How do we stay grounded in a time of climate disruption? In this special Behind the Scenes Edition, host Jessica David invites listeners into a conversation with three BTS Center colleagues—Ash Temin, Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, and Peterson Toscano. Together, they explore the importance of spiritual and embodied practices that help us stay connected, present, and resilient in our climate-changed world.

Each guest shares how they engage in grounding practices, what works for them (and what doesn’t), and what these practices offer us in the midst of fear, grief, and uncertainty. The episode features a beautiful, nature-based practice led by Ash, with more practices to come in the next two episodes.

In this episode:

• Ash invites listeners into a practice of creaturely communion.
• Madeline offers reflections on holy noticing and joyful disruption.
• Peterson talks about reclaiming the power of deep listening.
• Jessica opens up about moving beyond words into embodied presence.

Whether you’re seasoned in spiritual practice or just starting to explore, this episode offers a taste of what’s possible when we make time to slow down and notice the world around—and within—us.

🎧 Plus, stay tuned for upcoming practices led by Peterson and Madeline.

Rev. Ash Temin Ash serves as the Communications Manager at The BTS Center and offers spiritual direction through her independent practice in Portland, Maine. An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Ash is passionate about ecological theology and exploring the experience of ecological grief. She finds joy in coastal walks, creaturely companionship, and practicing connection with the more-than-human world.

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt Madeline is a Program Associate at The BTS Center. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School and NYU Tisch, she brings her background in experimental theater, farming, and caregiving into her work. Madeline is passionate about creating spaces for radical imagination, deep embodiment, and joyful resistance, especially as we navigate life in a climate-changed world.

Peterson Toscano Peterson is the producer of the Climate Changed podcast and a longtime collaborator with The BTS Center. A seasoned podcaster, performance artist, and climate communicator, he helps audiences see climate change from fresh angles. Through storytelling, satire, and sound, Peterson fosters empathy and sparks curiosity.

💌 We’d love to hear from you! Tell us about your own grounding practices. Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org Call or Text: 207-200-6986

🌐 Learn more: climatechangedpodcast.org 🔗 Visit us: thebtscenter.org

In this special episode of Climate Changed, we’re delighted to share an episode from Religion & Justice, a podcast produced by our partners at the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Hosted by Gabriella Lisi (she/they/he) and George Schmidt (he/him/ours), Religion & Justice explores the intersections of class, religion, labor, and ecology. In this featured episode, titled “Deep Solidarity and Moralizing”, they sit down with theologian Dr. Joerg Rieger to discuss the relationship between economic power structures, ecological devastation, and the role of religion in building alternative systems grounded in deep solidarity.

Dr. Rieger introduces key distinctions between privilege and power, critiques individualistic approaches to climate action, and invites us to imagine economic and spiritual solidarity that moves from the grassroots upward. He explores how worker co-ops, solidarity economies, and faith-rooted organizing might form the foundation of a more just and life-giving future.

🌱 To learn more about the Wendland-Cook Program and their offerings—including their Solidarity Circles for faith leaders—visit: https://www.religionandjustice.org

📖 Read Dr. Rieger’s article “Theology in the Capitalocene”: https://www.religionandjustice.org/interventions-forum-on-privilege-and-power-in-the-capitalocene

We invite you to reflect on how this conversation resonates with your work in a climate-changed world. Share your thoughts with us by text or voicemail at (207) 200-6986 or by email at podcast@thebtscenter.org.

In this deeply personal episode, Harvard Divinity School student and BTS Center intern Jessica David hosts a heartfelt conversation with BTS Center leaders Rev. Nicole Diroff and Rev. Alison Cornish about lament's essential, uncomfortable, and ultimately connective role in our climate-changed world.

Together, they explore the collective practice of ecological grief — not as something to fix or diagnose, but as a sacred response to real, ongoing loss. They reflect on lament’s roots in ancestral spiritual traditions, its embodied and communal expressions, and its relevance for today’s spiritual leaders navigating climate breakdown.

Rev. Nicole Diroff is Associate Director of The BTS Center. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, she is a Maine Master Naturalist, a facilitator, and a DEI leader. She brings heart and strategic insight to the Center’s public programming.

Rev. Alison Cornish coordinates The BTS Center’s Chaplaincy Initiative and has long practiced ecological theology and interfaith facilitation. She draws from traditions such as Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects and community grief rituals to support climate spiritual care.

Ecological Grief Is Real and Sacred Ecological grief encompasses present and anticipated losses from disappearing ice rinks to contaminated farmland. It's not a problem to be fixed, but a response rooted in love.

Lament Is Embodied, Collective, and Ancestral The guests draw on ancient practices—from ripped cloth and psalms to community rituals—to normalize grief and reclaim lament as a spiritually rich, communal act.

Grief Connects Across Time Grief opens connection channels: across communities, generations, species, and histories. When practiced communally, it fosters honesty, solidarity, and renewed purpose.

Lament Is an Act of Witness and Turning The movements of lament include naming harm, expressing sorrow, repenting of complicity, and stepping into something larger — sometimes praise, sometimes action.

"How will your heart break? Will it break into a thousand pieces, or will it break open?" — Shared by Alison, from a rabbi friend

Referenced in the episode:

• Words for a Dying World: Stories of Grief and Courage from the Global Church – edited by Hannah Malcolm
• Season 1, Episode 6 of Climate Changed featuring Hannah Malcolm
• The Work That Reconnects – from Joanna Macy
• The Many – “Is This How the World Ends?” (song featured in Lament with Earth)
• Lament with Earth – Seasonal online grief gatherings hosted by The BTS Center
• Earth Hospice Rites – A twice-monthly global grief space led by Alison Cornish
• Teachings from Vincent Harding, Johnson (unclear exact reference; likely Howard Thurman or Luke Powery-adjacent figures)
• Elizabeth Kübler-Ross – pioneer in grief studies
• “Terraforming” – discussed in context of climate manipulation and river systems, detailed in The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh
• Spiritual practices like the psalms, lamentations, public ritual, and intergenerational liturgies

How do you practice lament? How does grief show up in your life and leadership? Email us: podcast@thebtscenter.org Leave a voice message: 207-200-6986

About the Podcast

Climate Changed is a project of The BTS Center, a spiritual leadership organization based in Portland, Maine. Produced by Peterson Toscano. Music by EpidemicSound.com.

Find more episodes and transcripts at climatechangedpodcast.org