Refugia Newsletter by Debra Rienstra - Issue #1

Refugia News

Cover reveal! I'm pumped to share with you the beautiful cover that Fortress Press has designed for the Refugia Faith book, to be released on Feb. 8, 2022. You can preorder now by going to my website at https://debrarienstra.com/refugia-faith/ and clicking through to your favorite retailer.

Director David Lowery, who also produced and wrote the film, has stripped out almost all of the subtle satirical commentary on Christian piety and chivalric pride. Instead, he’s focused on the problem of romance narrative itself—at least this is how I’m seeing the film. What does it feel like, the film asks, when you are forced to be the hero of a story?

The post The Green Knight and Narrative Refusal appeared first on Debra Rienstra.

This Week in Climate News

You've heard about COP 26 (if not, or if you're fuzzy on what it is, more help below), but maybe you've wondered if faith communities are involved. The answer is yes! And this article is a nice summary.

Ready with prayers, presence and pressure, the faith community assembled this weekend here in Scotland's largest city, which for the next two ...

Deeper Dive

COP 26 basics: COP 26 is a huge conference gathering 30,000 people in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. Those gathered include heads of state, UN agencies, intergovernmental agencies, business leaders, NGOs, faith groups, all kinds of civil groups, observers, and the press.

It's a big conference with a big goal: promise each other we will all do our part to mitigate the effects of climate change. This is a heavy lift.

"In a world shaken by a pandemic, and a fast-closing window of opportunity to avoid climate catastrophe, the pivotal COP26 UN climate conference kicks off this Sunday in the Scottish city of Glasgow - the stakes could not be higher."

Refugia Sighting

One of the best examples of refugia anywhere are the "church forests" of Ethiopian. While much of Ethiopia has been deforested for farming and cattle raising, small remnants of Ethiopia's forests remain--under the care of Ethiopian Orthodox churches. The churches are caring for these literal refugia, and some are working with ecologists to expand the boundaries of these forest remnants to preserve and strengthen biodiversity.

Enjoy this gorgeous essay by my friend Fred Bahnson.

"This film tells the story of Ethiopia’s church forests–pockets of lush biodiversity that surround hundreds of churches—and the efforts to protect them."

The Way-Back Machine

Here's the post from May 2019 that started me down the refugia path. Thanks to a compelling lecture at Calvin University by writer and philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore, I've been working to understand and reflect on refugia ever since.

When Mount Saint Helens erupted in May of 1980, it lost 1,300 feet of elevation and gained a new mile-wide crater. The debris avalanche and ashfall from the volcanic blast devastated the mountain and its surroundings, crushing, burning, killing, and coating everything in ash. Everyone...