Earth's Journey Into Hope: Reflections on Thomas Berry's Great Work
By Brian Edward Brown
Prologue by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Epilogue by John Grim
Ecology & Justice Series, Orbis Books, 2024

On the 25th anniversary of publication of Thomas Berry’s The Great Work, a pioneer in ecological theology offers insights not only to Berry’s work but to the vital work before all of us.

While collective attention to and action for ecological justice has gained momentum in recent years it has been accompanied by a rise in despair, gloom, and an insidious fatalism in the face of multinational intransigence.

Earth’s Journey into Hope considers the impact of Berry’s landmark text amid the dire immediacy of present ecological crises. With Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Brian Edward Brown reflects on where we have been to energize today’s movements for ecological well-being.

For all readers concerned with this dilemma, Earth’s Journey into Hope provides a way forward, encouraging us to remember our cosmic past and to step into our planetary future with the spiritual energy of Thomas Berry.

In Memoriam

“Family, friends, colleagues, and students across the world are deeply saddened by the death of Stephan Harding after a long period of ill health. Stephan was Resident Ecologist at Schumacher College Devon, England, from its founding by Satish Kumar until his death in September 2024. He was widely known and respected as a gifted and original Gaian scientist and for his very special ability to communicate to others the deep nature of Gaia and anima mundi. He changed the lives of countless people around the world.  He was also funny at times, droll at others, both brightly optimistic and deeply pessimistic, and delightful company, particularly for those who could join with him in musical creativity. His beloved cuatro was an essential part of his teaching practice; and one of my own fondest memories is of playing guitar solos to each other in the late afternoon sunshine on the terrace outside the house he shared with his wife Julia and son Oscar.”

Click here to read this full reflection by Peter Reason.

And read this tribute from Drew Dellinger.

Orbital

Voyage beyond the planet and experience our home through the eyes of Astronauts. Hosted by Cosm–an immersive entertainment, media, and technology company–Orbital is an epic journey from the Big Bang, to the flourishing of life on Earth, to low Earth orbit. A new film by Guy Reid and Planetary Collective, Orbital transports you through an abstract landscape of light, inspired by bioluminescent earthly beings and atmospheric aurorae. Guided by the voices of the astronauts and cosmonauts of Constellation Coalition who have looked back and experienced the awe of our place in the universe, you will feel your own “Overview Effect” as you meditate on our planet in Shared Reality.

Sam Mickey, the host of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology Spotlights podcast, is the scriptwriter for this project.

Click here for an archive of videos on TikTok. And read more on Cosm's website here!  

Upcoming Events

Photo by United Nations/Eskinder Debebe

Presentation of the Thomas Berry Award to Oren Lyons 
October 14, 2024, Indigenous Peoples Day 
Union Theological Seminary, James Chapel, New York, NY, USA
Hosted by the Thomas Berry Foundation and the Center for Earth Ethics
Register here.

Oren Lyons is a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation and a Chief of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Haudenosaunee. This award is conferred by the Thomas Berry Foundation to individuals who exemplify the ideas of the “Great Work” in their teachings, writings, and public service. Thomas defines the “Great Work” as a “the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner.”

“Rivers as a Catalyst for Change”
Hosted by Earth Law Center and New York Law School
185 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
No cost for tickets, donations to Earth Law Center (501c3) appreciated
In-person and livestreamed
September 24, 2024

Earth Law Center (ELC) invites you to explore the Rights of Rivers movement and emerging field of Earth law with us at New York Law School. Join leading Earth law educators, including the primary authors and editors of the course book Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law--A Guide for Practitioners, for this comprehensive introduction to Rights of Nature work on rivers and to the field of ecocentric law more broadly.

RSVP for a free ticket here! 

“An Ecospiritual Vision for Our Times”
With John Grim and Sam King
Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT, USA
September 28, 2024
9:30 am - 3:00 pm EST
Cost: $65, lunch included

What does it mean to be descended from the stars? How might awareness of our cosmic origins help us fulfill our role in a living Earth community? 

This program will offer an immersion into Journey of the Universe, an Emmy Award-winning film weaving together science and spirituality to tell the epic story of cosmic evolution. We will explore the influence of the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, with special attention to his ideas of matter-spirit, cosmogenesis, and the emerging noosphere. We will also trace the legacy of the great cultural historian Thomas Berry, considering his visions of a New Story, the Universe as “a communion of subjects,” and the Great Work of birthing an Ecozoic Era of human-Earth flourishing. 

Click here for more info and to register!

“We are Nature! Love and Spirituality for an Ecological Civilization”
Thomas Berry Place
86-45 Edgerton Boulevard
Jamaica, New York, USA 
October 5, 2024 at 9am - 4pm EDT

View the flyer.

