• Alison and Allen reflect on their personal callings—from a childhood love of carpentry to a life of teaching and pastoring
• The BTS Center’s unique framing of vocational discernment: spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world
• A theological and interfaith understanding of calling as active, evolving, and collective
• How congregations and chaplains are responding to climate change in ways that are embodied, compassionate, and spiritually grounded
• An invitation to discern not just what you are called to do, but who you are called to be

• Frederick Buechner’s Definition of Calling: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” https://www.frederickbuechner.com/
• Refugia Faith by Debra Rienstra – framing congregations as spiritual refugia in a climate-changed world https://debriarienstra.com/refugia-faith/
• Claiming Your Call for a Climate-Changed World — A program led by The BTS Center in collaboration with: Creation Justice Ministries, Anabaptist Climate Collaborative. https://thebtscenter.org/claiming-your-call-for-a-climate-changed-world/
• Chaplaincy Innovation Lab (Partnered with BTS Center on climate chaplaincy programming) [https://chaplaincyinnovation.org]

Grounding: How do we make space for both sorrow and joy?

In this tender and tactile episode, Jessica David steps out of her hosting role and into practice leadership, guiding listeners through a deeply personal ritual that blends lamentation and gratitude — with help from candles and beans. Drawing inspiration from her love of list-making, Jessica offers a sensory-rich experience for naming griefs and exaltations, helping us hold the complexity of life in a climate-changed world.

Main Practice: This episode’s practice invites listeners to physically express emotions using small, everyday objects. With humor and heart, Jessica guides us through a sequence of lamentations and exaltations — statements of grief and gratitude — placing one object down for each.

Through this embodied ritual, we’re reminded that:

• Grief and joy often coexist
• Tactile practices help us stay grounded in the moment
• Honoring loss is itself a sacred, healing act
• Even impermanent gestures can hold deep meaning

This practice is accessible, creative, and well-suited for individuals, groups, and even children — with plenty of room for improvisation and personalization.

• A candle and lighter (optional but recommended)
• A flat surface (floor, table, ground)
• Two types of small objects (8 of each)
  • One type represents grief or lamentation
  • The other represents gratitude or exaltation (Examples: beans, stones, buttons, leaves, shells)

Next Steps:

• Try the practice using what you have on hand: beans, buttons, shells, or stones
• Explore it alone or with a group
• Consider bringing it to your faith community, youth group, or a climate-related gathering

Share your experience with us: Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org Text or Call: 207-200-6986

Revisit the earlier practices in this series, offered by Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Ash Temin, and Peterson Toscano.

Meet the Guest / Host: Jessica David is a Harvard Divinity School student and intern at The BTS Center. She is a curious and courageous spiritual leader who finds meaning in honest conversations, tactile rituals, and community-based exploration of climate, faith, and care. She’s also an excellent list-maker and lover of beautiful beans.

Peterson Toscano is the producer of the Climate Changed podcast and a longtime collaborator with The BTS Center. A skilled storyteller, performance artist, and climate communicator, Peterson brings creativity and depth to every episode. Learn more at his website, PetersonToscano.com

This episode concludes our Behind the Scenes mini-series — four practices for spiritual grounding in a climate-changed world. Learn more at: thebtscenter.org

How do we hold space for what feels unanswerable?

In this episode of the Behind the Scenes Edition, host Jessica David welcomes Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Program Associate at The BTS Center, to guide us through a contemplative practice. This episode isn’t about solving anything — it’s about embracing what feels impossible.

Main Practice: Madeline shares a guided meditation that invites listeners to sit with the “impossible questions” — the ones that don’t have tidy answers, especially in the face of climate uncertainty. Born from personal experience and deep spiritual reflection, this practice reframes uncertainty as sacred, not something to be avoided, but something to be honored.

Key themes include:

• Holding profound uncertainty with reverence
• Embracing not-knowing as a spiritual act
• Honoring the questions that shape us
• Cultivating bravery, not certainty

Listeners are encouraged to move outside (if possible), settle their bodies, and gently bring their impossible questions into presence, not to “figure them out,” but to tend to them as holy.

