Prayers & Stories for the Planet & Creation
Over the last few weeks, Faiths4Future has organized two prayer and story services, bringing faith leaders together across different traditions to share prayer, stories, and communion for the planet and creation. We saved the stories from those services (read about the storytellers below).
The two services centered on themes of replenishment.
The first service was organized in the Christian tradition with the theme ‘Laborers in the field.’ The service included a Eucharist celebrated by two presiders on two continents, and shared with everyone in between. The Christian tradition service was organized by Faiths4Future in partnership with UK based Christian Climate Action, and sponsored by Circle Faith Future.
The second service was a multifaith celebration with storytellers from the Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions. The theme for the multifaith service was ‘repairing the nets,’ as attendees were invited to respond to the call to prayer for the earth.
Storytellers & Presiders:
Born in Baltimore, MD, The Reverend Jonathan Michael Wade spent a majority of his life in Washington DC, currently serving as the Senior Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church of Baltimore City. Prior to coming to Macedonia, Pastor Wade worked as an organizer for World Vision, and served as Executive Minister to the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, DC; under the leadership of his pastor Rev. Dr. Frank D. Tucker. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Philosophy from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and a Master’s of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity. A young man with an old soul, his unique personality, skills, and interests enables him to lead and work with youth, and faith-based business, and leadership organizations.
Dr. Barak Gale (left, with husband Joe) is a passionate volunteer climate educator, trained by Al Gore in 2016. Retired from optometry, he volunteers as Chair of the Climate Reality Project Thurston County, WA Chapter, and Chair of Temple Beth Hatfiloh GreenTeam in Olympia. He has presented to over 100 high school classes, faith communities, and Lions Clubs, and has served as Mentor in five global trainings with Mr. Gore. A favorite project was facilitating a “mini summit” of Middle School classes, in New Delhi and Olympia.
I am Rev. Hilary Bond, Church of England pioneer priest, Third Order Franciscan and teller of stories. I love God, my family, my cats and deep conversation over coffee or around the fire pit. I am also someone who firmly believes that care of creation should be an integral part of the expression of Christian faith. Because of that I have chosen to be part of Christian Climate Action and Extinction Rebellion, and to take part in acts of civil disobedience. I am also a passionate believer in community, safe spaces, and the importance of connecting with people who have a different faith or world view from my own. I serve in Wareham, England.
Mustafa Mohamedali has served on the board of the Islamic Center of Olympia for 7 years responsible for internal and external outreach and engagement before he retired at the end of 2021. As a board member he has been involved in the development of the new mosque and community center project. He was also responsible for initiating and running the mosque’s incredibly successful 1st Friday Open House – a monthly program providing the wider community with an opportunity to “Get to Know a Muslim”. Mustafa has a passion for promoting inter-cultural/interfaith understanding by finding common ground in values of people polarized through years of distrust and ignorance through which he has seen real and tangible results. He is a first generation American, a native of Kenya in East Africa with Indian ancestry and speaks four languages from East Africa, Middle East, South Asia, besides of course English.
In 2019, Rev. Corey Turnpenny (she/her) felt the Spirit’s call to plant an alternative church for those who, like her, feel closest to the Divine in nature. At the Spirit’s leading, she started a ‘wild church,’ Church in The Wild, located at the beautiful Sky Lake Camp in Upper New York State. Corey earned her Masters in Divinity from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and now lives with her spouse their 2 kids and 2 dogs in Windsor, NY. She is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
Conne Ralls is a Soto Zen priest, ordained by Kobun Otogawa Roshi in 2001, and a retired generalist Park Ranger. Conne is fascinated by the relationship between the human and the natural realms, and in how the scientific and spiritual (non-conceptual) aspects of this relationship often overlap. They received certification from the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies in eco-chaplaincy in February of this year.
Rev. Helen Burnett is a priest in the Church of England with a parish in the Diocese of Southwark. She is a founder member of her local Extinction Rebellion group and also active within Christian Climate Action, Green Christian and Modern Church. Helen enjoys leading worship outdoors and has experience with leading worship during protests. She participated in Camino to COP, a pilgrim walk to Glasgow for COP 26 where she organised a daily vigil outside the blue zone of the COP26 conference centre. In this photo, she stands, left, with her fingers dipped in oil.
Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is co-founder of Faiths4Future, convenes the Climate Cafe Multifaith, and serves as Steward of Climate for Circle Faith Future. She serves on the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon board, chairing the Creation Justice Committee and Oregon Interfaith Power and Light. Richenda is ordained in the United Methodist Tradition, and lives in Southern Oregon.