June 2020 Newsletter
Between the ravages of the pandemic and the trauma of fighting for social justice and against police brutality, these are deeply troubling times. 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:
- Religious Courage in Troubling Times;
- Update on Grace Wolf-Chase and Astrobiology News;
- Covid-19, Religion and Higher Education;
- Evolution Weekend 2021: Input Requested;
- The Climate Crisis Letter;
- Scientists in Synagogues Program Accepting Applications;
- Francis Collins Wins Templeton Prize;
- Encouraging News about the Teaching of Evolution; and
- Environmental Learning and Covid-19.
1. Religious Courage in Troubling Times
I suspect that virtually all of you have seen the pictures of President Trump in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. on Monday, 1 June. And I suspect that virtually all of you have seen the pictures of the crowds of protestors being violently dispersed from Lafayette Square just minutes before the president walked through to have his picture taken.
Within minutes of all of that occurring The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal Bishop for Washington, was being interviewed by numerous reporters. Her comments were clear, forceful and incredibly articulate. Here’s how The Washington Post reported on what she had to say:
The Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, was seething…. “I am outraged,” Budde said in a telephone interview a short time later, pausing between words to emphasize her anger as her voice slightly trembled. She said she had not been given any notice that Trump would be visiting the church and did not approve of the manner in which the area was secured for his appearance. “I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call, that they would be clearing [the area] with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop,” Budde said…. “Everything he has said and done is to inflame violence,” Budde of the president. “We need moral leadership, and he’s done everything to divide us.”
You can read the full article here. I am proud to be able to say that Bishop Budde has been a long-time member of The Clergy Letter Project.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church seconded Bishop Budde’s comments. The following day Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory condemned Trump’s visit to a shrine honoring Pope John Paul II in similar terms. “I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people, even those with whom we might disagree.”
The president responded by saying, "Most religious leaders loved it.... It's only the other side that didn't like it, you know the opposing -- the opposition party as the expression goes."
It should go without saying that religious leaders (or anyone else) who disagree with an action taken by the president are not the opposition. This is not about politics but is about right and wrong – which is central to what religion is all about.
Unfortunately, it takes courage these days to stand up for those important principles. Fortunately, there are many religious leaders willing to do so.
2. Update on Grace Wolf-Chase and Astrobiology News
As you know, Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase has been writing her wonderful Astrobiology News column since 2013. As she explains below, changes in her life have occurred and, while she’s hoping to continue with her column, she’s taking a bit of a break. 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 and subscribe to her new blog.
Dear Friends,
Those of you who’ve read my Astrobiology column for the past seven years may have wondered why one wasn’t included in last month’s CLP e-newsletter. I’m afraid I lost my job at the Adler Planetarium on May 13, 2020, nearly 22 years after being hired as an Astronomer in a unique position combining research with public outreach. Losing my job was part of a mass layoff resulting from the financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve begun a blog that I’m hoping may help some of you who may be experiencing similar feelings of loss.(1)
Even though I’m not currently employed, I want you to know that I plan to continue the grant-funded project we announced late last year, Engaging Faith-based Communities in Citizen Science through Zooniverse.(2) We are still soliciting interest from faith and interfaith groups and organizations in using or developing research projects on Zooniverse, the world’s largest and most popular platform for online citizen science. Citizen science “crowd-sources” numerous human eyes or ears to glean information from digitized datasets in order to enable research projects that would otherwise be impossible or impractical. Citizen scientists contribute to research in diverse fields of study across the sciences and humanities that are led by investigators at over 120 research institutions around the world. These research projects engage more than 2 million adults and youth from all walks of life.(3)
The goal of our pilot project is to create enduring partnerships between academic researchers and communities of faith in order to foster new collaborations and better understanding between individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Research projects can be (and have been) used remotely or during in-person group activities such as adult or youth programs, special events, or seminary classes. We are particularly interested in (1) identifying existing Zooniverse projects that might be prototyped for use in some of your programs; or (2) co-developing new research projects with you using the Zooniverse Project Builder tool.(4) You can check out a 22-minute Zooniverse tutorial I prepared for a science event at the Catholic Theological Union.(5) My colleague, Laura Trouille, and I also did an interview on Zooniverse with Rabbi Geoff Mitelman for Sinai and Synapses.(6)
I have a small favor to ask of all of you. Would you mind taking 5 minutes to fill out our evaluation surveys, whether or not you intend to participate – or have participated – in a Zooniverse project? I’m including the URLs for the pre-participation(7) and post-participation(8) surveys below. This will help us immensely in seeking new funding opportunities and improving the Zooniverse experience for everyone! Also, if you contact me (Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase) on this or any other matter, please be sure to use my personal email (gwolfchase@gmail.com), as my former email will no longer work.
