Even plain things sing God's praise

Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

February 21, 2025

An image of Ophioglossum from the French documentary 7 Walks with Mark Brown. (Courtesy of Several Futures)

On Wednesday, I attended a Climate Café at The Well Spirituality Center near Chicago, hosted by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Modeled on the idea of a death café — where people gather to talk about perspectives on death — the objective of a climate café is not to move one to action, but rather to provide a space where people may feel, process and share emotions related to the climate crisis. It aims to provide supportive community and accompaniment, not solutions.

Climate-aware therapist and Congregation of Divine Providence Sr. Karina Conrad facilitated the Feb. 19 gathering. She's one of a growing number of people who have received climate café facilitator training with the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America. In introducing herself and the concept of a climate café, she emphasized it's not just anxiety people feel when it comes to the state of our world. At a climate café, it's important to hold space for any and all emotions and not to assume everyone is having the same experience.

At this week's climate café, that came through personal sharing prompted by a variety of nature objects spread around a table. Leaves, sticks, rocks, dirt, tree bark, water, a potted plant — each participant was asked to select an item that spoke to them, and when ready, share why they picked it and how they are feeling about the climate crisis today.

I picked the potted plant, saying it stuck out to me as the only still-living thing on the table. It was vibrant, perky and alive among a tablescape of dead things.

But I was then moved by the perspectives others in the group shared about the positive, nostalgic and hopeful emotions they had felt while selecting a crumbly leaf, a dry pussy willow branch, clumps of dirt and broken sticks. To some, these objects symbolized play, rest, circular lifecycles, divine intent.

It reminded me of Jim McDermott's review at EarthBeat today of the documentary "7 Walks with Mark Brown." He said the experience of viewing the film spurred his own realization that "the whole world is charged with the grandeur of God, not just the parts that stand out or look nice."

"What truly makes creation so precious," McDermott writes, "is that with a little information and open senses, we can discover in our backyards, parks and even abandoned lots, life so incredibly extraordinary it makes you gasp and cry."

What else is new on EarthBeat:

Faith groups' environmental projects halted by Trump's climate funding freeze

by Aleja Hertzler-McCain, Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service

More than 300 faith communities have lost access to grant funds that were intended to plant trees in disadvantaged urban communities, environmental faith leaders who managed the grants told RNS.

Trump's attack on paper straws is mostly symbolic — but the plastics industry is celebrating

by Joseph Winters, Grist

Plastic straws have become an international emblem of the harms of plastic pollution, and Trump's order is the latest salvo in a culture war that pits care for the environment against values like masculinity and freedom.

Catholics in Nigeria say Shell can't divest contaminated oil sites before cleanup

by Patrick Egwu

More than 1,200 residents from oil communities in the Niger Delta have filed a $323 million lawsuit against UK-based Royal Dutch Shell to halt their planned exit from the region. In Jan. 2024, Shell announced it had reached an agreement with a consortium of five Nigerian-based companies to divest its onshore operations from the region.

What's happening in other climate news:

Climate advocacy groups file two lawsuits against Trump administration —Dharna Noor for the Guardian

Trump administration moves to fast-track hundreds of fossil fuel projects —Lisa Friedman for The New York Times

Trump's oil ambitions face harsh economic and geologic realities —Mike Soraghan for E&E News

Trump team plans deep cuts at office that funds recovery from big disasters —Christopher Flavelle for The New York Times

Trump moves to claw back almost 50 years of NEPA regs —Hannah Northey for E&E News

EV battery manufacturing capacity will rise when 10 new plants come online this year. But can they thrive in chaos? —Dan Gearino for Inside Climate News

A surprising predictor of low household carbon footprints: Communities that value purity —Sarah DeWeerdt for Anthropocene

Final Beat:

If you've been following EarthBeat for a while, you know we love to discuss meatless meals year round as a climate solution, but especially during Lent when many people are already observing Friday's free of meat as a prayer practice.

Fish has long been a Catholic go-to for Lenten Fridays, since the church doesn't consider seafood to be meat. But if you're looking to switch things up a bit this year or take your practice of prayer, abstinence and solidarity a step further, don't miss out on our upcoming series.

For Lent 2025, we'll once again have something special going out to the EarthBeat Reflections email list each week. To find out what we're cooking up this year, sign up today! (Lent is right around the corner.)

Thanks for reading EarthBeat.

Stephanie Clary
Environment Editor
National Catholic Reporter
sclary@ncronline.org