July 2020 Newsletter
As the ravages of the pandemic increase (at least in the United States) and the fight for social justice continues unabated, these are trying times. The attack on science (and on facts themselves) seems to be relentless making our work attempting to explain the importance of science and the relationship between it and religion ever more important. Even as I find much of the news depressing, my spirits have been buoyed by the activities so many of you have undertaken. Thank you for your efforts to make the world a safer, fairer and healthier place. I trust that this issue of our monthly newsletter finds you, your families and your communities safe. And I hope you find some items below to be of interest.
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following nine items:
- The Clergy Letter Project Needs Your Help;
- Astrobiology News for July 2020: Perseverance Seeking Past Life on Mars;
- Creationist Selected to Run for Texas State Board of Education;
- A Christian Response to Coronavirus;
- The Climate Crisis Letter;
- Santa Claus and Covid-19;
- Down The Wormhole Up for Award;
- What a Tiny Virus Can Teach Us; and
- Is Your Congregation Still Meeting Virtually?
1. The Clergy Letter Project Needs Your Help
The Clergy Letter Project is looking for your help – in two simple ways. First, we’re looking for suggestions for a general theme for Evolution 2021 (12-14 February 2021). I issued a call for suggestions in last month’s newsletter and received a number of good ones but I want to provide an additional opportunity for people to weigh in before putting the suggestions to a vote of the membership. So, please think what might be a great theme for this year’s event, something that will highlight the importance of the collaborative efforts possible between religion and science. Simply drop me a note (mz@theclergyletterproject.org) and I’ll put your suggestion on our ballot.
Second, please sign up now to participate in Evolution Weekend 2021. Remember participation can take any form you and your congregation (or class) think will be most productive. All that I ask is that you do something to promote the compatibility of religion and science. But please sign up now.
_____ Yes, I plan to participate in Evolution Weekend 2021.
Congregation (or related group):
Location:
Your Name:
2. Astrobiology News for July 2020: Perseverance Seeking Past Life on Mars
I’m delighted that Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase’s Astrobiology News column has returned after a brief hiatus. In this column, she discusses the upcoming NASA endeavor to explore Mars and explains how you can become a part of the effort. I’m hoping that, as a way of thanking her for her fabulous contributions, many of you answer her call to respond to the survey she mentions below. Additionally, since she wrote her essay a couple of days ago, a new Zooniverse project that might interest many of you has just come on-line. AI4Mars is a project designed to teach Mars rovers how to classify Martian terrain and it appears to be both fun and useful. Take a look.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is scheduled to begin its journey to the Red Planet this summer, during a launch window from July 30th to August 15th, and there may still be time to get your boarding pass.(1) Don’t worry - if you miss this opportunity, you can still join (in name) a future mission to Mars! Perseverance is an important part of NASA’s Astrobiology program - it will search for signs of ancient life, and collect rock and soil samples for potential return to Earth by a future mission. Scheduled to land on Mars on February 18, 2021, the mission lifetime is anticipated to be about 687 Earth days (or one Martian year.) Accompanying Perseverance, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter(2) will test the first powered flight in the thin Martian atmosphere. While not related to the rover’s search for signs of ancient life, Ingenuity’s flight test will be important for future robotic, and possibly human, missions to Mars.
NASA’s Mars Exploration Program builds on previous discoveries. From the science themes “Follow the Water” to “Explore Habitability,” Perseverance now marks the transition to the current theme, “Seek Signs of Life.”(3) Its landing site, Jezero crater, was chosen in part because of the fossil remains of a river delta and the largest carbonate deposit yet detected on Mars. Perseverance will carry seven principal instruments that will investigate Martian geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions, and potential biosignatures, including the aptly named SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals), which uses multiple tools to search for organics and minerals that have been altered by watery environments and may be signs of past microbial life.
The Jet Propulsion Lab is offering many ways you can virtually participate in the Mars 2020 mission,(4) but why stop there? You can actively contribute to research aimed at understanding Martian geology by going to research projects and searching for “Planet Four.”(5) You should be able to find three or four active Zooniverse citizen science projects where you can inspect amazing images provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Whether or not you decide to participate in these or other Zooniverse projects, would you mind taking 5 minutes to fill out a survey that will help us improve online citizen science experiences for everyone? We’re asking folks to please use our pre-participation(6) survey if you haven’t used Zooniverse yet and our post-participation(7) survey after you have. This will help us seek opportunities to fund exciting new initiatives. Thanks in advance for your efforts to advance human knowledge! As always, I invite you to contact me if you have questions or comments.
