Good People Doing Good Things: Session Three
On Sunday, March 8th, we met in the Parlor for the third session of the Lenten series, Good People Doing Good Things. The topic for the week was “The Good News Is . . . Together the Impossible is Possible.” Very biblical, but in our day-to-day lives, a challenge perhaps. Our panelists for the week were Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Keith Ervin, and Linda Zaugg – all active members of the Interfaith Climate Action Group. When asked what the term “good news” meant to them, Keith said “The spiritual challenge is to live in this flawed, troubled world as it is. I have to accept reality and do what I can.” Lynn said that she had to ask herself if she really believed that together the impossible is possible, but that what she came to in terms of the climate crisis is that we have all the tools we need to turn it around . . . if we as humans just do what we can. Linda talked about her lifelong connection to nature and how Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’ inspired her to take some action, and what she did was join together with others in our Climate Action Group.
In response to being asked about times in their lives when they’ve worked together with others toward the seemingly-impossible, this is what the panelists offered. Lynn talked about how she has been changed by her involvement in the Climate Action Group – rubbing elbows with the likes of Keith Ervin, Linda Zaugg, and Elizabeth Burton (from Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue). She said they continually impact and change her – from educating her about the importance of heat pumps (and prompting her to get rid of the furnace in her old house), reinforcing the need to cut down on the use of fossil fuels (she buses to church now instead of driving), and exploring the massive carbon footprint of cruise ships (which transformed her picture of what retirement would look like). Linda talked about how the only thing we can change is our own minds and actions, and the importance of exposing ourselves to broader perspectives through reading. She said that one advantage of living a long life is having a historical perspective in terms of how many movements felt impossible and yet were successful through the cooperation of many coming together. She reminded us of Billie Holiday’s quote “The difficult I’ll do right; the impossible will take a little while.” Keith talked about how AA provides support to people who feel in the beginning that sobriety is impossible, and yet, together with the group, they achieve success. The impossible is done by people changing themselves and helping one another.
The next question had to do with whether panelists had experienced times when doing the impossible together failed. Linda and Keith talked about the Green Buildings project of the Interfaith Climate Action Group and how they had been committed to working with other communities of faith and city entities in an effort to de-carbonize buildings and to create carbon-neutral resilience hubs to serve people without access to heating or cooling in extreme weather conditions. They agreed that while the original goals were abandoned by some of the partners and some organizations folded, the effort yielded many benefits, including a working relationship with city partners and many individual supporters. Keith talked about how things are getting worse with the current administration but that there are things that can be done. And, he reminds us, there is a global movement! Lynn talked about what happens when we have a “failure of imagination.” She said that in her own life, she sees many opportunities to influence other people; for instance, she works with the Culinary Services Manager in the senior community where she lives regarding eco-issues in food. She says she finds that this kind of attention to engaging with others helps counter the feeling that what she, as an individual, does has little impact.
When asked what they would like younger generations to know about making the impossible possible, Linda said “Don’t give up! Don’t get discouraged.” And, she points out, take the problem one bite at a time. “It’s easy to give into the temptation to say that what I do is irrelevant, but don’t do it.” Lynn quotes Margaret Mead’s “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” She said that sometimes she feels there is nothing to say to younger generations – that our [older] generations have really messed things up. Perhaps, she said, it is we who need to learn from them. Keith says he wants younger generations to look at what’s achievable and what’s not. He says that for him the Serenity Prayer (God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference) has been a useful guide. He also referenced a helpful daily meditation posted recently by the Center for Action and Contemplation. In this, activist Shane Claiborne says “Violence is contagious. . . But grace is also contagious. . . Love rubs off on those who are loved.” He wants younger generations to know that we are with them; they don’t have to go it alone.
Finally, when asked how our church is doing at working together toward achieving the impossible, Keith quoted Mother Teresa’s “We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Lynn reminded us that one of our church’s stated Values is ecojustice. She would like to see this value lived out more fully in the life of our church. Linda talked about how we only have the present -the right now – so what we do today matters – the ways in which we offer love and kindness and inclusivity and welcome as an institution every single day matters.
In closing, these friends reminded us that the Interfaith Climate Action Group meets on Zoom at 6:30pm on the second Sunday of the month, and ALL are invited. They also encouraged us to attend the 9:30am Sunday session on April 19th when they will be showing the movie The Light Won’t Dim. And Keith pointed out that Texas of all places is now leading the country in solar energy! (There IS hope!). He also counseled “Do little things. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. Watch silly TV.” All good ideas for preventing burnout when taking on the big issues. Lynn says she has found that writing down what she has done for the environment helps her feeling she isn’t doing enough. And Linda talks about needing more trees in Seattle. She asks us to check out the group Tree Action Seattle. She also reminds us of the Adrienne Rich poem: “My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed, I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”
What a rich sharing of ideas and feelings! Join us next Sunday for session four and the opportunity to hear about some more SFBC friends doing good in the world!