Pastoral care for a warming planet

With the UK Parliament recently passing a motion declaring a climate emergency, and mental health experts noting that people are anxious about the subject, climate change is becoming a subject that churches need to address.

An upcoming training day aims to help train church leaders for this.

On Tuesday, 28 May, the Climate Pastoral Care Training day takes place at United Theological College.

Through a series of talks and workshops, attendees will be better equipped at what might prove to be a different type of pastoral care to what they are accustomed to.

The event has an impressive range of speakers. Uniting Church President Dr Deirdre Palmer will present the keynote address, with the subject, ‘How might we respond as a church in offering care and hope to our children, in the face of environmental devastation?’

Glenn Albrecht will present on the subject of, ‘Solstagia and the search for meaning.’

 Seforosa Carroll will speak on, ‘Climate change, Faith, and Theology in the Pacific’.

 Brooke Prentis will address the subject, “Hearbeats and scars: Aboriginal Connections to Land.”

Mick Pope will relaunch his book All Things New at the event.

Uniting Earth Advocate Jessica Morthorpe is one of the event’s organisers.

She says that attendees, “can expect to learn why climate change and environmental destruction are such a big issue for anxiety and mental health, learn some techniques for helping, learn how addressing climate anxiety may need different techniques from other forms of pastoral care, and get a fantastic taster of who is working in this area and where they can go to learn more.”

The Climate Pastoral Care Training event takes place on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 at Uniting Theological College. For more information and to register, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor