMFE will facilitate support for creating the art and representing it at GA, as well as host a virtual maker-space and gallery for sharing with other congregations and teams.
Drawing from methodologies of nature-based education and community arts-organizing, “May You Survive and Thrive” uses collective learning and creativity as a vehicle for integrated, long term community building and social change.
This curriculum is perfect for congregations hoping to build an integrated, multi-generational, and multi-cultural ecological awareness.
And sign up to join the Pilot Program below!
Survive and Thrive Pilot Program
Survive and Thrive Cohort member congregations will have access to:
The full draft curriculum and subsequent versions, including 5 full Lessons, field and research guides, additional resources, and Council of All Species community event script to be used in worship, at climate justice events, or in learning spaces.
A virtual makerspace and gallery to use and share additional resources and for congregations to offer mutual support and inspiration in making the art project and implementing other lessons.
Monthly “Support & Share” group calls with UUMFE staff to ask questions, give feedback, hear updates, and build relationships with other Cohort members.
Additional one-on-one support from UUMFE staff as needed for adapting curriculum to your community and facilitating cumulative creative project.
Opportunities to be featured in any UUMFE and other UU publications and communications that result from this Pilot Program.
Survive and Thrive Cohort member congregations will be expected to:
Designate a point person to be a liaison with UUMFE and stay connected.
Document and share experiences through writing and photos.
Participate in “Support & Share” group calls and virtual makerspace and gallery as you are able – can be anyone from your congregation, at least one call and virtual post.
Fill out form after facilitating to record and reflect on your experience and any feedback.
Make mistakes! Take chances! Get messy! And have fun 🙂 We hope you will embody these activities boldly and authentically, and we look forward to seeing all the creative ways this emerges in your congregation and local ecosystems.
Timeline
Join monthly “Support & Share” calls to receive updates, share experiences, offer feedback, and connect with other congregations.
Facilitators: Dr. Rev. Leonisa Ardizzone, UUMFE Interim Co-Director of Programs and Partnerships; Stephani Pescitelli, UUMFE Eco-Arts Intern
Next call: Wednesday, November 9th, 5pm PST/ 7pm CST/ 8pm EST,
January, February, March, April, and May dates tbd.
May 21, 2023: Biodiversity Sunday! Use this curriculum, your creative project, and additional worship resources from UUMFE to celebrate and honor your local species and the whole beautiful biodiversity of our Web of Life.
June 21-25, 2023: Bring or share your creative projects in the annual UU Procession of Species at General Assembly.
Featured Survive and Thrive Creative Project
Unitarian Universalist Justice for Arizona’s (UUJAZ) project is a great example of using creativity to tell a story about migration, biodiversity, and climate justice for all. Under the leadership of Casey Clowes, 13 congregations across the Arizona decorated paper cut-outs of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo bird, which were then collected and strung together into a banner and display at GA.
View this video they created that weaves together the story of this endangered bird, the border wall, the land and water flow, and the native O’odham peoples.
What climate justice story is waiting to be uncovered and shared through your congregation?
What sources of insight, connection, and hope might emerge from reconciling the story of your congregation with the story of local species, as well as human communities, land, and water?
Join us this Sunday and Beyond to Honor Biodiversity!
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.
This Biodiversity Sunday, UUMFE is excited to announce the development of “May You Survive and Thrive,” a new multi-generational, arts-based curriculum to cultivate and sustain ecological awareness this Sunday, at the upcoming General Assembly, and throughout the year.
We are looking for congregations like yours to help pilot this draft curriculum! Join the Survive and Thrive Cohort, a cohort of committed congregations who will be among the first to use the curriculum with support from UUMFE and each other. Find out more and sign up below.
Whether or not joining the Survive and Thrive pilot cohort works for your congregation, below you’ll also find some great ways to incorporate Eco-arts elements into your worship and congregational life this Biodiversity Sunday and beyond.
We look forward to hearing how you and your community are honoring the Web of Life, and we hope to see you at the Procession of Species at GA in June!
Building lasting connections between people, place, and our faith.
The overarching goals of Survive and Thrive are to:
Cultivate Biodiversity Sunday as an annual event on the UU church calendar,
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist cultural and spiritual practices of honoring the Web of Life in our congregations and at the UUA General Assembly,
Strengthen multi-generational relationships and connections between UU climate/environmental team members and the children and youth in their congregation and other congregations across bioregions, and
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist communities’ understanding, relationship, and ethic of accountability to Place and to the Rights of Nature.
Ways to celebrate Biodiversity on May 22 and beyond:
Worship
Incorporate words, prayers, hymns, and practices related to Biodiversity and our interconnected Web of Life in your worship service.
