Climate Changed

Where Do You Find Hope? with Corina Newsome

In this episode of the Climate Changed podcast you will experience:
A centering practice led by poet, Maya Williams.  You will hear Maya read Emily Dickinson’s Hope followed by one of Maya’s original poems, Religious Imposters. 
Nicole Diroff has a deep and incredibly honest conversation with Corina Newsome
Ben and Nicole’s deep and moving discussion about those remarks
Next Steps for Engaged Hope
About Corina Newsome
Corina Newsome is the Associate Conservation Scientist at the National Wildlife Federation and a recent graduate from Georgia Southern University with a Master of Science in Biology. Corina, who began in the field of wildlife science as an animal care professional, specializes in avian conservation and passionately connects people with the natural world through birds.
Having experienced the hurdles faced by marginalized communities in wildlife conservation, Corina’s mission is to center the perspectives and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in wildlife conservation, environmental education, and exploration of the natural world. Corina is also one of the co-organizers of the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek   
About Maya Williams and Their poem, Religious Imposters
From Mayawilliamspoet.com: Maya Williams (she/hers, they/them, and ey/em) is a religious nonbinary Black multiracial suicide survivor constantly writing poems. Maya is the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine.  Maya's content covers suicide awareness, mental health, the prison industrial complex, faith, entertainment media, grief, and healing.
About the poem, Religious Imposters, Maya writes: It is inspired by Baháʼí poet Anis Mojgani's poem "Shake the Dust." His poem is a call for so many different types of human beings to "shake the dust" and come into their own because of how there's so much to admire about them. I created this poem as an expression of love towards religious and non-religious people to let go of imposter syndrome (shake that dust, if you will). There's so much to admire about folks coming into their own worldview.
As a Christian writer, I cannot separate my writing process from my faith (especially when I write my prayers in my private journal). There is a sense of sacredness and desire for a community when I engage in writing a poem similar to this one. 
Religious Imposters was published in Frost Meadow Review and then shared on the Interfaith Youth Core. 
The Conversation
“Faith journeys are not soundbites” -Nicole Diroff
Corina reveals how taking on racial injustice directly through activism has challenged the straight-forward faith she developed as a child at her church in Philadelphia. The outrage she has felt along with her commitment to engage in the struggle causes her to ask questions about her faith. She is wondering about Jesus as the great community organizer, as Dr. Heber Brown, has preached. To address the overwhelming anger along Corina chooses to engage in the process of deconstructing and reconstructing her faith. Through the process, she feels like a new person—back in touch with God and experiencing a new type of freedom.  She and Nicole talk about this messy and essential process. 
“I decided to I would make a career out of my desire to look closely. -Corina Newsome from A Thing with Feathers
Nicole first learned about Corina through the essay, The Thing with Feathers. Corina shared the essay in Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis, an anthology edited by  Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade and Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. In the essay Corina stresses the vial importance of looking closely. 
Nicole and Corina talk about the process of paying attention. Coming from a low-wealth background, Corina Newsome, discovered the power of connecting to our life source. Resource deprivation opened her up to the rich resources in nature, even in the city of Philadelphia. She says, “You can feel the difference it makes in your body as far as the stress levels and the constant tension that exists from not knowing and having to ration constantly. That is just such a taxing way to live. The moment you stop for 30 seconds and watch a living thing, something lifts inside of you…life just feels lighter somehow…Looking closely is very much a necessary opportunity that everyone needs to do, but you don’t know if it is there unless you’ve been taught.”
You can hear Corina read the essay in the podcast The Art House, a project of Citizens Climate Radio and Artists and Climate Change.
Corina also talks about how Black faith communities are now addressing resource inequity and depletion in relation to food sovereignty including  the Black Church Food Security Network. These efforts not only address some of the injustice issues faced in food deserts, they also help people connect to nature right in their neighborhoods through the foods they grow. 
They also talk about hope, and the near obsession that many church communities have around the source of hope. Many are asking, Where do we find hope? It was in studying birds, Corina finds hope in these birds. Corina says, “There’s nowhere just about where you can go where there aren’t birds.” Even in the most polluted spaces, you still find birds, ways for life to exist and even thrive. In places where the environment is clearer and birds have a richer habitat, that is where you see them benefit from diversity. 
Birds, with hollow bones and delicate bodies, like many marginalized people oppressed by injustices, may appear fragile, but they prove to be much stronger than many people can imagine. “They think we are fragile…”
Nicole and Corina spoke with each other for nearly an hour.  Click here to hear longer version of the conversation.
Next Steps for Engaged Hope
If you want to make your home more bird friendly, Corina links to an article from American Bird Conservancy. Glass collisions kill up to 1 billion birds in the U.S. each year, and almost half happen at home windows. And there is something we can do today to address this! Learn How to Keep Birds from Hitting Your Windows. 
You can make a difference by making a donation to Freedom Birders. Freedom Birders is a racial justice education project built on inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and #BlackBirdersWeek. 
If you’re looking for an organization to help out with, I’d actually suggest the one that Corinna mentioned, which is the Black Church Food Security Network. Their national organizer, Rev. Heber Brown co-led a presentation for us on imagination back in 2021. Another great place is The Boston Food Forest Coalition, which starts and tends urban food forests throughout Boston. 
On-line Trailside Practices facilitated by Aram Mitchell. Wherever you are—looking out the window, strolling through the woods, sitting on a bench in the park—here are some brief invitations to spiritual practice that you can integrate into your day.
 

