Friends in the good work of resilience,
2021
has been an incredibly challenging year for so many individuals and faith communities as climate change, coupled with a global pandemic, continues to foundationally shift the world we inhabit. In the midst of these crises, Brugmansia Ministries was founded to help faith communities grapple with what it means to serve others in a world where the basic assumptions around resource availability, equity, and justice are being challenged by the shifting physical and social landscapes related to an ever-increasing imbalance in global ecosystems. In essence, we are helping faith communities ask what means to lean into the hardships and challenges created by climate change and to boldly adapt their ministries to serve others in the world that already is, and the one that is to come.
As an organization, we have been heartened by the yearning of faith communities to engage the pain associated with climate change, and we have been grateful for the opportunity to begin to walk alongside a few communities as they envision practical and tangible actions to address the needs of their neighbors. Beginning with the culture, history, assets, and particularity of each faith community, we have seen these communities eagerly participate in the process of taking radical, life-giving, and diverse steps to address climate change when they are provided the chance to fully engage with how climate change will impact the specifics of their communities and lives. In this year alone, we have helped a historic church in Tennessee with an energy-efficiency proposal to create funds to feed hungry individuals struggling with homelessness amidst a climate migration crisis while working to reduce carbon emissions from their historic building, visioned with a community to convert church lands into a permaculture food-forest to increase local food production in Northern Ohio, and have been working hand in hand with a parish to figure out how to house individuals displaced by hurricanes in Alabama.
Beyond our intensive work with communities, we have been preaching, teaching, and writing about the importance of preparing for climate change and climate migration through resilience building and justice work. With the help of some amazing volunteers, we have also started the process of developing technology that will allow faith communities to facilitate resource identification and sharing during and immediately after a natural disaster.
In this upcoming year, we are excited to continue the work of helping individual communities prepare for climate change and migration with physical, tangible, and pragmatic actions that place love and justice at the center of the conversation around climate change. The work of resilience building and adaptive preparation will continue to be foundational to the survival of communities as our social landscapes continue to shift and change with new ecological realities. But these challenges are not insurmountable with careful preparation and action. And, Brugmansia Ministries is grateful to be a partner for communities undertaking this vital work.
If you or your faith community is interested in working with Brugmansia Ministries or learning more about our model of social change, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at director@brugmansiaministries.org.
In deep love of people and the planet, now and in the future,
Josh Richardson
(he/him/his)
Executive Director
Brugmansia Ministries
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