We light this chalice in honor of the Web of Life. We honor this sacred ecosystem of ecosystems we call home. We honor all of our diverse animal, plant, fungal, and insect relatives, And the land, water, and air we all share. May we remember that all life is worthy, all life connected, all life is sacred.
Reading
“We Americans are reluctant to learn a foreign language of our own species, let alone another species. But imagine the possibilities. Imagine the access we would have to different perspectives, the things we might see through other eyes, the wisdom that surrounds us. We don’t have to figure out everything by ourselves: there are intelligences other than our own, teachers all around us. Imagine how much less lonely the world would be.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Prayer / Closing Words
Spirit of Life,
On this Biodiversity Sunday and always, We give thanks For the bees, moths, and butterflies For the glistening green mosses and prickly pear cacti For the pine trees, purple flowers, and fleshy fungi For the birds, the bears, and the big cats
We give thanks For the whales, the worms, and the walruses, For the flies, the foxes, and the ferns For the llamas, the lichen, and the lizards
We give thanks For the land, water, and air we share For this whole sacred ecosystem of beings
Bless what we share in common – our hungers, thirsts, our drive to connect Bless our beautiful differences and diversity – our bodies, histories, our unique paths Bless the roots and relationships that connect us to one another And bless our right to belong, to be, to become In this wild, wonderful Web of Life that is our home.
May it be so, May we be so. Amen, Blessed be.
Learn
Use an activity from the UUMFE’s new Biodiversity-focused curriculum this–or any!–Sunday, and consider joining the growing Survive and Thrive Cohort of congregations to pilot the whole draft curriculum.
UUMFE is excited to launch the piloting of “May You Survive and Thrive,” a new draft curriculum for building multi-generational connections, ecological awareness, and spiritually nourishing experiences with their families, youth groups, climate/environmental teams, and worship teams. We need YOU to help us in this important stage of development!
“May You Survive and Thrive” is an accessible, experiential curriculum that facilitates creative, embodied connection to the natural world, each other, and local endangered species and habitats. Our goal is to make this available to congregations across the country to foster a felt, sustained awareness of our 7th principle–our interconnected Web of Life–in this time of climate crisis and transition.
The curriculum culminates with an Endangered Species Art Project, which congregations can use in their own worship and programming, to bring to local eco-activism events, and/or to the Procession of the Species at General Assembly this June! UUMFE will facilitate support for creating the art and representing it at GA, as well as host a virtual maker-space and gallery for sharing with other congregations and teams.
Drawing from methodologies of nature-based education and community arts-organizing, “May You Survive and Thrive” uses collective learning and creativity as a vehicle for integrated, long term community building and social change.
This curriculum is perfect for congregations hoping to build an integrated, multi-generational, and multi-cultural ecological awareness.
SIGN UP HERE to get a copy of the draft curriculum and find out more about joining the piloting cohort for the “May You Survive and Thrive” program.
Create
Make a banner, puppet, poems, or costumes to represent your local Biodiversity at worship services, local eco-activism events, and General Assembly.
As in previous years, UUMFE is hosting another Procession of the Species at the UUA General Assembly, in Portland, OR this June, in collaboration with UUA General Assembly organizers and the UU Animal Ministry. We invite congregations to bring any local species-related art to this special event! Ideally, this art would travel with the delegates from participating congregations to the GA, but we understand that many are attending virtually this year. There is some capacity for artwork to be mailed to Portland, as well. Definitely reach out to coordinate!
The “May You Survive and Thrive” curriculum, outlined in the section above, includes creating local species and habitat-inspired art as a culminating collaborative activity, but you can also facilitate this as a stand alone experience in Religious Education classes, a multigenerational event with your sustainability/climate teams, or in partnership with a local campaign to protect local species and habitats.
UUMFE is here to support you in building and bringing this art to GA 2022 in Portland this June. If you want to make something but will not be attending in person, please fill out the form and we will work with you to figure out an alternative way for your local species art to be represented! Sign up and find our more below:
Here is a virtual Biodiversity Sunday program from May 2020:
Here are some photographs from the “Environmental Justice Forest” at the 2017 General Assembly and the “Procession of the Species” at the 2019 General Assembly to give you some inspiration and ideas for how each group’s project will feed into a larger UU arts-witness:
California Condor Puppet by Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA
Golden Cheeked Warbler by Wildflower UU Church, Austin TX
“We Need Bees!” banner by Woodinville UU Church, Woodinville, WA
UUs in Corvallis and Eugene, Oregon worked together to create Talequah the Orca puppet, with direction by artists Patti Warner and Esteban Camacho Steffensen
Participants in the 2019 Procession of Species posed together for an ariel drone photograph creating the shape of an orca
The Environmental Justice Forest at GA 2017. Each tree banner was made by a different congregation.