Until next month,
Grace Wolf-Chase (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: casiras.org)
1. https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/
2. https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/
3. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/science/
4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7701
5. Please access Zooniverse projects through this link so we can better evaluate our outreach impact: https://zooniverse.org/projects?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=projects-CLP
6. Pre-survey: https://forms.gle/x5TezWJEqAZnLb39A
7. Post- survey: https://forms.gle/opYzTKSxK3PFJtv9A
3. Creationist Selected to Run for Texas State Board of Education
Lani Popp is a creationist who thinks slavery wasn’t the primary cause of the Civil War and is critical of sex education in public schools. She recently won the Republican primary for a seat on the Texas State Board of Education. Although Popp has no expertise in evolutionary biology (she’s a speech pathologist), she is convinced that there are major flaws in evolutionary theory.
Our good friends at the Texas Freedom Network explain more about the situation in this press release. Popp will face off against Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a professor at Texas State University and a supporter of both evolution and religion, in the November election.
4. A Christian Response to Coronavirus
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health and member of The Clergy Letter Project's list of scientific consultants, recently joined with Bible scholar N.T. Wright to have a discussion entitled “A Christian Response to Coronavirus.” People of all faiths, and those without a faith, are likely to find the podcast worthwhile.
5. The Climate Crisis Letter
This is a quick reminder that it is still not too late to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter. While the response to our request for signatures has been truly gratifying, I know that many of you who voted in favor of having such a letter created have not yet added your signature to it. This would be a great time to do so. (If you’re not certain whether you’ve signed the letter or not, please click here and search for your signature.) To add your name, simply respond to this note and I’ll do the rest!
_____ Yes, by all means, please add my signature to the Climate Crisis Letter
Name:
Congregation/Denomination/Religion (optional)
City, State, Country
Additionally, I hope you check out the page we created for clergy members to add personal statements in addition to their signatures. I trust you’ll agree with me that many of our colleagues have written impressive statements. If you’d like your voice to be added, just let me know and I’ll get it posted.
_____ Yes, please add my personal statement to the Climate Crisis Letter:
6. Santa Claus and Covid-19
The Rev. Santa Claus (yes, that’s really his name), a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a member of the North Pole, AK city council, has recorded two brief video chats dealing with Covid-19 and racial injustice. One talk is designed for teenagers while the other is for younger children. Both can be accessed here and both might be comforting for children in these troubled times.
7. Down The Wormhole Up for Award
I’ve mentioned the wonderful podcast Down The Wormhole a number of times in past newsletters. It is hosted by Clergy Letter Project members Rev. Zack Jackson and Rabbi Rachael Jackson, Dr. Ian Binns, a member of our list of scientific consultants, and a number of other equally talented individuals.
I’m delighted to say that Down The Wormhole has been nominated for a "People's Choice Podcast Award" in the Religion and Spiritual section. You can help promote the good work of our colleagues by voting for them by going to the Podcast Award web page. Do hurry, though, since voting closes on 31 July.
8. What a Tiny Virus Can Teach Us
Clay Farris Naff, long-time friend of The Clergy Letter Project and vice president of Nebraska Citizens for Science, has recently published an essay entitled “What a Tiny Virus Can Teach Us Deep: Truths Unearthed by a Pandemic” in The Humanist. Check it out; I suspect you won’t be disappointed.
9. Is Your Congregation Still Meeting Virtually?
I’m interested in doing a bit of research on how our congregations are faring in the face of Covid-19. If you’re willing to help, please answer the few questions that follow and send your responses to me (mz@theclergyletterproject.org). Thanks very much.
A. Is your congregation still meeting virtually?
_____ Yes When do you think you might again meet face-to-face?
_____ No When did you begin meeting face-to-face?
B. Has the shift to virtual services, impacted your congregation (please check all that apply):
_____ Our numbers have increased from pre-pandemic times
_____ Our numbers have remained the same from pre-pandemic times
_____ Our numbers have decreased from pre-pandemic times
_____ Our sense of community has increased from pre-pandemic times
_____ Our sense of community has remained the same from pre-pandemic times
_____ Our sense of community has decreased from pre-pandemic times
C. Has the decision about whether to open or not caused conflict in your congregation?
_____ Yes
_____ No
Please explain:
D. Has moving on-line created a financial hardship for your congregation?
_____ Yes
_____ No
E. The top three factors helping us to decide whether to return to face-to-face services are:
1:
2:
3:
F. Other thoughts you’d like to share:
Thank you so very much for taking the time to answer these questions and for returning those answers to me.
Concluding Thoughts
I’ll end this newsletter the same way I began it: I hope all of you, your families, and your communities are healthy and safe. I also hope that your efforts help make the world a better place for all who share it.
Finally, as always, I want to thank you for your continued support and as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org