Tending the Wounded Healers
The BTS Center Offers Spiritual Care for a Climate-Changed World
The past few months have held much devastation. From Hurricane Helene’s monstrously destructive path through Appalachia to fires and flooding in California and on the East Coast, from another powerful hurricane ripping across Florida to a bruising national election which has returned power to a climate change denier, the days have been heavy. As we search for meaning and purpose in these times of increasing instability and uncertainty, finding and nurturing spaces of spiritual care is an act of brave love for ourselves and for the world.
Over the past several years, The BTS Center has been engaged in the work of co-creating programming which offers spiritual care in a variety of ways. From Conversation Circles for chaplains deep in the work of holding space for others, to spiritual accompaniment circles for those seeking contemplative grounding and discernment, to programs for expressing climate grief through ritual, each of our offerings acknowledges the truth that without spaces for spiritual care, spiritual leadership for this climate-changed world is unsustainable.
“Our programs are grounded in a core commitment to cultivate and nurture ‘spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world,’ so we understand the realities of climate devastation as the context in which all spiritual leaders are leading,” Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill, Executive Director of The BTS Center, explains. “But it’s very hard to separate the climate crisis from everything else that is causing stress and fear in this moment: political chaos, economic distress, the fear of violence, the decline of religious institutions, and a gnawing sense that much of what has held us together is crumbling. All of this is interrelated, interconnected. And in this context, we aim to provide spaces of prayerful accompaniment and mutual support — spaces that offer companionship, that nurture hope, that bolster courage.”
Each of our spiritual care offerings holds its own unique perspective and orientation. The Climate Conscious Chaplaincy Initiative, in particular, has grown to encompass a robust set of offerings oriented toward those engaged in climate conscious chaplaincy. Although “climate conscious chaplaincy” may sound like a relatively niche area of chaplaincy work, The BTS Center understands that chaplains in every sector — health care, higher education, prison, military, community, activism and organizing, and more — are doing their work in the context of a climate-changed world, and climate concerns are showing up in caregiving conversations in every setting.
Our Chaplaincy Conversation Circles, which will start their third cohort this winter, offer spaces in which small groups of chaplains from across many sectors come together for conversation and discernment under the guidance of two skilled facilitators. According to Rev. Alison Cornish, Chaplaincy Initiative Coordinator at The BTS Center and one of the Circle facilitators, chaplains are showing up for the Circles with both an acceptance of the profoundly challenging circumstances of a climate-changed world and also deep questions about the work they are meant to do in these times.
The Conversation Circles offer a space where those who are so often called to be present to and accompany the grief of others can express their own grief and uncertainty. And, out of the metabolizing of that grief, an interesting alchemy takes shape. As Alison says: “The Conversation Circles, especially, are a time when we encourage people to dream, experiment, take risks ... and out of that some amazing vision work is taking place.” She adds: “If chaplains are going to do this work with energy, creativity, and longevity, they need spaces where they can share deeply, collegially, with vulnerability — to share stories and questions.”
These spaces for sharing deeply, for offering vulnerability and opportunities for asking difficult questions, are at the core of our understanding of spiritual care at The BTS Center.
Much of the work of the Climate Conscious Chaplaincy Initiative, including the Chaplaincy Conversation Circles, is done in partnership with other organizations, in particular the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, and this model of collaboration and mutuality speaks to the ways in which we believe that spiritual care can function most fully and robustly in times of uncertainty.
Another offering begun this autumn, our Navigating Climate Spiritual Care Learning Community, draws on resources developed by Blair Nelsen and Jessica Morthorpe, offering participants the opportunity to connect with an emotional and spiritual depth that might not be possible in a more traditional course format. Applicants to the Learning Community spoke of their desire for a space of connection with like-minded spiritual seekers as a way of grounding and nurturing their own work in the world. As one applicant wrote: “I am noticing the ways that accompaniment, deep listening, and (eco)systemic attunement can support human relationship, love, and responsibility within the seemingly intractable challenges we face collectively.”
In addition to our Chaplaincy Initiative offerings, The BTS Center continues to expand our understanding of spiritual care through a number of other programs. Our Spiritual Accompaniment Circles (formerly known as Spiritual Direction Circles), meet for eight monthly sessions beginning in early spring. Guided by a trained spiritual companion, these Circles draw on contemplative, earth-based practices, engagement with art and poetry, and group conversations to open space for discernment around individual and collective calling. While the impetus to find and engage in one’s work in these times can feel urgent, these Circles invite a spaciousness that allows the questions to open with care and curiosity rather than rushing to answers. Drawing on the depth of our religious and spiritual traditions in these Circles allows us to understand ourselves as part of a community of resilience that has continued through the ages, supported by the practices and relationships with which we continue to engage and which continue to evolve.
As we cultivate spaces of spiritual care, a number of through-lines have emerged for what shapes these spaces in a climate-changed world. From a deep connection to nature and the world around us through place-based work, through prioritizing relationship and kinship, and through a commitment to healing work with a nuanced understanding of hope and resilience, these spaces of spiritual care are attuned to accompanying rather than “fixing.” Our ongoing Lament with Earth Series, first begun in 2021, is an example of that principle of accompaniment. Through ritual and song, poetry and prayer, and engagement with the incredible liturgical offerings of The Many (a unique creative collective making music, spoken word, and communal gatherings), Lament with Earth is a gathering for grounding together in grief and for touching into profound practices of lament. At each Lament with Earth event, we hear the tenderness of loss and heartache and witness the grace of being able to hold one another in that vulnerability and even in gratitude. These sacred spaces of spiritual care are essential ballast amidst the storms — both literal and figurative — which we will continue to endure.
“We know that spiritual leaders often feel isolated and alone,” Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill observes. “Reading, attending webinars, brushing up on skills — these are all good and important. But nothing replaces this kind of deep, honest, heart-centered conversation with a small circle of colleagues in carefully facilitated spaces where vulnerability and risk are welcomed and celebrated. We are grateful to offer these spaces in a very intentional way, and it’s gratifying to receive feedback that these spaces are appreciated and valued.”
More on our Climate Conscious Chaplaincy Initiative and Offerings
