Music – The Pollinator: Creation Care Network News

The Climate Vigil album is here!

Ed — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 14:45:00 +0000

We’ve been talking about the new album of climate worship songs for several months now. The wait is finally over – the album officially “dropped” yesterday, and is now available at Climate Vigil or wherever you get your music.

The album has 14 songs that are designed to be used in a worship context, and that are song by some of the biggest names in the world of Christian music, including Fernando Ortega, Molly Parden, Jonathan Ogden, Page CXVI, Terrian, Josh Garrels, Paul Zach, Audrey Assad, Jon Guerra, Taylor Leonhardt, Jessica Fox, Matt Maher, Jason Upton, Sara Groves, Liz Vice, and Nick Chambers.

Isaac Wordell, creative director for the project, says

Theologically speaking, we wanted this album to do three different things. First, we wanted to sing songs that celebrate the beauty and wonder of God’s creation, with a particular emphasis on God as an actor in the world. But we couldn’t stop there. The second thing we had to do was pause and say, ‘Something bad has happened here, and we are all responsible.’ We need to feel sorrow for what has been lost, so we wrote songs that give the church words to lament the devastation of God’s good earth. These are deep spiritual and Biblical expressions, not just political positions. Thirdly, we wanted to help people do something with these convictions, so we wrote songs for action and mobilization – music for the movement – where we say ‘yes’ to the work we are called to do. God is restoring all things, and He gives us hands & feet to help build His kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven.

You can find the music here at Climate Vigil. And check out the preview below.

Worship album about Climate Change coming soon

Ed — Tue, 03 May 2022 18:10:30 +0000

This is something we’ve been anticipating for almost a year: the release of Climate Vigil Songs, a new, original album of worship songs created for the Christian climate change movement. It’s coming officially on June 3rd, but you can have a preview now:

Climate Vigil Songs is a major new Christian worship album focused on our climate crisis. The Porter’s Gate Worship Project created the album in partnership with several other Christian organizations, including WEA. To experience the music and support the project, please visit the album crowdfunding page.
The full album, set to release on June 3rd, has the potential to help millions more Christians see the connection between our faith, our commandment to love God & neighbor, and our shared calling to protect God’s good earth for God & neighbor. Interested organizations are invited to help distribute the album and its companion discipleship guide. Please contact celisara@worldea.org and peter@climatevigil.org for more information.

The current list of artists includes

Artists featured in the album includes

Paul Zach
Latifah Alattas
Liz Vice
Audrey Assad
Jason Upton
Sara Groves
Jessica Fox
Molly Parden
Jon Guerra
Nick Chambers
Jonathan Ogden
Taylor Leonhardt

Christian Music takes on Climate Change!

Ed — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:46:02 +0000

Now, this is cool! Having grown up in the 1960’s, I (Ed Brown) remember the power of songs – “We Shall Overcome” (civil rights), “Blowin’ in the Wind” (anti-war). Successful movements need song – and the Christian Music community is ready to help by creating the first Christian worship album that focuses on Climate Change.

From the official announcement:

Today we are launching the Climate Vigil Campaign and a crowd funder for phase one—creating the world’s first, major Christian worship album focused on the climate crisis. We believe that the Church has an incredible opportunity right now to move the world forward toward addressing the injustice of climate change. Like other movements for justice, we need music to inspire, guide, and empower us to do the work that needs to be done. Together with your help, these songs will be sung by millions of Christians around the world as together, we pray, march, take personal faith-consistent actions, and demand effective actions by governments, businesses, and civil society for the sake of God’s world and for our neighbor’s good.

Press release:

AUGUST 25, 2021—Today, Christian organizations launched the #ClimateVigil campaign, calling on millions of Christians in the US and around the world to “light a candle for our climate.” #ClimateVigil arrives on the heels of the latest UN scientific report on climate change, which confirms what many people can now see with their own eyes: that dangerous climate impacts are upon us and the consequences will be even worse than they are now unless we all take urgent action.
ClimateVigil released this launch video on its website and Indiegogo crowdfunding page.

The first phase of the #ClimateVigil campaign is to produce the world’s first, major Christian music album to focus on the climate crisis. The renowned Christian worship collective, The Porter’s Gate Worship Project, is recording the album in Paris this September. (To pre-order the album and support the #ClimateVigil campaign, you can find #ClimateVigil on Indiegogo.com.) Major musicians have already signed on as songwriters and recording artists: Paul Zach, Liz Vice, Jonathan Ogden, Leslie Jordan, Latifah Alattas, Andy Squyres, IAMSON, Ike Ndolo, Kate Bluett, John Arndt, and Jon Guerra. More artists are signing on and will be announced soon.

“The Porters Gate community is excited to bring the Biblical conversation about caring for God’s creation and advocating for climate justice deeper into the church through worship and music,” said Isaac Wardell, Director of The Porter’s Gate. “We are singing together what we believe about God’s love for everyone, the value of His created world, and our commitment to caring for His creation and each other,” added Wardell.

“Climate change affects all of us, but especially those who have contributed least to the problem and have the fewest resources to adapt, like the poor, our kids, and future generations,” shared Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, Vice President of the Evangelical Environmental Network, one of the organizations behind the #ClimateVigil campaign. “That’s an injustice that the church needs to respond to. And like other movements for justice, we need songs to sustain, guide, and inspire us. We believe this worship album can provide the church with those songs as it seeks to respond faithfully to the climate crisis.”

Friends of A Rocha Bring a Cathedral to Freakstock festival in Germany

Ed — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:48:38 +0000

For the 3rd time in a row, a small team in Germany gathered recently to do some environmental education activities at the annually held Freakstock, a festival run by the Christian Jesus Freaks movement. In the “Cathedral of Woods and Meadows”, people were invited to join workshops and excursions to the beautiful forests surrounding it, or simply to enjoy the peace at the “cathedral”, at a busy festival attended by several thousand people.

The “Cathedral”, made up of a tent and several seating accommodations just outside the festival area, aimed to motivate Christians to make environmental conservation a part of their daily life and faith. From informing about A Rocha and giving tips on how to live more sustainably in their personal and church life, over discussions on the biblical background of creation care and sustainable agriculture, to walks for experiencing creation, the “Cathedral” covered a wide range of topics. To make it more than mere theory, the team introduced a system of reusable dishes and cigarette butt collection at the festival.

As a highlight, Chris Naylor, director of A Rocha International, was invited to preach at one of the main sessions. All of it received a very positive echo from the festival attendants. [Report by Naomi Bosch]