Convocation 2024
Hope in Small Places:
Becoming People of Refugia Faith
Online Companions Track
For those who are unable to join us in person in Hallowell, Maine, we are delighted to offer a unique and robust online program filled with engaging programming. Those who join us via the Online Companions Track will have access to live streams of the Opening Worship and Plenary Sessions as well as exclusive conversations with Debra Rienstra, Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, and others. There will be time for creative and contemplative exploration as well as a Lectio Terra experience led by Tyler Mark Nelson.
Hosted by Peterson Toscano and Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, our Convocation Online Companions Track is an opportunity to engage in our theme of Hope in Small Places: Becoming People of Refugia Faith within an online community held by skilled facilitators and guests. We hope you will join us for this immersive Convocation experience from the comfort of your own home!
Note: This year, The BTS Center is making some big improvements in our technology setup to bring Online Companions a significantly enhanced audio-visual experience. We learned a great deal from the feedback on last year's tech challenges from those of you who joined us online, and this year we will have a dedicated A/V crew with an integrated sound system to ensure that the online experience is truly special.
A Letter from Our Online Companions Track Hosts
Hello friends!
We are so very glad you found your way to this page and are thrilled to invite you to the Online Companions Track of Convocation 2024 on September 26 + 27. We are cooking up a truly magical, restful, and meaningful experience for you, and we are excited to offer you some details to whet your appetite:
Why the Online Companions Track?
At Convocation, we believe in the power of coming together, even in the virtual realm, to explore profound ideas, engage in meaningful conversations, and tap into the wellspring of our shared interconnectedness. Our online companion offering will weave in livestream of the plenary sessions coupled with exclusive online sessions. As your hosts, we look forward to co-creating intentional space so that each of you feels seen, has fun, and gleans deep inspiration.
What will our shared time together look like?
Here is a little glimpse into the wonders in store for you during the Online Companions Track:
Thursday opens with an online gathering followed by a live-streamed Opening Worship and Plenary Session with Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, founder of the New Roots AME Church in Dorchester, MA. We have a juicy Creative Exploration in the early afternoon, which will allow for a deep-dive into how this idea of refugia weaves into your own life. You will also have access to a zoom exclusive between Associate Director Rev. Nicole Diroff and Rev. Mariama White-Hammond.
Friday unfolds with more enriching opportunities, including another plenary session with Debra Reinstra, author of Refugia Faith, followed by a contemplative Lectio Terra practice with Tyler Mark Nelson. The day continues with an online-exclusive conversation between BTS Executive Director Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill and Debra Rienstra.
Are you tantalized?
We hope so! Convocation is a rare opportunity to sink deeply into ourselves, explore new ideas, and be alongside good and introspective people who also care about this climate-changed world. The BTS Center looks forward to Convocation all year — we can’t wait to share this time with you!
Warmly,
Madeline Bugeau-Heartt and Peterson Toscano
P.S. We also want to let you know that, following on from feedback last year, we’ve made significant investments in improving the technology for our Online Companions Track. So you can expect vastly improved sound and video for a truly immersive online experience!
Online Companions Schedule
All sessions will take place on Zoom. All times below are Eastern time zone.
Thursday, September 26
10:00 am ET • Gathering & Welcome with Online Hosts
10:30 am ET • LIVESTREAM: Opening Worship & Plenary Session I
12:00 pm ET • Break
1:00 pm ET • Online Exclusive - Creative Exploration
2:30 pm ET • Break
3:00 pm ET • LIVESTREAM: Plenary Session II
4:15 pm ET • Break
4:45 pm ET • Online Exclusive with Mariama White-Hammond & Nicole Diroff
6:00 pm ET • Goodnight
Friday, September 27
8:30 am ET • Good Morning Check-In
9:00 am ET • LIVESTREAM: Plenary Session III
10:30 am ET • Break
10:45 am ET • Online Exclusive - Lectio Terra
12:00 pm ET • Break
1:00 pm ET • Online Exclusive with Debra Rienstra & Allen Ewing-Merrill
2:30 pm ET • LIVESTREAM: Closing Worship
3:00 pm ET • Gratitudes & Farewell with Online Hosts
3:15pm ET • Goodbye
Meet Our Online Host
Peterson Toscano
After spending 17 years and over $30,000 on three continents attempting to “de-gay” himself through conversion therapy, Peterson Toscano came out a quirky queer Quaker concerned with human rights. He asks himself and his audiences unusual questions: Who are the gender outlaws in the Bible? What is a queer response to climate change? What is the role of comedy when addressing trauma? His film, Transfigurations—
Peterson has been featured in People Magazine, The Times of London, the Trya Banks Show, and NPR Morning Edition. In addition to his original performances, Peterson produces multiple podcasts including Citizens Climate Radio, Bubble&Squeak, and the Bible Bash Podcast. In much of his work, Peterson helps people see climate change from fresh angles while stirring up empathy towards those most affected. Wherever he goes, he brings stories of determination, resiliency, and a cast of comic characters. He lives in Pretoria, South Africa with his husband, Glen Retief.
Learn more at www.petersontoscano.com.
Meet Our Online Co-host
Madeline Bugeau-Heartt
Madeline Bugeau-Heartt serves at The BTS Center as a program associate. She is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. A longtime experimental theater and film-maker, Madeline is passionate about creating spaces for people to tap into their kindest, most imaginative selves, especially as we navigate this radical transition that our beloved, climate-changed world demands. She draws from this artistry, her “catholic-adjacent” mysticism, as well as her past-lives as farmer and caregiver to practice into better ways of being with others. When not working, Madeline can be found taking lengthy walks, spending time with her cherished family and friends, and lifting weights; she is forever cooking up new ways to build neighborhood in her home of York, Maine and beyond.
Meet Our Online Lectio Terra Guide
Tyler Mark Nelson
A transplant from the woods and waters of Minnesota, Tyler Mark Nelson is an ecotheologian, writer, and creative whose work envisions the Christian life of faith through the realities of climate change and environmental injustices. His work incorporates themes of radical amazement, grief and hope, and transformative resistance. He is a research associate with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, where his current work on an interdisciplinary project draws upon scientific literature about the sentience, cognition, and subjectivity of the animal and plant kingdoms. The result of this research will be an expansive resource that is freely accessible for public and academic use.
Tyler holds an MDiv in Religion & Ecology from Yale Divinity School, where he was awarded the Harriet Jackson Ely Prize for Excellence and Promise in Theology, and a B.A. in Theology from Whitworth University. He was a seminarian intern with The BTS Center and served as a Program Consultant in 2023. Before shifting into academic study, Tyler’s career in horticulture management and similar roles combined his love for plants and people. He and his wife enjoy hiking, reading, vinyl records, independent radio, and sharing meals with their community in New Haven, CT.
