Tools for Empowerment

Thank you to everyone who has participated thus far! As I had hoped your insights and comments have sparked new thoughts for me and others already! Thank you!

As I started to set up the Independent Study course that inspired this blog I had a few ideas of my own about what effective Tools for Empowerment might look like. I have tried to incorporate some of these tools into the formation of the class itself. This is the list that I have come up with so far. As always they have to do with empowering faith based environmental action. I have included the ways I have been doing this in parenthesis:

- spending time in nature on a regular basis (journaling once a week outdoors in
nature, and watching the Discovery Chanel's Planet Earth, yes I realize that
watching TV is not being in nature, but seeing these parts of the world has been
incredibly inspiring, check it out!)
- having access to an up-to-date summary of what is going on globally on the faith
and environment front. (Reading Roger S. Gottlieb's A Greener Faith)
- being a part of a dialog about empowerment and how to combat disempowerment (BLOG!)
- being a part of a community that is taking action on environmental issues with a
faith foundation. (Volunteering with Earth Ministry, a Seattle based environmental
non-profit that addresses environmental issues with a faith perspective)
- Learning about up-to-date suggestions for how to address the global environmental
crisis that are economically realistic (Reading Joseph Stiglitz's book Making Capitalism Work)

Now here is some of what I have heard from the blog and other conversations about Tools for Empowerment. These ideas are exciting! Please forgive me if some of them are misstated as I am trying to roughly paraphrase what I have read. Corrections are welcome!

- Faith allows us to believe in miracles (an incredibly powerful tool given the level
of despair possible when we take a hard look at environmental degradation world
wide.)
- Faith traditions remind us of the meaning and value in working for justice even
when it is individual acts.
- "Ritual [helps us] as we face the truth & try to change: to hone our awareness,
reaffirm our intentions and goad us to action" (Roger S. Gottlieb, A Greener Faith
p. 191).
- Liturgy as a ritual within the Christian traditions (is that term used in other
traditions?) can be a tool for empowerment.

So what else? Where do you feel empowered? What gives you hope in the face of great despair?

Thank you again for all of your participation!
Peace and Blessings!
Mikaila