March 2021 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following eleven items:
- Science and Religion on the Common Good Podcast;
- Astrobiology News for March 2021: Astrobiology and Earth Month;
- Judgment and Forgiveness;
- 5 Reasons Christians Should Get the COVID-19 Vaccine;
- Evolution Denial: How We Shall Overcome;
- A Pastoral Prayer;
- Preaching With the Sciences;
- Quantum Physics and Faith, Who Knew?;
- Creationism and the Rules of Evidence;
- Creationist Threat in Maine; and
- An Evangelical Christian and a Scientist Speaks Out about Climate Change.
1. Science and Religion on the Common Good Podcast
The Reverend Doug Pagitt, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, is the Executive Director and Co-Chair of an organization called Vote Common Good. He is also the co-host of a daily podcast promoting ideas advanced by the organization. Vote Common Good describes itself as an organization that “is inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing people of faith to make the common good their voting criteria. And, we train and support Democratic candidates to connect with Evangelical and Catholic voters.”
Doug and his co-host Reverend Paul Wallace, also a member of The Clergy Letter Project and the holder of a Ph.D. in astrophysics, recently invited me on their podcast to discuss the confluence of religion and science. You can listen to our conversation (as well as many other great conversations) by going here. Scroll down to the 5 March episode to listen to our time together.
2. Astrobiology News for March 2021: Astrobiology and Earth Month
In this month’s Astrobiology News Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, discusses exciting ways you and your congregants can participate in Earth Day/Month activities. And, as she reminds you, please add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter, if you haven’t yet done so! Just drop me a note to get your name added.
In 1970, April 22 was designated as Earth Day, and since then, activities and events related to climate action and environmental awareness have taken place throughout the month of April.(1) What does this have to do with astrobiology? Astrobiology is concerned with the study of life in the universe, and the universe includes Earth. Many faith-based and interfaith organizations are responding to the call for climate action and environmental justice.(2) Indeed, many of you have signed the Climate Crisis Letter on the CLP website, which notes that, “our own survival is inextricably connected to the responsible stewardship of the Earth and all its creatures.”(3)
During this time of pandemic, it can be difficult to get out and participate in community service projects; however, it’s still possible to take positive environmental action by helping scientists better understand the effects of climate change and habitat loss. On April 6, Faith in Place(4) and the Chicago Muslims Green Team(5), in collaboration with the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion and Zooniverse(6), will present a free webinar(7) (you’re all invited) that demonstrates how people of all faiths can participate in environmental research using the online Zooniverse platform. We’ll present a general introduction to Zooniverse, an overview of how to participate in research projects, and Chicago Wildlife Watch(8) project leader, Seth Magle, will discuss his project’s focus on monitoring urban wildlife and assessing the biodiversity of the greater Chicagoland region.
Environmental research projects on Zooniverse span the globe. For example, Floating Forests(9) asks volunteers to mark the presence and location of giant kelp forests within NASA Landsat satellite imaging from the past 30+ years. These classifications are used to understand the impact of climate change on giant kelp forests, an indicator of the health of our oceans. In Penguin Watch,(10) volunteers tag penguins in drone images from Antarctica to help understand how they are being affected by climate change, the potential impact of local fisheries, and how we can help conserve these incredible species. For a larger selection of environmental and ecological projects, just go to https://www.zooniverse.org/projects and click on “Climate” or “Nature” in the scroll bar.
Please consider going to http://bit.ly/Zooniverse-Faith and registering for the April 6 webinar and participating in one or more of the amazing and fun research projects on Zooniverse! Meanwhile, it’s still March and it’s still Women’s History Month, which makes it a great time to check out Star Notes and help transcribe the groundbreaking work of the early 20th century women known as the “Harvard Computers”!(11) These women worked with glass plate photographs that represent our first ever pictures of the universe - women like Annie Jump Cannon, who devised a stellar classification scheme that’s still in use today; or Ida E. Woods, Sarah Breslin, and Henrietta Hill Swope, who discovered many variable stars that change in brightness over time. This project not only helps us better understand the history of the women who worked with this early photo collection, it enables researchers to study how our awesome universe evolves.Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (http://www.psi.edu)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: http://www.casiras.org)
1. https://www.earthday.org/
2. https://www.interfaithpowerandlight.org/
3. http://www.theclergyletterproject.org/Climate_Letter/ClimateLtr.html
4. https://www.faithinplace.org/
5. https://chicagomuslimsgreenteam.org/
6. https://sciencereligiondialogue.org/projects/zooniverse/
7. http://bit.ly/Zooniverse-Faith
8. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/chicago-wildlife-watch
9. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/floating-forests
10. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/penguintom79/penguin-watch
11. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/projectphaedra/star-notes
3. Judgment and Forgiveness
The Reverend Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, has drafted a thoughtful, moving and provocative essay dealing with many of the issues central to The Clergy Letter Project. As he notes in his introduction to the essay, “This essay deals with changing trends and persistent problems, as well as opportunities, wherein the Church of Christ is called to be faithful. Among many other things, the writing was certainly stimulated by the recent horrific events at our national Capitol. This essay thus seeks to make some faith-informed evaluations and outlines some elements of a Christian response. Like many others, I feel strongly that we simply cannot ‘say and do nothing.’”
