Penn State Goes Boom?

It was perhaps in 2006 or 2007 that I first heard the word "fracking".

I was sitting in the chair at Fetterolf's Barber Shop, getting a trim.  Next to me was a Penn State geology professor, talking with animation about the Marcellus shale; how new technology was going to upend the energy industry, and (what's more) how it was going to upend the economy of rural Pennsylvania.    Know what? He was right.

"It is we who need to change" - Chapter 6 of Laudato si

Hope long deferred makes sick the heart; but a Desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

These words are from the book of Proverbs,  though when I read them I always hear echoes of the English mystic Thomas Traherne.  They remind us, as Traherne does, of the centrality of longing to authentic humanity.  Who we are is constituted, as much as anything, by what we deeply desire; and disordered, unattainable desire leads to a heart sickness that cannot be cured.

Small group study on the Papal Encyclical

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am privileged to lead an adult education class at State College Presbyterian Church in a couple of weeks, on the topic of "Caring for Creation with Pope Francis".

Together with Matt Carlson from St Paul's Methodist and John Brockopp from Grace Lutheran, we're planning a small group study for those who would like to explore the message of Francis' encyclical in greater depth.  The plan is to meet for a limited number of sessions (six; one for each chapter of the encyclical) at 2-week intervals from late September to early December - finishing around the time that the crucial COP21 climate summit gets underway in Paris.

If you live in the State College area and are interested in taking part, you can sign up through Google Forms and we will get back to you.

Image from the Catholic publication Our Sunday Visitor

Carbon Pricing and Trinity 13

On my Facebook page I regularly post the Collects, that is the special prayers for the week, that are prescribed in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.   I find it a helpful exercise to get to grips with these prayers and the ideas behind them.  Sometimes, despite the archaic language, they feel as though they might have been written yesterday.  At other times there is a grinding of mental gears as my thought world and Cranmer's fail to mesh.

In Anglican-speak this week is the "thirteenth after Trinity", and there is a bit of that grinding as I use the Collect for the day:

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service: Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Escaping the Spiral: Chapter 5 of "Laudato si"

In this series of posts I have been blogging chapter by chapter through Pope Francis' encyclical "on the care of our common home", Laudato si.  We've now arrived at the fifth chapter, which begins, "So far I have attempted to take stock of our present situation... [Now I will] try to outline the major paths of dialogue which can help us escape the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us."

The activist might read this as suggesting that the Pope is finally getting to the point!  After all the theological talk, time for some action!  But that would miss one of the central ideas of Laudato si, namely, that how we respond to environmental crisis is, ultimately, a function of how we see and celebrate creation.  I nearly wrote, how we think about creation, but that is too cerebral.  What lies behind activism (according to the Pope) is not just a way of thinking, but a way of allowing creation to impact our lives - to be seen - which is itself part of a personal relationship.

"Caring for Creation with Pope Francis"

That's the title of an adult Sunday school class that I'll be facilitating on September 20th (just before the Pope arrives in the USA) to introduce the message of the Encyclical  (On Care for our Common Home)  and the way our Christian tradition summons us to environmental stewardship.  If there's interest, I can also offer some small group sessions to follow up.

For those in State College who might want to attend, here are the details:

• Location: State College Presbyterian Church, 132 West Beaver Avenue, State College PA.   
• Room: Westminster Hall (every Presbyterian church has to have a Westminster Hall)
• Time: 10:15-11:05 approx.   Coffee and refreshments are available from 10:00
• Date: Sunday, September 20th
• Contact: you can contact the church office at 814-238-2422 or email me, but of course you are also welcome to just show up!

Cecil, Job, and Climate Change

Ugo Bardi has an interesting article about climate change communication over at Resilience.org. 

In it, he reflects on what it takes for a "meme", a conceptual unit, to "go viral" - to replicate itself exponentially in a "conceptual space" like Facebook.

Bardi identifies three characteristics of a "supermeme": a simple narrative, a clear villain, and a reassuring message.

For instance, the story of Cecil the Lion meets all these criteria: simple tale (man kills lion),clear villain (evil hunter), reassuring message (our moral outrage proves that we are good).