“The Sacred Universe: The Poetic Universe”
Facilitated byJudith Keller, M.Ed.
4 Wednesdays: October 9 - 30, 2024 at 4:00 - 6:00 pm PST
Cost: $80.00
(Please do not let cost deter you from attending. Ask us about our funding for programs.)
Online via Zoom

The Sessions are for participants who are inspired by the writings of Thomas Berry, author, geologian, cultural historian and lover of Earth, and who are drawn to deepening their appreciation of differentiation, subjectivity and communion – three central governing tendencies of evolution identified by Berry – as these are expressed through poetic subject matter, form, imagery and personal interior response on the part of both poet and reader.

Click here for more info and to register!  

“8th Annual Flaring Forth Celebration”
November 9, 2024
In-person and on Zoom at 10:30am-2:00pm PST
Berkeley Public Library - Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch, Berkeley, CA, USA

On Saturday, November 9, we will gather in person and on Zoom to celebrate Thomas Berry's birthday (11/9/1914), as well as the anniversaries of The Universe Story book (1992) and The Universe Story Calendar (2017 to the present). 

Join us for Brian Thomas Swimme's reflections, Elizabeth McAnally's music and ritual, John Diller's Body Wisdom movements through Interplay, and Tom Spiritbringer's introduction to the 2025 Universe Story Calendar's theme: “Year of the Universe Integralist Process.”

Pizza and salad will be provided.

Register here for this free event.

N2 is an international, interdisciplinary conference fostering creative collaboration for intentionally and ethically steering the future evolution of global consciousness.

The N2 Conference aims to address critical questions about our shared future, fostering innovative solutions and collaborative thinking, particularly from the perspective of the Global South.

Visit the conference website here!

Recent Events

“Journey of the Universe” Presentation and Discussion
Iona University, 715 North Ave, New Rochelle, NY, USA 
September 5, 2024

Sam King spoke with students and led a Cosmic Walk in Professor Jim Robinson’s two classes on “The Universe Story” and “Religion and the Natural World.”

Click here for more info on the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit.

“Ave Maris Stella: Sing to the Stars”
Directed by Lisa Mischke
Yale University Leitner Planetarium and Observatory
355 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511
September 7, 2024

Last week’s Ave Maris Stella performance, organized by Lisa Mischke and hosted by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music at the Leitner Family Observatory, was a truly unforgettable experience. Mary Evelyn and John offered an insightful introduction to this unique multimedia journey, weaving together the sacred story of the Universe.

Click here for more info!

Contemplative Ecology Retreat
With Sam King
Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, SC, USA 
September 9-13, 2024

This retreat took participants on a place-based journey among 3,000 acres of forested land along the Cooper River. The retreat featured a Journey of the Universe film screening and Cosmic Walk.

Click here for more info. And click here to sign up for the Mepkin Abbey Forum for Contemplative Ecology.

Videos

“The Wisdom of Trees in Challenging Times”
With Beth Norcross. TEDxWoodinville, August 28, 2024

“Mepkin Abbey Forum for Contemplative Ecology”
Featuring Steve Blackmer. September 9, 2024. Sign up for the Forum here.

“How Science and Spirituality Split From One Another”
With Brian Thomas Swimme and Matthew Fox

News Articles

“There Might Be More Than One Way to Make a Planet”
By Katrina Miller. The New York Times, September 16, 2024.

“Interstellar Travel Is Possible If We Break Into a Higher Dimension, Scientists Say”
By Manasee Wagh. Popular Mechanics, September 12, 2024.

“Sisters of the Earth Community focuses on 'largest pro-life issue' — the Earth”
By Gail DeGeorge. National Catholic Reporter, September 9, 2024.

“Eco chaplains helping people deal with climate grief”
By Kimberly Winston. National Public Reporter, September 6, 2024.

“Witness 1.8 billion years of tectonic plates dance across Earth’s surface in a new animation”
By Alan Collins. The Conversation, September 5, 2024.

“Discovering Intelligence in Unexpected Places”
By H. Patricia Hynes. Common Dreams, August 27, 2024.

Online Learning

“Emerging Earth Leaders: A Global Training Programme for Teens”
Instructor: Sam King
Earth Charter International
October 2 - November 13, 2024
Cost: $199
Online

Designed for teens ages 14-17, this six-session online course offers a hopeful, multicultural community in which students can cultivate the skills, values, and principles of ecological leadership.

Register here!

“Principles and Practices of Deep Transformation”
With Jeremy Lent
Beginning September 28, 2024
Cost: Sliding scale £100–£200 for entire course
Length: 10 Weeks

“This course, based largely on the work of Jeremy Lent’s recent book The Web of Meaning, but also drawing on many other diverse sources, lays out principles and practices of deep transformation for the individual, for community, and for society at large.

It offers participants a deep but accessible guided exploration of an alternative life-affirming worldview based on the intersection of modern science and the world’s great wisdom traditions, along with an inspiring and practical vision of pathways that could lead to an Ecological Civilization.”

Register here!

“Cosmogenesis: Autocosmology as a Spiritual Practice”
Join this six-week course with Brian Thomas Swimme and Jennifer Morgan starting October 15th!

Click here for more info!