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, ritually, when deceased. 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!
Sanctuary Without Walls is a member of the
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.
Formal Learning:
BS in Design in Fibers, State University at Buffalo, NY
MA in Ministry in Daily Life and Religious Leadership, Hartford Seminary, CT
Eco-care* and environmental ethics studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, CT (formerly Hartford Seminary)
One Spirit Learning Alliance, NYC, interfaith ministry training
Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, UK
Training in Druidry
Former Community Engagement:
Co-founder of The Home Schoolers' Exchange, the Alliance for Parental Involvement in Education, and The Alternative Learning Center
Communications coordinator for the Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires
Council member of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (www.iras.org)
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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