Winter Edition 2023: A Climate Transition Supported by Faith (Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo)
“A Climate Transition supported by Faith
From the voices of Islamic and Indigenous women”
Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo, guest editor
COP28 ended in Dubai on December 13th, 2023, with an unprecedented global call for transitioning away from fossil fuels. The act of moving away from that which causes death and suffering, into a life-giving path, is one of the greatest aims of all spiritualities and religions of the world.
We are amid a great opportunity for people of faith who care about the climate crisis!
As COP28 came to a close and countries begin a journey to Transitioning away from fossil fuels, we choose to listen to the voices of four Islamic women: Nana Firman, Hening Parlan, Nouhad Awwad and Dr. Hanaa Albanna, who work in Indonesia, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom respectively, to protect forests and biodiversity, to educate on Islamic teachings, and to lift up youth and women’s voices; seeking to inspire others to work for climate justice.
We also listen to two indigenous women: Jocabed Solano from Panama and Iemaima Vaai from Samoa, whose coastal communities and ways of life are threatened both by sea level rise caused by climate change, and the new extractive industries aiming to build so called Green solutions. They share about indigenous rituals and traditions that speak of a life lived in relationship, and the Buen Vivir (a community well-being), capable of solving the roots of the climate crisis.
In the USA, we talk with Letty Pineda, an immigrant farmworker born in El Salvador, who works in a community garden in Florida (USA) so others like herself can have access to healthy organic foods and build the loving community necessary to win their rights to shade, water and breaks; in a State experiencing increasing heat waves, but lacking legal protections for its outdoor workers in spite of the known life and health threats of heat exhaustion.
In Argentina, we hear the story of Natay Collet, who from age 9 took on the role of documenting the life of animals and plants in the dry Chaco forest. Her journey has met that of small farmers, who left their riffles for hunting wildlife to take on cameras to document their stories and ancestral wisdom in hopes of protecting themselves and their fragile environment from the threat of a changing climate, and the illegal burning and State-condoned deforestation that is paving the way to agribusiness and cash crops, thus destroying the forest forever.
“One life is not enough to learn all the wisdom of the forest!”, says Natay in her story. We hope their stories will inspire you to want to know more about yours, in relationship with the environment that surrounds you, and lead you to take action.
Table of Contents
Editor's Introduction (Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo)
The Role of Islamic Teachings in Protecting the Planet (Dr. Hanaa Alabanna)
Restoring Wholeness in Creation (Iemaima Vai)
Green 'Aisyiyah: Save the Earth from Climate Change (Hening Parlan)
Towards a Green Reconstruction for Forests & People: An Islamic Spiritual Journey (Neddy Astudillo interviews Nana Firman)
Climate Change, A Moral Imperative (Nouhad Awwad)
Enjoying Good and Forbidding Wrong (Nana Firman)
The Commodification of the Sacred (Jocabed Solano)
So the Forest Might Be Preserved (Neddy Astudillo shares Natay Etai Collet's work)
We Want Shade, Water and a Break (Neddy Astudillo interviews Letty Pineda)
Select Memes
Click image to view full post.
Podcasts (In English)
Meet our Editor
Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo. Venezuelan eco-theologian and Presbyterian pastor based in the US; co-founder, Angelic Organics Learning Center; coordinator of the Spanish Climate Justice and Faith program at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Astudillo was recently guest editor of our Eco-Teologîa collection. She currently teaches throughout the Americas and is published widely. She is co-author of the National Council of Churches' historic statement, God's Land is Sacred, and the book, God's Land is Sacred.
Thanks for Reading
This collection produced, edited, and designed by Chris Searles (executive editor, AllCreation.org, director, BioIntegrity.net). Special thanks to our funders! To support our work, donate to our producer, BioIntegrity.
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