How are we called to respond to the climate crisis?
Sacred Air: Climate and Energy, the second program in JustFaith Ministries’ Ecojustice Series, explores the impact of the climate crisis and equips people of faith to respond.
Sacred Air: Climate and Energy, the second program in JustFaith Ministries’ Eco-Justice Series, explores the impact of the climate crisis on God’s creation and God’s people.
In order to discern ways to restore the health of our planet and those who live on it, small groups learn about causes and effects of the climate crisis. Topics include greenhouse gases, air pollution, fossil fuels, renewable energy, the Paris Agreement, and environmental racism. Through prayer and spiritual practices, participants notice the breath of God that flows through them, granting them the life and energy to address this difficult topic with passion and resilience. Participants can expect to leave Sacred Air: Climate and Energy better equipped to address the climate crisis, both by mobilizing their communities and by making personal choices that honor God’s creation.
Each program in the eco-justice series includes eight two-hour sessions, plus an immersion experience and an optional get-to-know-you session. All programs include prayer, dialogue, active listening, weekly spiritual practices, and relationship-building. You can stop after one eight-session program, or you can offer all three programs. You do not need to take the eco-justice programs in order.
Goals for Sacred Air: Climate and Energy include:
Understand the basic principles of the climate crisis: what is it and what is causing it? How does the climate crisis affect us now, and what impact will it have on our future?
Learn about the climate crisis’s disproportionate effects on poor communities and communities of color, as well as discern how we might seek justice together through solidarity, advocacy, and organizing.
Develop a plan for addressing the climate crisis through advocacy, grassroots and parish-based organizing, and daily decision-making.
Sacred Air: Climate and Energy consists of eight 2-hour sessions, an immersion experience, and an optional get-to-know-you session.
Recommended group size is 8-14.Framework & Session Topics
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Session 1: Sacred Air, Sacred Breath
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Session 2: Climate Change: Is It Even Real?
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Session 3: Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy
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Session 4: Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Footprint
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Session 5: Lament and Hope (Guest Speaker)
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Session 6: Environmental Justice
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Immersion experience in or with the local community
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Session 7: Climate Communication
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Session 8: Climate Action
Sessions include:
Prayer and reflection
Discussion of reading
Videos & group activities
Spiritual practices
Integration of faith
Want to know more?
An overview, sample session, and program booklet are available for free download.
What you’ll need for this program
There are two books used in Sacred Air: Climate and Energy, both available through the JustFaith Ministries bookstore. The program also uses Laudato Si which can be found at the vatican.va.
Need help inviting people to your small group?
This program promotion kit contains sample social media posts, bulletin announcements, email invitations, and more.
We believe strongly in making our programs inclusive and available to everyone
There are two registration options:
Option 1: Participants in the group pay their own registration fees: Participants pay individually based on a sliding fee scale of $35, $55, or $75/person. (There is no charge for up to two facilitators.) A minimum of 8 participants is strongly recommended. Scholarships are available for individuals.
Option 2: A church/organization pays the registration fee for all participants: When the group is set up, a church or organization will automatically be billed a flat rate of $280, covering up to 8 participants. For groups with more than 8 participants, the organization will be invoiced an additional $35 for each extra participant when the group begins.
The registration fee includes:
- Comprehensive materials for each session
- Facilitation scripts, guidance, and training resources
- Retreat and immersion guidance
- Adaptations for virtual groups
- Direct access to program staff for support
Books are an additional cost and available for purchase in the bookstore.
To ensure our programs are not cost-prohibitive for anyone, all programs are offered on a sliding fee scale ranging from $35-$75.
We ask you to choose the registration fee tier that best aligns with your current financial situation. Paying on the higher end allows us to keep the program affordable for all.
If the $35 tier is difficult for you, please consider the program anyway. We ask that you decide what amount you can contribute as a commitment to the program, and send us an email at info@justfaith.org to learn about partial scholarship opportunities for the remainder amount.
What our program participants are saying
As inhabitants of our beautiful planet, we have lost that important and sacred connection to the earth as it houses and sustains us. I love how these sessions help to reawaken that connection and bring a greater awareness to the issues around the land we rely on for food, the air that we breathe, and the water that sustains all life. Not only do they create a greater awareness of the effects of climate change, they also encourage spiritual growth and challenge our complacency. By bringing to light the deeply connected justice issues around climate change such as migration, poverty, food insecurity and health concerns of those living on the margins, participants are challenged to explore their own responses and advocate for more sustainable ways of living both locally and globally. This is a great series and I would encourage everyone to participate!
I was a little skeptical of this program on my first day of the class; I was the only person of color and less than 50 years old and wondering if the course's material would even be relevant to my experience. I'm glad I stayed because I learned so much and was able to share so much of my experience and my community and the environmental justice work that I do from an urban perspective that opened the minds of all of my classmates. It was an awesome experience that I'd recommend to everyone.
Sacred Air Overview, Sample Session, and Program Booklet
To get access to this program's overview, sample session and program booklet, complete the form below and you will receive an email with the downloadable materials.
Sacred Air Promotion Kit
To get access to this program's promotional materials, complete the form below and you will receive an email with the downloads.