Next Steps: Try this practice again — or share it with a friend. Reflect on your impossible questions: What are they whispering? Journal. Walk. Breathe. Notice what unfolds.

Share your experience with us: Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org Text or Call: 207-200-6986

Keep journeying with us — the next episode in this series features a practice led by Jessica David.

Meet the Guest:

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt 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.

Meet Our Host:

Jessica David is a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, founder of Local Return, and President & CEO of Rhode Island Community Investment Cooperative. With 20 years of experience working at the intersection of people and place, Jessica focuses on the intersection of spirituality and money, supporting community wealth-building and strategic organizational development.

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team. Learn more at: thebtscenter.org

Guest: Madeline Bugeau-Heartt

How do we hold space for what feels unanswerable?

In this episode of the Behind the Scenes Edition, host Jessica David welcomes Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Program Associate at The BTS Center, to guide us through a contemplative practice. This episode isn’t about solving anything — it’s about embracing what feels impossible.

Main Practice: Madeline shares a guided meditation that invites listeners to sit with the “impossible questions” — the ones that don’t have tidy answers, especially in the face of climate uncertainty.

Born from personal experience and deep spiritual reflection, this practice reframes uncertainty as sacred, not something to be avoided, but something to be honored.

Key themes include:

• Holding profound uncertainty with reverence
• Embracing not-knowing as a spiritual act
• Honoring the questions that shape us
• Cultivating bravery, not certainty

Listeners are encouraged to move outside (if possible), settle their bodies, and gently bring their impossible questions into presence, not to “figure them out,” but to tend to them as holy.

Next Steps: 🌀 Try this practice again — or share it with a friend. 💬 Reflect on your impossible questions: What are they whispering? 🪶 Journal. Walk. Breathe. Notice what unfolds.

📲 Share your experience with us: Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org Text or Call: 207-200-6986

🧭 Keep journeying with us — the next episode in this series features a practice led by Jessica David.

Meet the Guest:

Madeline Bugeau-Heartt 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.

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team. 🌿 Learn more at: thebtscenter.org

Grounding: How do you stay grounded when facing climate chaos? For many, the journey begins with listening.

This episode opens with Jessica David reflecting on how grounding practices can help us remain present and compassionate in a world shaped by climate disruption. She’s joined by podcast producer and longtime BTS Center collaborator Peterson Toscano, who invites listeners into an immersive sonic experience. Through a guided soundscape meditation, Peterson helps us attune our ears — and our hearts — to the world around us.

Main Practice: In this practice-based episode, Peterson shares his love of sound and his approach to listening as a grounding ritual. He encourages us to let go of labeling, to listen without judgment, and to experience sound as connection — to place, to others, and ourselves. By tuning in to the textures and rhythms of daily life, we can awaken to the more-than-human world and our role within it.

Key themes include:

• Reframing “background noise” as presence and meaning
• Listening as an act of compassion and embodied awareness
• How recording sound (even casually) heightens attention
• Soundscapes as spiritual companions

This episode features a short soundscape, recorded and led by Peterson, to help listeners practice listening deeply. Whether you’re familiar with contemplative practices or new to them, this is an invitation to pause, notice, and reconnect.

For the best experience, we recommend using headphones or earbuds.

Next Steps: Try your own soundscape meditation — no fancy equipment required. Sit still and listen. Or take a gentle walk with your phone’s voice memo app.

Share your experience with us: Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org Text or Call: 207-200-6986

Explore additional grounding practices in the upcoming episodes with Madeline Bugeau-Heartt and Jessica David.

Meet the Guest: Peterson Toscano is a performance artist, climate communicator, and the producer of the Climate Changed podcast. He brings playfulness, vulnerability, and storytelling to conversations about faith and climate. Through sound, satire, and personal narrative, he helps listeners discover unexpected ways to connect with the climate-changed world. Listen to more experiments with sound on Peterson’s personal podcast, Bubble and Squeak.

This episode is part of our Behind the Scenes edition — a mini-series offering spiritual and embodied practices from The BTS Center’s team. Learn more at: thebtscenter.org

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