Climate Collapse is a Spiritual Crisis Requiring a Spiritual Solution

The only world we will ever know and love is in danger. Many of us have lost connection with our spiritual roots and no longer remember what it feels like to wander through an old-growth forest or to stare in awe at a star-spangled sky. It is time for us to resacralize our connection with the Earth that nurtures and sustains us; time we acknowledge our sacred obligation to live in a much more awake and openhearted way.

Facts alone do not tell the story. Our hearts break as we witness blackened forests and lands drowned in floods. Our despair is deepened by a pandemic that keeps us isolated inside individual shelters, deprived of human touch. We’re anxious and scared, and don’t know what to do.

Indigenous wisdom reminds us that our connection with the earth is sacrosanct; that ours is a relationship built on obligation and responsibility, not individual rights. We are summoned to protect and safeguard our one precious planet and to the understanding that we belong to the Earth, not the other way around. We are called to reconnect with the spiritual roots of our own faith traditions and to remember what we’ve mostly forgotten: that this is heaven; that the here-and-now is the garden. We are reminded to appreciate and love this Edenic world we’ve been blessed with while it’s still here, and while we still can. These are sacred obligations we must not turn away from.

As eco-warrior and spiritual kung-fu master Terry Tempest Williams tells us (in her heart-
rending elegy “A Burning Testament”), grief is love. She calls on us to bear witness to this
moment of undoing and to “find the strength and spiritual will to meet the dark and smoldering landscapes where we live.” She exhorts us to cry our way back to healing: “Our tears will fall like rain in the desert and wash off our skins of ash so our pores can breathe, so our bodies can breathe back the lives that we have taken for granted.”

I invite all of us to find our own grief, enter into it, embrace it. Allow yourself to fully
comprehend the dark and smoldering landscapes we now inhabit. Allow yourself to cry your way toward healing. These are necessary steps as we resacralize our world.

salim matt gras

Coordinator for Faith and Climate Action Montana.

"The world is holy. We are holy. All life is holy. Daily prayers are delivered on the lips of breaking waves, the whisperings of grasses, the shimmering of leaves."

Terry Tempest Williams

Upcoming Special Store Hours

Tuesday, November 3rd: Closed for Election Day

Practicing strict social distancing?

Please contact us about private and virtual shopping options!

store@jrpc.org | 406.543.3955

We are working hard behind the scenes to get our online auction ready to roll next month but we have a little pre-auction special to plant before the election! Anne Frank trees available with a donations to the Peace Center.

Anne Frank’s favorite tree was the beautiful horse chestnut which comforted her in her isolation (see her diary). A member of the Peace Center has potted 9 of these beautiful trees and would like to make them available to others for donations to the Peace Center. The trees need to be planted soon, and so cannot wait until the Peace Center’s upcoming auction. If you have a place where a little tree can grow into a big beautiful tree, and would like this connection to Anne Frank – Contact Vicki.watson@umontana.edu. Suggested donation $25.

October Read, Watch, & Listen List

The True Cost Documentary

This is a story about clothing. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world.

Read

Watch

Listen

Code Switch Podcast
Art of Citizenry Podcast
She Votes! (Podcast)
Failed Missionary Podcast

Act

Make Sure You Ballot Was Accepted
Join the Missoula Advocacy Team, Contact Carol (programs@jrpc.org) for details!
Peoples Movement Assembly - Towards a Peoples Constitution
Active Bystander Intervention Training

"We humans are hardwired to be connected - we want to share things with one another. Now, in the age of social media, we’re sharing more and more. The latest news, some handy advice, a funny story. All it takes is a click and we’ve shared something with the world. These tidbits of information can spread like wildfire, and a small share can have big consequences."

"We can’t wait for technology companies, we must all act now to break the chain and stop misinformation from spreading."

Learn More

Upcoming Events & Action Opportunities

University of Montana Diverse U: October 28 & 29 on ZOOM

Full Schedule

Mansfield Dialogue: Election Post-Mortem
Wednesday, November 4

The MTPR Campaign Beat Crew of Sally Mauk, Holly Michels, and Rob Saldin will analyze election results and what they mean for the future of politics and governing in Helena and Washington.

Mansfield Dialogue: The Myth of Chinese Capitalism
Wednesday, November 18

Award-winning journalist and author of The Myth of Chinese Capitalism Dexter Roberts will discuss how surging income inequality and rising social tensions block China’s continued economic rise, with global implications. Moderated by special guest Bay Fang, recently President of Radio Free Asia.

Roberts is an award-winning writer and speaker who previously spent more than two decades as China bureau chief and Asia news editor of Bloomberg Businessweek. He now serves as a UM Mansfield Fellow and instructor in political science, and as a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Asia Security Initiative.

Please Note, Due to the Higgins Bridge construction the Women in Black are now standing on the corner of Front & Orange! Join them this Fridays at 12:15.

Nonviolent Communication Practice Group

Every second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, at Noon join Patrick Marsolek to practice and learn to use Nonviolent Communication. No Charge. No experience necessary. This weekly group provides an opportunity to give and receive empathy, do role play with challenging or stressful life situations, and practice the fundamentals of Nonviolent Communication. If interested, email Patrick for more info on how to join the Zoom meeting. info@PatrickMarsolek.com

Stamps for a Cause

Did you know that your used stamps can help fund a great cause? Simply rip the corner with the stamp off the envelope and drop it by JRPC next time you are in! For those who have been bringing stamps for years there have been a couple of changes. The Quaker Meeting that is managing the project is now giving 100% of the proceeds to a very vital Quaker Organization, the Right Sharing of World Resources. Also, due to the large number of "Flag" stamps and the Non-profit stamp, they have no value for collectors so please do not submit them.

"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want."

ANNA LAPPE

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Jeannette Rankin Peace Center has been in Missoula since 1986, working to build non-violence, social justice and sustainability. We are pleased to be a member of the Montana Shares Network, a partnership of Montana-based nonprofit groups devoted to improving the quality of life in communities throughout the state. Give to JRPC through your workplace. www.montanashares.org

The JRPC e-newsletter is sent to our listserv each Thursday. Deadline for calendar items is noon, Wednesday. We always appreciate your contributions, comments and suggestions. If you would like to be taken off our mailing list, please unsubscribe above.