This course immerses student in the natural world during a four-day retreat. Students will abide in Creation and experience the beauty and hope of our immanent God. They will consider an Indigenous understanding of the land and the relationship between science and faith. They will engage current issues such as climate change, agriculture, conservation, land use and consumption of natural resources.
Course Objectives
- Assess experientially the place of humanity in Creation through time alone in nature, reading assignments, and directed large-group conversation. [A.2.2, A.2.3, B.2.2]1
- Evaluate thoughtfully cosmology, the relationship of science and faith, and Indigenous and other under-represented worldviews through reading assessments, small-group discussions, and directed large-group conversation. [A.2.2, A.2.3, B.2.2, B.2.3]
- Identify key aspects of climate change through online research, reading assessments, and directed small-group discussion. [A.2.3]
- Experiment with a regular discipline of simplicity or a sustainable lifestyle through classroom modeling, small-group check-ins, and a written report. [A.2.3, A.2.4]
- Investigate the pain and/or degradation of a part of your particular bioregion through reading, research, and a written nature narrative. [A.2.3, A.2.4]
- Create an ethic of hospitality in the classroom and in our small-group discussions by sharing our stories and practicing verbal affirmations. [A.2.5]
Required Texts
- Berry, Wendell. The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2001. (ISBN: 1593760078)
- Guroian, Vigen. Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999. (ISBN: 0802845887)
- Kingsolver, Barbara. Flight Behavior: A Novel. New York: HarperCollins, 2012. (ISBN: 0062124269)
- McFague, Sallie. Super, Natural Christians: How We Should Love Nature. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000. (ISBN: 0800630769)
- Northwest Earth Institute. Discovering a Sense of Place. Portland, OR: NWEI, 2007. (Available through: https://www.nwei.org/order-form)
Recommended Texts
- Duncan, David James. My Story As Told By Water. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 2001.
- The Green Bible, reprint ed. New York: HarperOne, 2010.
- McDuff, Mallory. Sacred Acts: How Churches Are Working to Protect Earth’s Climate. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 2012.
- McFague, Sallie. A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2008.
- Woodley, Randy. Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012.