Refugia Faith Lenten Retreat
Occurred on March 23, 2023
In her wise and lyrical book on Christian spirituality and the climate crisis, Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth, Debra Rienstra delves into how Christians can fall in love again with our home planet and take our own small yet steady steps toward building a better world, not only for our fellow human beings but for the entire more-than-human world as well.
Using Debra Rienstra's book as a conversation partner, The BTS Center offered an online retreat for Lenten sanctuary, a spiritual refugium, for pastors and spiritual leaders concerned about the climate crisis. We welcomed you to join fellow seekers Rev. Doug Clark and Rev. Eileen Gebbie for this virtual time of reflection and renewal. There was time for large-group connection, contemplation, and small-group discussion focused around creating ties of affection to place as well as surfacing diverse refugia stories from scripture.
We invited you to read Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth in advance of the retreat to bring greater richness and depth to our discussions.
Meet Rev. Doug Clark
Doug, a 1974 graduate of Bangor Theological Seminary, was ordained in 1975. From then until his retirement in 2017, he pastored UCC congregations in Maine, Massachusetts, Southern California, the Washington, DC metro area, and Connecticut. A longtime religious environmentalist, he was "converted" to the climate crisis in 2018. Doug is passionate about the role of spirituality in mitigating and adapting to the climate emergency. He is the co-host of a podcast series on creation care and climate justice with Jenna Van Donselaar, an activist with Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.
Meet Rev. Eileen Gebbie
Eileen is living and working at the intersections of antiracism, queerness, climate change, and faith in Champaign County, Illinois. Eileen was the the first female and first queer senior pastor at two congregations in the United Church of Christ (a non-creedal Christian denomination pushing the boundaries of radical inclusion). Eileen now serves creation as a spiritual director, forest therapy guide, and as a contemplative practitioner for youth and young adults in an intensive outpatient mental health treatment program.
