September 15, 2022


Dear Friends,


The autumn chill is just creeping into the days here in Southern Maine. The crisp, bright mornings and early-changing leaves are a reminder, after the humid heat of summer, that changing weather is inevitable both within our own bodies and in the world of which we are all parts. Yet the level of transition we are encountering with accelerating climate change is difficult to grasp, even as we feel it in our own lives in so many ways.


Change is uncomfortable because it encompasses so many possibilities — collapse and loss, possibility and transformation — all of which unfold in their own time and way. At The BTS Center, we understand that change is most powerful in community, where the response of imagination, adaptation, and repair can take place on the robust grounding of relationship.


With relationship always rooting us, we are so thrilled to be offering another rich Convocation experience this year, on October 6 & 7, online. We'll welcome some incredible presenters and offer worship and conversations that we hope will ignite your imaginations and allow you to connect in deep and meaningful ways. 


Change requires courage and vulnerability, and so we are also delighted to be partnering with the Maine Council of Churches for next week's conversation with Carter Heyward on her book, The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism. And we'll have more opportunity for connection and learning through our book study group on The Intersectional Environmentalist as well as our year-long EcoPreacher Cohort, both starting this fall.


As you lean in to the changes in your world and yourselves, I hope you will join us in this journey of exploration and relationship!


With best wishes,

Rev. Ash Temin

Communications Manager 

The BTS Center

ash@thebtscenter.org

Convocation 2022: Imagination and Collective Liberation for a Climate-Changed World


Thursday & Friday, October 6 - 7 • Online

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REGISTER NOW! The first 150 people to register by September 28 will receive a BTS Box in the mail, filled with supplies and surprises to enhance your Convocation experience.


As we hear daily news of traumatic change, suffering, and crisis, we long for a world that holds justice and peace for all people and all beings. But how do we co-create such a world — one in which thriving is the right of all? 


Join us for Convocation 2022: Imagination and Collective Liberation for a Climate-Changed World. Inspired by a group of thoughtful presenters, artists, and leaders, we’ll explore what it means to nourish our imaginations toward a world of joyful possibility and embodied hope, while also holding space for the difficult realities we are facing. 


Over the course of two days — Thursday afternoon and evening and all day Friday — we will gather for online presentations, small group engagement, and worship. We will also offer time to connect in intentional affinity groups for continued learning and reflection. Incorporating music, the arts, and contemplative practice, Convocation 2022 promises both challenge and respite, a space where we can gather to root with honesty and compassion in our climate-changed world, while also turning our imaginations toward the collective liberation of the earth and all beings. 

 

Presenters include:

•  Ched Myers, author and activist theologian

•  Cole Arthur Riley, author and creator of Black Liturgies

•  Rob Hopkins, author and co-founder of Transition Network

•  Keisha E. McKenzie, Senior Vice President for Programs at Auburn Seminary

•  Veronice Miles, Professor of Preaching at Wesley Theological Seminary

•  Reggie Harris, musician and activist


Visit Convocation2022.org for presenter bios, a schedule overview, registration details, a video invitation, and more!

The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism book event


A conversation with author and theologian Carter Heyward

Co-hosted by the Maine Council of Churches and The BTS Center


Wednesday, September 21, 2022

4:00 pm-5:30 pm (Eastern) • Online

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Register

As political tensions continue to rise in the United States, and as divisions become more entrenched, white nationalism has infiltrated and, in some communities, taken the helm of Christianity. How do we understand this devastating alliance, and how do we seek to reclaim Christianity as a religion of peace and justice at a time when it is being co-opted by extreme voices?


We invite you to join us for a facilitated conversation with feminist theologian and Episcopal priest Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, who explores these questions with depth and compassion in her new book The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism (Rowan & Littlefield, published this month). Rev. Dr. Heyward will address the rise of white Christian nationalism and offer perspectives for moving forward with hope and action.

And please join us for these upcoming offerings:



  • EcoPreacher Cohort
  • Year-long program with once-monthly meetings, beginning November 2022


What we're reading, listening to, and engaging:




  • We're pondering what ecological rhythms and seasons mean for our organizational life and work

The BTS Center | 207.774.5212 | info@thebtscenter.org | www.thebtscenter.org

 Our mission is to catalyze spiritual imagination with enduring wisdom for transformative faith leadership. We offer theologically grounded programs of continuing education and spiritual formation, including workshops and retreats, learning cohorts, public conversations, and projects of applied research.
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