Ken ranges widely as he explores the current religious and political scene. He deftly weaves in the thoughts of Saint Paul, Aldous Huxley, Karl Menninger, G.K. Chesteron, Leo Tolstoy, H.G. Wells, W.H. Auden, Albert Camus, Blaise Pascal, T.S. Eliot, and Henrik Ibsen, among many others, without being pompous or pedantic! His is an essay worth reading and savoring.
4. 5 Reasons Christians Should Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
Deb Haarsma, President of BioLogos, has written a note explaining why Christians should get the Covid-19 vaccine. My only quibble with what she has to say is that her message can be shared more broadly than just with Christians. I hope all of you have either already been vaccinated or will do so once the opportunity arises.
Many of you might remember the exchange I had with Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, after I published an essay explaining why, under the conditions extant at the time, I did not plan to take the vaccine. Since then, much has changed and I’ve become an outspoken proponent of all three vaccines approved in the United States. One of the things I’m finding absolutely fascinating is the fact that my original essay claiming vaccine hesitancy is now, almost 7 months later, drawing a large readership with many strange comments. I’ve been attempting to model the behavior promoted by The Clergy Letter Project – informed, civil discourse – in responding on-line to many of those who wrote in. Do take a look at the comments and both add your own thoughts and let me know how I might improve my responses.
5. Evolution Denial: How We Shall Overcome
Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, drafted an Evolution Shabbat column this year entitled “Evolution Denial: How We Shall Overcome” that you won’t want to miss. I trust you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
6. A Pastoral Prayer
The Reverend Tim Darmour-Paul, has written a Pastoral Prayer that I want to bring to your attention. His beautiful prayer makes a number of powerful points including, “Thank you for the partnership between science and religion that helps us know the splendor of your light shining,” and “Thank you for the scientific research and the spiritual formation which stimulate compassionate, harmonious relationships among us to share your light with the world.”
7. Preaching With the Sciences
The program has, to date, posted four webinars hosted by distinguished scientists, including, most recently, our very own Grace Wolf-Chase. The three earlier lectures were delivered by a climatologist, primatologist and neuroscientist. You can view all of the lectures here.
You can learn more about the program and view many relevant homily outlines by going to the program’s website. I hope you find some of these resources to be useful.
8. Quantum Physics and Faith, Who Knew?
Our good friends at Sinai and Synapses have presented a sermon recently delivered by the Reverend Ruth Shaver, a member of The Clergy Letter Project. Anyone who can successfully combine the story of the transfiguration, quantum physics and Krispy Kreme donuts while reminding us that “We are called to break down the barriers that make things difficult for people so that all human beings can have a life that allows them to thrive,” deserves our attention! Ruth has done all that and more.
9. Creationism and the Rules of Evidence
Over the years, I’ve shared many pieces written by Dr. Paul Braterman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, and I’m happy to do so again now. This piece is a follow-up to one I shared with you two months two months ago and is entitled “Creationism, accreditation, and the rules of evidence.” This short read is well worth your time.
10. Creationist Threat in Maine
Our good friends at the National Center for Science Education report on legislation being introduced in Maine that has the potential to be disruptive for the teaching of evolution.
11. An Evangelical Christian and a Scientist Speaks Out about Climate Change
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a well-respected atmospheric scientist and a self-proclaimed evangelical Christian. She was recently interviewed by the Washington Post and the ensuing discussion is well worth reading.
One of the points she made in the interview is as clear as it is powerful: “When I connected the dots between poverty, hunger, disease, lack of access to clean water and education, and basic equity, and the fact that climate change is making all of those worse, that’s what led me, personally, as a Christian, to become a climate scientist.”
She also talks about ways to move others to action and her thoughts are very much in keeping with the import of our Climate Crisis Letter. Please read what she has to say and then drop me a note to add your signature to our Letter if you’ve not already done so. As I’ve said so very often, Together we can make a difference.
Concluding Thoughts
I hope and trust that vaccine distribution is finding its way into your lives and those of your families and communities. And I hope and trust that, if you haven’t yet been vaccinated, you will opt to do so as soon as the opportunity arises. It is possible that we are nearing the end of this terrible pandemic but that will occur only if we continue to be vigilant – until it is safe. Regardless of what some political leaders are saying, the next few months are not a time to dispense with all caution and go back to pre-pandemic life. We’ve come this far, let’s hold on for another few months and protect the health of all of us.
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. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Stay safe and healthy.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org