I’m excited to announce the publication of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield)! I am grateful to my wonderful co-editor Margaret Bullitt-Jonas who has partnered with me on this project for more than two years. Margaret is is an Episcopal priest, author, and climate activist serving as missioner for Creation Care in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts and Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ.
We are also honored that Mary Evelyn Tucker & Bill McKibben each contributed the foreword and introduction!
Rooted and Rising is an anthology of 21 chapters by religious environmental activists.
Our authors include faith leaders, scientists, community organizers, theologians, and grassroots climate activists who offer wisdom for fellow pilgrims grappling with the weight of climate change. We acknowledge the unprecedented nature of our predicament—the fact that climate disruption is unraveling the web of life and threatening the end of human civilization. Yet we also share our stories of grief and hope, fear and faith in order to give guidance for facing the difficult times ahead. Together, the essays, introductory sections, and discussion questions reveal that our present crisis can elicit a depth of wisdom, insight, and motivation with power to guide us toward a more peaceful, just, and Earth-honoring future.
Rooted and Rising is for everyone who worries about the climate crisis and seeks spiritual practices and perspectives to renew their capacity for compassionate, purposeful, and joyful action.
The book is divided into seven sections with three chapters addressing a theme. The interfaith friendship section has chapters by Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Wisconsin Green Muslims founder Huda Alkaff, and yours truly. The section about local activism features essays by Rev. Fred Small, Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman, and Quaker activist Jay O’Hara. The chapters on faith and science were written by climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, public health specialist Natasha DeJarnett, and ornithologist Corinna Newsome.
In the section titled “Rising from the Margins,” LGBTQ activist Peterson Toscano, civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, and Hip Hop Caucus president and CEO Rev. Lennox Yearwood connect the climate movement to previous movements for the rights of oppressed peoples. Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, and Rev. Dr. Jim Antal each contribute essays to the section “Rooting in Liturgy, Moral Vision, and Vocation.”
The section “Uprooted, Replanted, and Rising,” has chapters from Kiran Ooman, a post-Christian punk activist who is part of the Our Children’s Trust lawsuit, as well as Osage Nation elder Tink Tinker, and climate activist Tim DeChristopher. In the final section, “Grief, Love, and Trees,” Catholic climate activist Christina Leaño, environmental philosopher Roger Gottlieb, and Margaret herself provide the concluding chapters.
Each of these seven sections concludes with “questions to ponder” and a spiritual practice that can be used for personal reflection, group discussions, or in the classroom.
What are people saying about Rooted and Rising?
“Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Leah Schade have gathered the spiritual and practical wisdom we need for such a time as this. I hope people of faith everywhere will open this book, explore the diverse and rich collection of voices, and be encouraged, challenged, informed, strengthened, rooted and driven to prayer and action” wrote The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church
Author Brian McClaren wrote: “This book puts new steel in my spine and fires up my resolve. You need this book, and the Earth needs you to take its message and resources to heart.”
Sally Bingham, founder and president emeritus, Interfaith Power and Light wrote: “Whatever your faith or spiritual background, this provocative collection of essays will stimulate new thought and action. This book is for everyone who has been frustrated by the lack of progress in addressing climate change. These pages will educate and inspire you and renew your strength.”
And David Grafton, professor of Islamic studies and Christian-Muslim relations, Hartford Theological Seminary wrote: “Rooted and Rising should be required reading at all Christian seminaries, rabbinical and Islamic colleges! This collection provides an important way forward for religious leaders to take action for ethical sustainability using the best sources in their own traditions while cultivating interfaith friendships to work for eco-justice.”
Margaret and I invite you to read the reflections of our authors in Rooted and Rising.
We believe they elicit a depth of wisdom, insight, and motivation that can guide us – as individuals and as a society – toward a more peaceful, just, and Earth-honoring future. May you be blessed with the gifts of listening and learning, prayer and ritual, resilience and community, contemplation and action.
A 30% discount on the book is available for a limited time using the code: RLFANDF30 when ordering on the Rowman & Littlefield website: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538127759/Rooted-and-Rising-Voices-of-Courage-in-a-Time-of-Climate-Crisis
Leah D. Schade is the Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky. She is the author of Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015).
Twitter: @LeahSchade
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeahDSchade/
Read also:
We’ve Lost the Climate War. It’s Time to Surrender.
The Climate Crisis is Coming and is Already Here. So is Jesus.
Climate Change Impacts Health, Families, and Wallets
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