The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic
Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily
Meditations with Matthew Fox
|
Hurricane Ian, Community Building & Waking Up about Climate Change |
Our hearts and concerns go out to all those undergoing the massive hurricane Ian making its way through Florida. It is inspiring to see so many workers are rising to the occasion to rescue people and to replace electricity and
more. One hopes the same is happening in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other places severely affected. |
At the same time, we must make note that this tragedy is not just a “natural
catastrophe.” Its severity is partly due to the warming of the seas, a warming that is penetrating deeper and deeper into the oceans with the result that hurricanes are becoming | Hurricane Ian destroyed a cross-section of Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, forcing patients from nursing homes and hospitals, and cutting off a barrier
island. WPLG Local 10 |
more and more severe and the amounts of rain falling becoming more and more devastating. It is due to climate change. A crisis like a hurricane brings people together to combat a common foe. (The same is true of wild fires in the West.) A hurricane does not ask if one is a Republican or Democrat, a believer or a non-believer. All are endangered. The very word community comes from two Latin words
meaning “sharing a common task together. The task of preparing for a common calamity and cleaning up afterwards can bring on community–and we need community today. |
Floridians assess the damage from Ian as community search and rescue efforts continue. CNN. | But there is another dimension to the Florida emergency that needs to be told. Back in 2016, I was invited to be part of an Interfaith conference in Longwood, Florida, on “Faith, Compassion and Climate Change” sponsored by several churches. (I was surprised
to |
see that the Roman Catholic Church was not among them.) Indigenous peoples spoke; scientists spoke; I spoke. And we gathered in small groups to discuss what we could do better to awaken people to
the realities of climate change. I was shocked to learn that the Floridian governor, Rick Scott (now a senator), had just that week declared that no government employee was ever again to use the word “climate change” in any official e mail or
letter. He jettisoned the word! (Just as fundamentalists elected to the school board in HuNew Hampshire many years ago decreed that no public school teacher was allowed to use the word “imagination” in the classroom.) |
Might the current Floridian hurricane allow politicians to 1) talk and think about climate change; and 2) get together with other legislature leaders to plan what they can do about it? | Maria Bartiromo, Mornings With Maria on Fox Business, scoffs at “politicization” of Hurricane Ian’s devastation with references to climate change. |
This includes the governor who identifies as Roman Catholic–but I wonder: Has he even read Pope Francis’ excellent encyclical on the topic, “Our Common Home”? Maybe it is time to do so. How many more two-by-fours to the head in the form of hurricanes and wild fires do certain politicians need to acknowledge this sign of our times, climate change? |
| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
See Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jennifer Listug, David Korten, Brian Swimme, et. al, Order of the Sacred Earth. Banner Image: A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew conducts overflights around the Fort Myers area in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Sept. 29, 2022, looking for people in distress, scope of damage, and potential pollution. U.S.Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kruz Sanders on Flickr. |
Queries for Contemplation Do you agree that it’s time that ALL politicians and ALL political parties start talking together about what we can do to address climate change and to lessen the common effects of climate change on our common Mother Earth? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and
Action By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug In the
midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the
Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.” Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world. “The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope. | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE
Matthew Fox, Caroline Myss, and Andrew Harvey offer a 3-part series of solo online lectures on “The Power of Truth, Wisdom, Choice Part 2” through
the Sophia Institute in Charleston, SC. Wednesdays, September 21, 28, October 5, 3:00pm-4:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for the monthly online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Original Blessing. Thursday, October 20, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register
HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality. Thursday, November 17,
4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. Creation Spirituality in Conversation |
| Join
scholars Matthew Fox and Thomas G. Hermans-Webster for Progressive Christianity's monthly “Things that Matter” discussion on eco-spirituality: “The Intersection of Faith and Climate Justice.” |
Please share this post! Just click the buttons below.
OR share your insights on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox
|
|
|
|
