The American Scientific Affiliation is holding their Annual Meeting on the 28^th-31^st of July! 2023 marks the 50^th year of the founding of ASA’s official expression in Canada.

Here is the programme brief:

This conference will explore the intersection of science and faith across a broad range of frontiers. It will be chock-full of lectures, workshops, and discussions on important issues such as climate change, the environment, and artificial intelligence, along with continuing developments in astrophysical cosmology, geology, cutting-edge technologies, evolutionary biology, renewable energies, human psychology, and public health. Our meeting will include attendees from our counterpart Christians in Science in the UK and ISCAST from Australia. Join us in Mississauga in July to celebrate CSCA’s fiftieth anniversary!

Even if you are not a scientist, if you are reading this you probably know several. And you may also know that it is not easy today to be a scientist and a Christian both in the world and sadly in the church as well. The American Scientific Affiliation under new Executive Director Janel Curry* is hosting an online Symposium on 28 January at 1 pm Eastern time (US) 1800 UTC, that is open to anyone and everyone, no matter what country you live in. This program is highly recommended for scientists and those who want to learn more about how to support them and learn from them. Donations are welcome but not necessary to attend.

Here is the program description:

Genetic Engineering. Climate Change. Artificial Intelligence. Vaccines. Any one of these contemporary topics involves science and scientists. Many of these scientists are faithful members of our congregations. How do these church members experience discussions within their faith communities when nonscientists attempt to understand these issues from their faith perspective? And how can churches better engage Christians who are scientists in serving the church? 

Click here for more information and to register.

*Dr Curry is a long-time friend of the Creation Care movement; it is good to have someone like her at the helm of an organization like the ASA!

According to Bob,

This was part of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Religion and Conservation Working group. The paper is free to download and uses case studies to examine a tool for scientists to engage with faith communities. So not specific to Christians, but a few of the case studies are for Christian communities including mine which focuses on our microplastic work in France and Monaco

Find the paper here.

And here’s the abstract:

Recognizing the need to identify ways in which conservation researchers and practitioners can work constructively with faith leaders and communities to conserve biological diversity, the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology formally launched the Best Practices Project in March 2016 for the purpose of collecting recommendations from SCB members throughout the world. A survey of members in 2016, a forum at the 2016 International Marine Conservation Congress in Newfoundland/Labrador, a symposium, workshop and poster session at the 2017 International Congress for Conservation Biology in Colombia, and an e-mail request to RCBWG members in October 2017 yielded many recommendations that constitute Guidelines for Interacting with Faith-based Leaders and Communities: A Proposal by and for Members of the Society for Conservation Biology published by the SCB in May 2018. Members have been reporting the efficacy of following these guidelines in their projects, and five who worked with different faiths presented their experiences in the field during a symposium at the 2019 ICCB in Malaysia. Abridged versions of their presentations are shared in this article with focus on guidelines that proved most helpful for facilitating conservation-faith collaboration to achieve project goals. Discussed subsequently are ways in which conservationists and faith communities benefited from their joint efforts, reasons why conservationists should consider engaging faith communities in their projects, and impediments to collaboration that must be overcome. The SCB guidelines are listed succinctly, and conservationists are urged to consider using them in their projects.

This set of 12 videos (each 5 – 7 minutes) covers the entire topic of creation care through a set of diverse global voices from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. It is designed for a personal introduction, for use in small group settings, or even as part of a worship services. As with all Lausanne materials, the Creation Care Global Classroom series can be downloaded and used free of charge. If you are planning to use them in a course, feel free to mix-and-match; they don’t have to be used in any particular order.

A study and discussion guide for the series is available here.

Episode 6: Science and Faith. Much of what we know about God’s creation comes through science; but there doesn’t have to be a conflict between science and faith. Listen as scientists and faith leaders from a number of countries explore this issue.