You’ll be hearing from me again via the CLP e-newsletter – hopefully on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, I wish you all joy and community as we navigate these difficult times together!
Grace Wolf-Chase (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
1. https://wolfchaseblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/finding-community-andjoy-in-midst-of.html
2. This material is based upon work supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Foundation.
3. If you access Zooniverse projects through this trackable link, it would be enormously helpful to me in evaluating the impact of our grant, which would help me pursue future sources of funding: https://zooniverse.org/projects?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=projects-CLP
4. www.zooniverse.org/lab
5. https://learn.ctu.edu/community-building-through-zooniverse/
6. https://sinaiandsynapses.org/multimedia-archive/zooniverse-lets-you-expand-scientific-knowledge-from-home/
7. Pre-survey: https://forms.gle/x5TezWJEqAZnLb39A
8. Post- survey: https://forms.gle/opYzTKSxK3PFJtv9A
3. Covid-19, Religion and Higher Education
Over the past several weeks, I’ve published three essays dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, religion and higher education. I’ve shared two of them with you but not the most recent one. Here are links to all three. I hope you find them interesting and, if you do, you take a moment to share them with others who might find them interesting as well.
B. Higher Education and Religious Institutions Use Dramatically Different Language When it Comes to the On-Line versus In-Person Decision
C. When to Pray Face-to-Face: Clergy, Using Science, Will Decide
4. Evolution Weekend 2021: Input Requested
Evolution Weekend 2021 is scheduled for 12-14 February 2021. I’m hoping that many of you will do two things. First, please sign up to participate in our 16th annual Evolution Weekend by responding to me:
______ Yes, I plan to participate in Evolution Weekend 2021.
Congregation (or related group):
Location:
Your Name:
Second, please think about an appropriate theme for Evolution Weekend. As we’ve done in recent years, I’ll share all suggestions with membership and the majority will select our 2021 theme.
_____ Thanks for the opportunity. Here’s my suggestion for a theme for Evolution Weekend 2021:
I very much look forward to hearing from you.
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:
Finally, here are two news articles dealing with climate change and clergy that I hope you’ll find interesting:
A. For first time, survey finds majority of pastors says global warming is real, man-madeB. Most Protestant Pastors See Human Activity Behind Global Warming
6. Scientists in Synagogues Program Accepting Applications
As I reported previously, Sinai and Synapses, directed by Clergy Letter Project member Rabbi Geoff Mitelman, has received funding to run a third round of its very successful “Scientists in Synagogues” program. The program is designed to provide participants opportunities to explore the most interesting and pressing questions surrounding Judaism and science. The program provides funding ($3,600) to implement a local project and covers all expenses associated with an opening workshop, Covid permitting, in New York (a workshop, I hasten to add, at which I will be participating!). You can read more about the program and learn how to apply by visiting the Scientists in Synagogues web site. The deadline for applications is 23 July 2020.
7. Francis Collins Wins Templeton Prize
I am delighted to announce that Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health and member of The Clergy Letter Project's list of scientific consultants, has been awarded the Templeton Prize for 2020. You can read more about the award here. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Collins on this honor.
8. Encouraging News about the Teaching of Evolution
A recent peer-reviewed article published by Eric Plutzer from Pennsylvania State University along with Glenn Branch and Ann Reid from the National Center for Science Education presented some encouraging data about the teaching of evolution nationally. Here are just two sentences representing their conclusions: “We find substantial reductions in overtly creationist instruction and in the number of teachers who send mixed messages that legitimate creationism as a valid scientific alternative to evolutionary biology. We also report a substantial increase in the time that high school teachers devote to human evolution and general evolutionary processes.” You can read the full article here.
Additionally, Ann published a column in Nature discussing these results. She noted that the positive shift in teaching was due in part to “scientist outreach” and concluded that “advocacy works.” You can read her full piece here.
9. Environmental Learning and Covid-19
Long-time Clergy Letter Project friend Mitchell Thomashow recently published a thoughtful essay entitled “Seven Environmental Learning Opportunities Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” As Mitch explains, “I’m writing this essay because I want to contribute to how we think about the inevitable revitalization, regeneration, and reconstruction of our lives and communities. I hope this leads to further conversations about how we can use the creative intellectual, scientific, artistic, and service-oriented resources of our human environmental community.” You can read the full essay here.
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