Join me at the Jewish Climate Action Conference Sunday, April 25. There are lots of great workshops including the one I will be presenting on Spiritual Resilience and Values Based Action.

Sessions focus on carbon reduction, advocacy, spiritual resilience, soil and agriculture, as well as raising up the voices of youth and addressing environmental justice. The day-long event is geared toward action solutions and strengthening the national Jewish climate action network. Opportunities are available for connecting with other climate activists in your geographic region or those with similar interests. View the schedule of sessions at https://www.jewishclimate.org/conference-sessions.html.  Sign up for the conference at https://www.jewishclimate.org/conference-sessions.html

Climate disaster is the crisis of our era, challenging us technically, politically, and economically–as well as a crisis of social justice and a refugee crisis. But less often noted is that climate disaster is a spiritual crisis. It forces us to ask what our life’s purpose is, how to stay emotionally centered in the face of destruction, and how to make the thousands of years of our religious traditions relevant in a situation never envisioned by those who fashioned these traditions.

The JCAN conference offers a holistic and comprehensive view of the work that the climate demands of us today–as much as one can get in just eight hours. This free event covers advocacy (with special events by and for young people), soil and agriculture, decarbonizing, and resilience and weaves together youth, environmental justice, and anti-racism while focusing on action steps. Speakers come from leading Jewish organizations in addition to a wide range of environmental and groups and experts. People of all faiths and backgrounds are invited to attend, learn, and network.

People often ask what they can do, as individuals or members of modest-sized organizations such as synagogues, to make a difference. Effective action to save the climate, and to create a socially just environment, does require large-scale, global work. But individual efforts make a difference. By treating our land, our food, and our buildings as sacred contributions to a better world and raising up environmental justice, we free ourselves somewhat from our dependence on activities that put carbon into the atmosphere. We also strengthen our ability to demand progress from institutions and other people.