Photo by Peter Bowden
Participants in the UU Climate Justice Collaboratory gather & smile together for a photo at the end of a wonderful 3-hour session. Photo by Peter Bowden (UU Planet, UU Climate Action)
Earthworm puppet made by member of UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
Pictured:
[1] California Condor Puppet by Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA [2] Golden Cheeked Warbler banner by Wildflower UU Church, Austin, TX [3] “We need bees!” banner by Woodinville UU Church, Woodinville, WA [4] Talequah the orca puppet by UU churches of Corvallis and Eugene, OR [5] Participants in the 2019 Procession of Species posed together for an ariel drone photograph creating the shape of an orca [6] The Environmental Justice Forest at GA 2017. Each tree banner was made by a different congregation. Photo by Peter Bowden [7] Participants in the UU Climate Justice Collaboratory workshop at GA 2017 gather & smile together with banners from the Environmental Justice Forest. Photo by Peter Bowden (UU Planet, UU Climate Action) [8] Earthworm puppet made by member of UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, used for puppet theater during a morning worship homily by Rev. Sara Green at GA 2017
2022 Virtual Worship Resources for Earth Day & Spring for Change
As part of Spring for Change: A Season of Sacred Activism this year, UU Ministry for Earth is producing a robust and beautiful virtual worship service for viewing online on Earth Day, or using in full or in part by participating congregations this Spring.
Service Details
Theme & Description: Get Rooted, Get Ready!
“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 the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth in meditation, song, and stories to honor nature’s elements and respond to the call for Earth Justice, a call to action in the face of the climate crisis. This worship will be a visual feast, and the worship structure may be a bit different from what you are used to — lean into it and enjoy the journey! The service includes somatic movement exercises led by Sahar Mushin-Laufman. Please join in these as you are willing and able.
This program will include a special collection for the UU Ministry for Earth – donations are encouraged and received with deep gratitude.
Complete service: a video of the entire service, including all worship elements, will be available online to congregations to stream via the platform of their choice.
Individual worship elements: videos of elemental piece of the service will be available for congregations to choose from and integrate into their own liturgies.
Timing
This service is being developed with “Earth Sunday” (April 24) in mind, but can be used on whatever Sunday works best for your congregation’s worship calendar.
Cost
We are asking that congregations make a donation to UUMFE for this worship service resource, much like they would pay a guest worship leader and/or musician.
We recommend using the UU Ministers Association’s Scale of Professional Fees as a guide ($315 – small congregations; $350 – mid-sized congregations; $385 – large congregations; $500 – very generous congregations). If such a donation is beyond the abilities of your congregation, please pay what you can. We encourage larger congregations with bigger budgets to donate more.
Your donations are critical to the work of UU Ministry for Earth to sustain and nurture UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, UU BIPOC Caucus on Climate Justice, Strengthening Local Climate Commitments, and all the justice-seeking initiatives of UU Ministry for Earth.
We also ask that your congregation dedicate a Sunday offering to UU Ministry For Earth on the day you use these materials, if possible. We will provide the invitation to the offering, as well as instructions about how to give, in the worship video(s).
If you commit to making a contribution to UUMFE in either or both of these ways, you will receive follow-up communication from us about how to complete your donations. Your generous contributions allow UUMFE to continue our shared ministry to create a better world rooted in environmental and climate justice. We appreciate your congregation’s participation, and your generous support.
We look forward to worshiping with you!
Sign Up Here
Other Worship Readings & Resources
Selected Readings by Stephen Shick
The Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth wishes to extend deep gratitude to the Reverend Stephen Shick for his willingness to share the following pieces of writing as worship resources to support Spring for Change: a Season of Sacred Activism.
This resource contains seven new unpublished works, as well as twelve selected readings from Stephen Shick’s two Skinner House publications: Be the Change: Poems, Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers and Consider the Lilies.
Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have a practice of sharing their Sunday offering with community organizations and groups: some congregations give away their entire offering one Sunday each month; others “split the plate” every Sunday and give half of the offering to a deserving cause.
NOTE: This first message originally appeared in the Create Climate Justice newsletter. UUs showed up for climate justice in deep ways at this year’s virtual General Assembly (stay tuned for recordings to be made public after Labor Day) — including an impressive and emergent rapid response mobilization from Young Adults, building off of decades of […]
Hundreds of UUs were among the more than 2,000 water protectors and allies who joined the Treaty People Gathering over June 5-8. Over this powerful weekend, the Multifaith Delegation heeded the call of Anishinaabeg water protectors to bring shared prayer, witness and direct action to help stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline in northern […]
Stacy Craig will serve as one of the chaplains at the upcoming Intergenerational Spring Seminar, co-hosted by the UU Office of the United Nations and UUMFE – (register here before March 18!). Craig arrives at the seminar, and to the broader UU faith community, grounded in a specific calling: to offer climate chaplaincy for young […]
UU Ministry for Earth is aiming to form a cohort of families and congregations who want to participate in the 2021 Biodiversity Sunday and Endangered Species Art Project.
