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April 17, 2025
Dear friends:
Today those of us who practice the Christian faith arrive at Holy Thursday, our entrance to the Easter Triduum — tomorrow the devastation of Good Friday, then the unknowing quiet of Holy Saturday, and finally, Easter Sunday. If the world feels much more like the crucifixion than the resurrection to you in these days, know that you are not alone. These times are brutal, broken, and filled with grief — and yet the holy persists also in our communities — through the Easter traditions of Christianity, through the Jewish celebrations of Passover this week which mark another story of oppression and liberation, and through many other spiritual practices and rituals.
Christian tradition teaches us that Jesus, a Palestinian Jew and a refugee, brought to the world a message of love, of resistance to the evils of empire, of welcoming and privileging those whom society cast out, of speaking truth to power without apology. For this, he was arrested. For this, he was sentenced to be tortured and killed. And for this, those in power exacted their cruel revenge, seeking to silence him and his message. They did not succeed.
The despair of those times lives in these days, as we hold the sorrow and trauma of a circus of cruelty emanating from our own government. The dark days of Empire in which Jesus lived are upon us again — and for many, they never abated.
As we move through Good Friday and the time of unknowing that follows, as we witness the seeming death of goodness all around us, we must remember that resurrection is not an event that happens to us, it is a practice we live into in community. Each time we raise our voices in protest, we practice resurrection. Each time we offer kindness and compassion instead of hatred, we practice resurrection. Each time we pledge to hold true to the teachings of Jesus, to seek the common good, to work for love and justice, to shelter the most vulnerable, to care for all creatures of Earth, whatever the cost, we practice resurrection.
As Easter approaches, we hope you will find yourselves in a community in which you can practice resurrection, whatever that looks like for you. Lean into the goodness of connection, the enchantment of the natural world, and the tiniest seeds of possibility — for in those places lie the future we seek. We are with you, and we are grateful for you.
Wishing you blessings for the days ahead,
The BTS Center Team
info@thebtscenter.org
Join us for these Upcoming Programs:
A Doorway to Connection with Nature and the Divine: A Mary Oliver Poetry Retreat
- Thursday, June 12 - Saturday, June 14
- In person at the Schoodic Institute, Winter Harbor, Maine
- Facilitated by Greg Rose, spiritual director, BTS Board of Trustees member, and a personal friend of Mary Oliver's
- Featuring guided contemplative engagement with Mary Oliver's poetry, music, meals, and spacious time near beautiful Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine
- This retreat is now full. Please email ash@thebtscenter.org to be placed on the waitlist.
- Wednesday, June 4 • 7.30 - 8.30pm (Eastern) • Online
- Summer Event: Via Positiva, featuring All Beings
- Event Partner for our summer session: The Center for Spirituality in Nature
- Featuring music, ritual, and connection to hold our griefs and longings
- Learn more and register
- Saturday, June 21 • 10.00am - 4.00pm (Eastern)
- In person at Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Freeport, Maine
- Our second annual gathering for (active or aspiring!) Green Teams members from congregations and communities in Northern New England
- Featuring a keynote speaker, music, small group workshops, and optional farm tours
- Learn more and register
Justice Together Camp: Climate, Identity, Community
- Sunday, July 20 - Saturday, July 26
- In person at Pilgrim Lodge, West Gardiner, Maine
- For campers entering grades 9-12 and new high school graduates
- Campers will have the opportunity to explore themes of justice through the lens of imagination, kinship, eco-grief and the common good, along with enjoying camp activities like swimming, kayaking, campfires, crafts, games, and singing
- Learn more and register
Upcoming Offerings from Our Partners:
A Journey of Peace and Friendship: Kindling Moral Courage, Kindness, and Connection
- Tuesday, April 22 - Tuesday, April 29 • Various locations in Maine
- A 7-day multifaith, cross-cultural prayer walk organized by the Land Peace Foundation
- Join for part of the walk, for a ceremony along the way, or for the closing ceremony on April 29 at the State House in Augusta, Maine
- Learn more
What If We Get It Right? A Book Study
- Four Wednesdays in April / May starting April 23 • 6.00 - 8.00pm (Eastern)
- In person at Foreside Community Church, Falmouth, Maine
- Facilitated by Sue Inches and exploring Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's work What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures
- Participation is free — participants should plan to get their own copy of the book
- For information or to register, email info@foresidechurch.org or call 207.781.5880
A World Unraveling: A Day with Brian McLaren
- Saturday, May 3 • 9.00am - 4.30pm (Eastern)
- In person at the Westin Hotel, Portland, Maine
- A day-long event featuring Brian McLaren, author of Life After Doom
- An invitation from St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, The BTS Center, the Maine Council of Churches, and others
- Learn more and register
- Monday, May 12 - Thursday, May 15
- Featuring Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill and Rev. Hannah Sotak as keynote speakers
- In person at Tatamagouche Centre, Bayhead, Nova Scotia
- View a video invitation here
- Learn more and register
Introducing the New Special Series of our Podcast,
Climate Changed: Behind the Scenes Edition
Have you been missing hearing new episodes of our Climate Changed podcast since Season Three wrapped up in February? Surprise! We have a whole new series for you, in which our seminary intern, Jessica David, explores "Behind the Scenes at The BTS Center" through thoughtful conversations with our staff and board!
Our first "BTS @ The BTS Center" episode features a conversation between our Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Allen Ewing-Merrill, and our Board Chair, Debra Coyman, who share their thoughts on what spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world means in these times and how The BTS Center is living out our vision and values.
You can listen to this and all available episodes wherever you access your podcasts, and you can always head to our Podbean page to listen to all our episodes, both old and new, from the archive.
At ClimateChangedPodcast.org, you'll find links to all the episodes from Seasons One, Two, and Three as well as descriptions, full transcripts, and specially developed discussion guides which you can use in your congregation or community setting.
Take our Climate Changed Listeners Survey!
As Season 3 of the Climate Changed podcast just wrapped up and we are making plans for Season 4, would you help us by taking 4 minutes to complete a listeners survey? We would be so grateful!
What We're Reading, Listening To, and Wondering:
We're reading: Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens and the Hands That Tend Them by Tess Taylor, as we imagine the life that will continue to emerge from the earth this spring and summer
We're listening to: "Practical Ways to Stay Engaged in Challenging Times — A Discussion of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder" on The Growing Edge Podcast with Parker J. Palmer and Carrie Newcomer
We're wondering: How are you holding your grief and / or practicing resurrection?
A final word for your reflection
What Kind of Times are These
by Adrienne Rich
There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill
and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows
near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted
who disappeared into those shadows.
I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled
this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,
our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,
its own ways of making people disappear.
I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods
meeting the unmarked strip of light—
ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:
I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.
And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you
anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these
to have you listen at all, it's necessary
to talk about trees.
From Collected Poems: 1950 - 2012, published by W.W. Norton Books
The BTS Center | 207.774.5212 | info@thebtscenter.org | www.thebtscenter.org
Our mission is to catalyze spiritual imagination with enduring wisdom for transformative faith leadership. We offer theologically grounded programs of continuing education and spiritual formation, including workshops and retreats, learning cohorts, public conversations and rituals, and projects of applied research, all focused on cultivating and nurturing spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world.
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