Coming Soon: Climate Changed Podcast

Peterson Toscano, host of Citizens Climate Radio, produces the new Climate Changed podcast. He finds hosts, Nicole Diroff and Ben Yosua-Davis, the perfect friends to talk him down when he is feeling overwhelmed by climate change. Their honesty, vulnerability, and resourcefulness provide him with fresh perspectives and much needed determination. 
Episodes One and Two premiere June 2022
Episode 1: How Do We Stop Doing Things that Make No Sense? With Rev. Mariama White-Hammond
Episode 2: Where Do You Find Hope? With Corina Newsome
Episode 3: What Do We Tell the Children? With Craig Santos Perez
Episode 4: What is Wrong with Me? With Keyana Pardilla, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Sherri Mitchell
Episode 5: If I Can’t Make a Difference, then What Do I Do? With Veronice Miles
Episode 6: Daddy, Did We Hurt Them? With Ben Yosua-Davis

Season One Promo: Parenting in a Climate Changed World

Ben Yosua-Davis and Nicole Diroff are the hosts of the new Climate Changed podcast. They also have something else in common. They are both parents.
Ben is a father to two amazing children. Michael, is his six year-old creative social butterfly. Genevieve is his sweet and ferocious two year old."
Nicole is a mother to a second grader.
Parenting comes with so many unique joys and challenges, and parenting in a climate-changed world in particular, raises so many questions for us. 
As our children are discovering the wonders of the natural world, How much do we tell them about the ecological disasters happening all around us?
How do we create space for their grief and anger?
How do we prepare them to live in a world that is already different from the one we knew as children?
How do we raise resilient children who are prepared for the trauma that’s predicted for their lifetimes?
How do we instill in them empathy and love for all earthlings? 
As parents, Christians, citizens, and friends, we talk a lot about these issues, so we decided to bring others into the conversation. 
In the first season of Climate Changed we connect with thought leaders, ministers, activists, and other parents who are considering similar questions. 
People like
Corina Newsome, one of co-organizers of the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek
Keyana Pardilla, a young Penobscot woman in Maine who connects modern science with ancient indigenous practices
Pacific Islander and poet Craig Santos-Perez
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, a pastor, gardener, and spiritual entrepreneur within the African Methodist Episcopal tradition
We do not pretend to have all the answers. In fact, we have many more questions than answers - but we want to share them with you, and invite you to join us, as we wrestle with these big issues. 
Subscribe today to Climate Changed Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. Season one premieres June 2022.
The Climate Changed podcast is a project of The BTS Center in beautiful Portland, Maine.
Episode 1: How Do We Stop Doing Things that Make No Sense? With Rev. Mariama White-Hammond
Episode 2: Where Do You Find Hope? With Corina Newsome
Episode 3: What Do We Tell the Children? With Craig Santos Perez
Episode 4: What is Wrong with Me? With Keyana Pardilla, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Sherri Mitchell
Episode 5: If I Can’t Make a Difference, then What Do I Do? With Veronice Miles
Episode 6: Daddy, Did We Hurt Them? With Ben Yosua-Davis

Announcing Climate Changed! A short preview of season one

Climate Changed is a brand new podcast about pursuing faith, life, and love in a climate-changed world. Hosted by Nicole Diroff and Ben Yosua-Davis. Climate Changed features guests who deepen the conversation while also stirring the waters. The Climate Changed podcast is a project of The BTS Center. 
In this extended promo you will about the podcast and from some of the guests who will appear on Season One including
Corina Newsome, one of co-organizers of the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek
Keyana Pardilla, a young Penobscot woman in Maine who connects modern science with ancient indigenous practices
Pacific Islander, poet Craig Santos-Perez
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, a pastor, gardener, and spiritual entrepreneur within the African Methodist Episcopal tradition
Each episode includes a moment to help you center–even if you are jogging or folding laundry! 
In each episode you will also hear about meaningful, realistic, and achievable next steps you can take to learn more about the topics we discuss or to take action. 
We are thrilled to invite you on a journey of learning as Ben and Nicole share and reflect on their conversations with people who are dedicating their lives to making sense of life in a climate changed world. 
Season one of Climate Changed premieres in June of 2022
Episode 1: How Do We Stop Doing Things that Make No Sense? With Rev. Mariama White-Hammond
Episode 2: Where Do You Find Hope? With Corina Newsome
Episode 3: What Do We Tell the Children? With Craig Santos Perez
Episode 4: What is Wrong with Me? With Keyana Pardilla, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Sherri Mitchell
Episode 5: If I Can’t Make a Difference, then What Do I Do? With Veronice Miles
Episode 6: Daddy, Did We Hurt Them? With Ben Yosua-Davis