The BTS Center

In a piece for Atmos, journalist Katie Hill journeys to Machias, ME, to explore a climate-changed community confronting its wreckage and threats, even while it remains divided on whether climate change is occurring.

"I’m still struck by how insanely unromantic this all seems. I came to Machias looking for a story about a community that set differences aside to rally around shared concerns in the aftermath of major disasters. Instead, I found a community that, in many ways, is still divided—mostly along partisan lines—over what exactly happened, how bad things actually got, and what the future holds."

Read at the link in the comments.

Come Hell or High Water | Atmos How a small town on the Downeast coast of Maine became a poster child for building climate resilience in conservative, rural America.

The headlines of this summer are more than a story about wild weather. They're verses of lament by a world struggling for survival.

Preachers: you are called for the privilege and discomfort of this time. Join a year-long community of learning and support for preachers who endeavor to speak the truth, no matter which way the winds blow.

Learn more about EcoPreacher & register at the link in the comments. Deadline is TOMORROW (Fri, Sep 18).

If you listened to our Climate Changed podcast episode with Norma Wong last season, you know that Norma is gifted with necessary instructions on becoming a good ancestor.

You can see Norma Wong speak on October 14 at Bates College in Lewiston, ME.

Author, podcast host, Native Hawaiian and Hakka political strategist, Zen teacher, and emerging elder – Norma will discuss her new book, 'Who We Are Becoming Matters: The Courage, Wisdom, and Aloha We Need in a Timeplace of Collapse,' the highly anticipated follow-up to her acclaimed 'When No Thing Works.'

Drawing on decades of Zen training, Indigenous Hawaiian knowledge, and practical political strategy, she'll explore what she calls the Human Quotient: four essential inner capacities — courage, compassion, aloha, and strategic wisdom — needed to navigate this era of accelerating change.

Register for free at the link in the comments.

In this special off-season episode of Climate Changed, we're sharing an episode of Refugia, a podcast hosted by our good friend and colleague, Professor Debra Rienstra.

Debra, who previously joined us on Season 2 of Climate Changed, explores the biological concept of "refugia": habitats where life endures in times of crisis. She applies it as a profound metaphor for how spiritual people can nurture life-giving spaces today.

In this episode, she sits down with Dr. Elaine Heath, founder and abbess of Spring Forest, a new monastic community and regenerative farm in North Carolina. They have a rich conversation about adaptation outside the traditional walls of the church, releasing the "church of empire," and healing both land and theology.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. Link in the comments.

If you missed Passamaquoddy Language Keeper Dwayne Tomah's keynote address this past spring at Green Teams Gathering:

You can hear him at First Congregation Church, UCC in South Portland and via livestream on Facebook and YouTube for an in-worship conversation on Sunday, September 27.

Dwayne is a gifted storyteller and an impassioned advocate for Indigenous people and the ecosystems that support us all.

10am: Conversation and film screening of the Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code
11:30am: Film discussion

RSVP to Marvin Ellison at mellison122 (at) gmail.com.

TOMORROW (Friday, September 11) is the registration deadline for Convocation 2026: Sacred Soil.

This year's gathering of eco-spiritual people will take place on the beautiful grounds of The Ecology School in S**o, ME. Come experience a day of deep connection, wisdom, and spiritual refreshment.

Register at the link in the comments.

"Limiting overshoot" is what the U.N. Environment Programme's latest report asks of us – not how we achieve the Paris Climate Agreement's goals, but how we live courageously and morally in a world where we cannot avoid climate catastrophe.

If you're feeling compelled to preach for the life of our shared planet, or if you're looking for a supportive community doing just that: we invite you to this year's EcoPreacher cohort, a project of The BTS Center, Lexington Theological Seminary, and Creation Justice Ministries.

Learn more and register at the link in the comments below. The cohort starts in 2 weeks, and it'll enrich and deepen your ministry.

At Convocation this year, we're eager to build mycelial connections between you, your spiritual communities, and organizations in our bioregion. We're so grateful that these organizations said yes to being present at Sacred Soil.

To learn more about Convocation or to register, head to the link in the comments.


Third Act Maine
Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Wabanaki Alliance
The Ecology School
Fendrick & Peck

Blessings of Creationtide! For many in Christian traditions, this is a season of invitation into deeper oneness with creation.

If you've been itching to preach about the eco-spiritual, then this is your time. Not just a one-day celebration of flowers, but a wide-open buffet of climate emotions and sacred interdependence.

The EcoPreacher Resource Hub is one place to plumb for sermon starters, videos, informative articles about preaching climate justice, and more. Link to the Resource Hub is in the comments.

Each day of the 2026 Season of Creation (9/1 - 10/4), you can receive a devotion via email from our friends at Episcopal Path to Creation. Devotions will highlight keystone species in Canada's Province One EcoRegion, and will include a photo, a brief description, thoughts on how the species reflects our image of God, and a closing prayer. Devotions will be prepared by Episcopalians from around Province One.

Click on the link in the comments below to learn more and register to receive daily devotions: https://www.episcopalcreationpath.org