A Local Climate Justice Revival is A Successful Model for Community Dialogue on Climate Crisis Impacts

On September 28-29, the congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis (UUCD) engaged in its denomination’s first ever Climate Justice Revival, “Reimagine Together: From An Extractive Age To A New Era.” Designed largely by staff at the Unitarian Universalist Assocation (UUA), the revival was implemented by approximately 375 congregations across the country. The UUA provided an event framework and schedule, many digital materials, and on-line training and support. Congregations were free to make choices from among what was offered as well as to make modifications. To access many of the revival resources, go here:https://www.uuclimatejustice.org/materials.

The UU Davis  Process:

The congregation chose to have a largely in-person event and to make minimal use of prerecorded videos, preferring that attendees interact live with revival leaders. UUCD held climate justice revival dialogs for adults and parallel activities for kids on Saturday afternoon. The Sunday service was part of the revival (and like all of our Sunday services was available on Zoom), and it was followed by an hour of organizing dedicated to getting friends and relatives to vote in the upcoming election with Earth in mind.

The Saturday dialogs attracted two dozen participants who sat at tables of four. An introduction included material on ways of thinking about systems, being together, and communicating intentionally.

In the first activity, each person drew a “rich picture” of “an absolutely thriving, flourishing, nourishing, joyful future [circa 2050] where everyone has what they need, with love at the center of it all.” After drawing, pictures were shared with another person and then put up on a white board for all to peruse. One key take-away from this gallery was the importance of nature and the high value placed on being outdoors. A second take-away was a vision of living at higher densities and using active and public modes of transportation. Third were the images that suggested the importance of our values, including love, peace, welcoming, anti-materialism, and greater income equality.

The second activity involved each table group creating a word map of the interconnected “challenging realities” we face as we strive to achieve climate justice and realize the future we imagined in the first activity.  These included such climate change realities as extreme weather, the biodiversity crisis, water shortages, and rising sea levels; direct causes such as fossil fuel dependency, fertilizer pollution, and war; and myriad related social, economic, and political challenges such as authoritarianism, consumer culture, greed, housing inequity, food insecurity, inadequate health care, and population displacement.

After completing their challenging reality maps, each group left its map behind and dispersed to different tables. In the third activity, participants worked from the map they found there to create a new map of “Community Care” offering solutions to the interconnected problems identified by others. Then all the community care maps were posted on a white board, and participants were each given 6 blue dot stickers to affix to the solutions they were most committed to. On Sunday, those exiting the worship service were each given 6 red dots so that they too could express their commitments.

Top priorities that emerged from the community care maps and dot voting focused on food systems (climate-friendly food systems, healthy food via community gardens, enjoying shared meals); meeting the needs of vulnerable populations; reducing consumption of energy and stuff; addressing housing issues; using advocacy to forward our goals; health care for all.

The last activities of the afternoon dialog session included each participant identifying intersections between “what my community needs,” “what brings me joy,” and “what I have to offer.” This helped individuals identify how they might find rewarding ways to make their own contributions to climate justice work.

Finally, each participant wrote 3 words on an index card to remind them of their commitments to climate justice going forward. Favorite word choices were “advocacy,” “gardening,” “care,” and “participation.” Also mentioned by more than one person were music, singing, organizing, anti-materialism, and long-termism.

The next day’s Sunday service was given the same title as the revival, “Reimagine Together: From An Extractive Age To A New Era.” It was well attended in person and online. Watch it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AgcL9VbFTU. The selections by Music Director LuAnn Higgs were engaging and inspiring, including the church’s Sparks Choir singing “Part of It,” an anthem by Lea Morris and Adam Podd commissioned for the revival by the UUA. During the Time for All Ages, we heard the UUA President, Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt, read the children’s book, What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada. It delivers the insight that problems offer opportunities to be brave, to look closely, to do something.

Rev. Angeline C. Jackson read a reflection from the UUA revival organizer, Rachel Mislivy, “When We Center Love in Our Climate Movements . . .” . Also read was one of the winners of the sermon competition held by the UUA to generate powerful messages for the ears of revival participants. Titled “Here”, it imagined an influx of climate refugees from Southern states arriving in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and finding their way to the UU church there. It resonated powerfully with our congregation as we imagined climate refugees coming to Davis and how we would welcome them. A large majority of worshippers came up to the front of the sanctuary to participate in the Ritual for Action, when revival leaders poured water over hands and recited: “Friend, you are commissioned to act for climate justice./I bless your hands with water./ May they do the work that must be done, care for those who need the touch of kindness, and create flourishing everywhere.”

The collection taken at the service was donated to the Ujamaa Farmer Collective, which works to secure resources for the success of Black and BIPOC farmers in the Sacramento region. They recently acquired 22 acres of land near Woodland. They are part of the climate-friendly food system we hope to see long before 2050!

The final activity of the revival was the organizing hour, which was attended by about 25 people. They engaged in “relational texting,” meaning that their messages were directed to people with whom they already had relationships—family, friends, colleagues, cadres. They encouraged folks to vote in the upcoming election, to vote with Earth in mind, and to access trusted sources of information before voting. Two UCD students were on hand to help anyone who needed support with texting. A group of postcard writers also emerged.

The congregation and their Climate Crisis Action Team will use the energy and insights generated by this first ever Unitarian Universalist Climate Justice Revival to continue, expand and reshape our local climate justice efforts. We are already making energy-smart improvements to our facilities and doing advocacy and activist work in Yolo County and beyond.

Robin Datel, is a facilitator for Climate Crisis Action Team, Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis CA. She is a emerita Professor of Geography at CSUS and currently serves as a representative of the Davis community on the Yolo County Climate Action Commission. You can contact her if you are interested in additional information about the Climate Justice Revival and other climate-friendly activities at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis.