Katharine Houk
* So what is eco-care? Some call it eco-chaplaincy.
Eco-chaplaincy, a growing field, is basically about fostering an awareness of our ecological embeddedness in the more-than-human world, and helping people, creatures, and places recover from the disconnections created by modern industrial civilization. It is not precisely defined; there is a wide variety of ways eco-care plays out. It is sometimes called climate chaplaincy. Some examples:
An animal chaplain, who stops for and tends animals hurt or killed by traffic, including burying them. She also works with organizations for wildlife crossings on roads.
Some eco-chaplains guide people into intimate relationship with their eco-systems. Others are witnesses and provide spiritual care for those traumatized by extreme weather/climate events, often serving at crisis scenes. Some offer their presence to those experiencing eco-grief, loss, and eco-anxiety. And much more!
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Sanctuary Without Walls is a member of The Wild Church Network
Home: Chatham, NY, in a small house on the unceded land of the Mohican people. It is a place of beauty, with woodlands, fields, and streams.
Interests: Nature and science, local living, art and creativity, religion and spirituality, living on the edge, cats, commoning, chronic illness/neurodivergence/disability, traditional Indigenous life-ways, gardening, family/Celtic ancestry, story (listening, writing and telling), envisioning a better world for my grandchildren. Fascination with the emergent creativity at the heart of the Universe, call it what you will.
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Formal Learning:
BS in Design in Fibers, State University at Buffalo​, NY
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MA in Ministry in Daily Life and Religious Leadership, Hartford Seminary, CT
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Eco-care* and environmental ethics studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, CT (formerly Hartford Seminary)
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One Spirit Learning Alliance, NYC, interfaith ministry training
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Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, UK
Training in Druidry
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Former Community Engagement:
Co-founder of The Home Schoolers' Exchange, the Alliance for Parental Involvement in Education, and The Alternative Learning Center
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Communications coordinator for the Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires
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Council member of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (www.iras.org)
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CONTACT: sanctuarywithoutwalls@aol.com
It is my hope that as Sanctuary Without Walls expands, others will be featured on this page. Become involved!
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