Friday, April 26, 7–9 p.m., & Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. U.S. Central Time
(please note updated times)
in person at Grant Wood AEA (4401 6th St SW) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, & online via Zoom
featuring Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, FAAN (virtual); Rev. Veronica M. Johnson; Leah Rampy, PhD; & musician Sara Thomsen
Join us to be inspired and learn from these speakers and leaders like you who are committed to creating a hopeful and regenerative future!
“Somewhere between the eighty-five-year-old Tibetan Buddhist leader [the Dalai Lama] and the eighteen-year-old activist [Greta Thunberg], between the sage legacy and the whole life ahead, is where the rest of us must come in. And we must.”
—Susan Bauer-Wu, A Future We Can Love, p. 3
The Pew Research Center has found that most of us are sad or anxious about the climate crisis. According to Paul Hawken, one of the most hopeful antidotes to this is to pay attention to the growing movement of self-organized congregations and groups dedicated to change (Wu, p. 86). Hope comes from seeing ourselves as part of this larger whole.
Join us April 26–27, 2024, to be inspired by and learn from leaders who are committed to creating a hopeful and regenerative future. We encourage you to come with your friends, your congregation or whatever group of committed humans to which you belong. Get inspired, get informed and get into action!
Friday, April 26
6:30 p.m. Doors to Grant Wood AEA open.
6:30 p.m. Sara Thomsen’s music welcomes all into the space.
7–9 p.m. Leah Rampy opens our conversation about reweaving our connection with Earth and our own soul. She will remind us of our deep and inextricable connections to self, others and all Creation. She will help us build the fortitude and resolve necessary to plant seeds for the future and lay the stepping stones that lead toward a future of greater mutual flourishing and well-being.
Saturday, April 27
8 a.m. Doors to Grant Wood AEA open.
8:45 a.m. Sara Thomsen’s music welcomes all into the space.
9 a.m.–noon Hear from Rev. Veronica Johnson as she reflects on her experience working with congregations across the Midwest as they wrestle with sustainability and climate change. Susan Bauer-Wu (virtual) shares the wisdom and guidance she has collected in her new book A Future We Can Love. She and dozens of visionary scientists, activists and spiritual leaders offer us a new lens through which to consider the current crisis and meaningful rituals and practices for connecting to Earth and renewing hope.
Noon Enjoy a delicious, fresh lunch prepared by Prairiewoods’ kitchen team, enjoy Sara’s music, relax and connect.
1–3:30 p.m. Leah and Veronica return to help us integrate what we have learned and send us off with renewed hope, deeper connections and inspiration for actions we can take.
Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, FAAN, (virtual) has held leadership, academic and clinical positions in nonprofits, universities and healthcare. She is the author of A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis through the Power of our Hearts and Minds and the former President of the Mind & Life Institute, a nonprofit co-founded by the Dalai Lama to bridge science and contemplative wisdom. Prior to Mind & Life, Susan was the Kluge Professor of Contemplative End-of-Life Care and Director of the Compassionate Care Initiative at the University of Virginia, with faculty appointments in Nursing and Religious Studies. She was an early researcher and teacher of mindfulness and is an avid gardener and hiker who is nourished by trees and animals and awed by our reciprocal connection with nature. Susan is also the author of Leaves Falling Gently.
Rev. Veronica M. Johnson serves as Outreach Director for Faith in Place, whose mission is to “empower people of diverse faiths and spiritualities to be leaders in advancing environmental and racial justice, providing resources to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.” She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master of divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. She currently serves as co-pastor of Hyde Park Union Church. She has served previously in the Baptist, AME and UCC churches, and is the former president of the council for the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago. Learn more at www.faithinplace.org/staff-bios-2.
Leah Rampy, PhD, is a writer, speaker, retreat leader and educator who weaves ecology, spirituality, personal stories and practices to encourage others to deepen their relationship to the natural world. She recently authored the book Earth & Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos to be released in early 2024. She is a frequent speaker on contemplative leadership and spiritual ecology for these edge times. She has previously served as the Executive Director for Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, where she continues as an adjunct staff member. She is the founder and leader of Church of the Wild Two Rivers that meets regularly to deepen spirituality through time in the natural world. Leah offers retreats through Friends of Silence and for the Center for Spirituality in Nature, where she also serves as the senior spiritual program leader. Learn more at www.leahmoranrampy.com.
Sara Thomsen will weave her soulful, hope-filled music throughout the two-day event. “Thomsen’s soulful voice, poetic lyrics and unforgettable melodies cut through to the heart and the soul of human experience,” proclaims the Minnesota Women’s Press. With a voice rich as the best midwest soil, Sara’s songs carry you inward and outward—in, to the particulars of your own life, and out—into the shared humanity of us all. Her performance style is easygoing and full of humor and depth, capturing the audience’s engagement. Sara has released six solo albums and is a weaver of song and community singing. At concerts, conferences, classrooms, workshops, retreats, jails, places of prayer, and lines of protest, to be with Sara is to want to sing. Increasing wonder and awareness, deepening spiritual connection, and widening social engagement through song is at the heart of her work. Sara’s ability to get people singing magically transforms gatherings into communities empowered with possibility. Learn more at www.sarathomsen.com.
“Earth and soul cry out for a conversation far deeper and more profound than that of saving our lifestyle. It is time to reweave connections for the sake of mutual thriving here and now as we teeter on the edge of even greater loss.”
—Leah Rampy, Earth and Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos, coming in early 2024
Download a printable flyer to share with your friends, your congregation or any group of committed humans to which you belong.
The cost is $100 in person or $75 via Zoom. Students can register for just $25. Register a group of six or more and take $100 off your total registration. Lodging is available at Prairiewoods, but space is limited. Register today!
Spirituality in the 21st Century has been our major annual event since 2001. If you’d like to read a history of the facilitators who have guided us through past SP21C events, please click here.