This program is ideal for families &/or congregations who are seeking new Religious Education content for May-June 2021, 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. Visual and written artwork that emerges from this project will be featured in a special program hosted by UU Ministry for Earth at the UUA General Assembly, June 23-27, 2021.
SIGN UP BELOW if you are interested in participating in the 2021 Biodiversity Sunday and Endangered Species Art Project!
Why:
The overarching goals of this program are to:
Cultivate Biodiversity Sunday as an annual event on the UU church calendar
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist cultural and spiritual practices of honoring the Web of Life in our congregations and at the UUA General Assembly
Strengthen multi-generational relationships and connections between UU climate/environmental team members and the children and youth in their congregation, and
Strengthen Unitarian Universalist communities’ understanding, relationship, and ethic of accountability to Place and to the Rights of Nature
How:
Each participating family &/or congregation will spend time together researching and learning about endangered and threatened species in their local area, and then will pick at least one species to create written and visual artwork about. Participants will also learn about and consider Rights of Nature frameworks and what the Rights of their chosen species are.
Some groups may choose that they want to focus on a particular ecosystem or water body where they live instead of one species, and that is welcome as well!
Congregations are encouraged to uplift the artwork, stories and poems that emerge from this creative project in a worship setting on Biodiversity Sunday (May 23). This could be a special Story for All Ages segment, or it could be an entire multi-generational worship service! This will depend on each group’s unique circumstances and capacity. Biodiversity Sunday could also be the primary day for channeling what has been learned into creative arts.
UU Ministry for Earth will then be working from May 23 to June 23, to compile stories, poems, photographs, and visual art for showcasing in special programs at the UUA General Assembly, June 23-27, 2021. Stay tuned for more details about this as the program schedule gets finalized!
The cohort of participating families and congregations will also have an opportunity to share their artwork and stories with one another, and to inspire and support one another along the way.
SIGN UP HERE if you are interested in participating in the 2021 Biodiversity Sunday and Endangered Species Art Project:
Resources and Examples from Prior Years:
Here is a virtual Biodiversity Sunday program from May 2020:
Here is the “Call to Arts!” toolkit from 2020, and here are some photographs from the “Environmental Justice Forest” at the 2017 General Assembly and the “Procession of the Species” at the 2019 General Assembly to give you some inspiration and ideas for how each group’s project will feed into a larger UU arts-witness:
California Condor Puppet by Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA
Golden Cheeked Warbler by Wildflower UU Church, Austin TX
“We Need Bees!” banner by Woodinville UU Church, Woodinville, WA
UUs in Corvallis and Eugene, Oregon worked together to create Talequah the Orca puppet, with direction by artists Patti Warner and Esteban Camacho Steffensen
Participants in the 2019 Procession of Species posed together for an ariel drone photograph creating the shape of an orca
The Environmental Justice Forest at GA 2017. Each tree banner was made by a different congregation.
Photo by Peter Bowden
Participants in the UU Climate Justice Collaboratory gather & smile together for a photo at the end of a wonderful 3-hour session. Photo by Peter Bowden (UU Planet, UU Climate Action)
Earthworm puppet made by member of UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
Pictured:
[1] California Condor Puppet by Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA [2] Golden Cheeked Warbler banner by Wildflower UU Church, Austin, TX [3] “We need bees!” banner by Woodinville UU Church, Woodinville, WA [4] Talequah the orca puppet by UU churches of Corvallis and Eugene, OR [5] Participants in the 2019 Procession of Species posed together for an ariel drone photograph creating the shape of an orca [6] The Environmental Justice Forest at GA 2017. Each tree banner was made by a different congregation. Photo by Peter Bowden [7] Participants in the UU Climate Justice Collaboratory workshop at GA 2017 gather & smile together with banners from the Environmental Justice Forest. Photo by Peter Bowden (UU Planet, UU Climate Action) [8] Earthworm puppet made by member of UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, used for puppet theater during a morning worship homily by Rev. Sara Green at GA 2017
Image Description: The Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-In Advertisement for November 19-26, 2020. The Image contains a beautiful illustration of 5 women surrounded by nature created by Molly Costello which says “The Land Loves Us Back”. At the bottom are the logos for the UUA, UUMFE, and UUSC. PROGRAM SCHEDULE – Harvest The […]
