Earthkeepers
|
Earthkeepers, Gainesville UU Ministry for Earth, is the outgrowth of the Green Sanctuary program we started several years ago, and works for all things environmentally sound.
|
|
"Earthkeepers: Ecospiritual Practice" is a program of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville (UUFG) to create and support an open community of people of any religious affiliation, or none, sharing a need to deepen and embody together the spiritual aspect of our relationship to our ecology. If you're in the North Central Florida area, please join us each Sunday afternoon. We need each other.
"Earthkeepers: Ecospiritual Practice" was initially organized by Dylan Klempner, Pete Taylor, Melody Thompson, and Rev. Meredith Garmon, who now constitute the ongoing planning team. The planning team, inspired by Bron Taylor's Dark Green Religion (2010), sought a way to bring people together to cultivate and encourage the spread of ever-deepening ecospirituality.
Public gatherings began in 2011 November. The gatherings are on Sundays (except holidays) at 4:00pm (during months we're on Standard Time) or at 5:00pm (during months we're on Daylight Savings Time).
Some Sundays, we gather for indoor practice -- usually in the "Common Room" at UUFG. Other Sundays, we have outdoor practice in various parks in the Gainesville area. Outdoor practice may feature such activities as guided walking meditations, group creativity, journaling, or shared reflection.
Please see the Earthkeepers: Ecospiritual Practice web site.
|
|
|
Our Goals:
- To build awareness of societal environmental issues among UU’s
- To generate commitment for personal lifestyle changes
- To motivate UU’s to community action on environmental issues
- To build a connection between spiritual practice and environmental consciousness
- To build awareness of and rectify environmental injustices.
Program
The Green Sanctuary committee sponsored the endorsement of the Earth Charter by UUFG. We conducted an educational service on the Earth Charter prior to the congregational vote. We are also designated as a UUA Green Sanctuary. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earthkeepers:
UU Ministry
for the Earth
Earthkeepers: Ecospiritual Practice
Ecospirituality is the recognition of our spiritual connection to nature. Ecospirituality is characterized by:
- knowing and honoring the sacredness of the earth and the life it supports;
- the deep sense of place, of belonging, that comes from understanding the ways we are part of an ecological web of interdependence;
- experiences of awe, wonder, and beauty evoked by the natural world and the interdependence of its parts;
- an ethical commitment to environmental activism to preserve and protect the earth and its creatures;
To cultivate ecospirituality:
- Read (see our "Weekly Reader" pages and "Recommended Books" page);
- Reflect (Take to heart what you learn);
- Gather (come together with others for learning and solidarity);
- Experience (get out into natural settings -- wilderness whenever possible);
- Write (keep a journal to record your reflections and experiences);
- Act (take steps both personally and politically to reduce your "footprint," and to encourage our elected leaders to legislate protections of our earth).
|
