Who’s Up For An Eco-Chaplain To Deal With Climate (scam) Grief?

This sure seems like something a cult would come up with

A new kind of chaplain is helping people deal with ‘climate grief’

When Diane Ware’s home state of Oregon proposed a natural gas pipeline that threatened local waterways, she sprang into action – leading workshops on lobbying state lawmakers, mentoring student activists and organizing lectures at her church.

But when plans for the pipeline were canceled, Ware, 78, found little pleasure in the victory. The retired elementary school teacher couldn’t shake the feeling that it may be too late to save a planet in deep peril – a prospect tinged with grief, anger and depression. Ware realized she had a case of “climate grief” – and needed help.

Ware is one of a growing number of people using the services of an eco-chaplain, a new kind of spiritual advisor rising among clergy trained in handling grief and other difficult emotions.

Each month, at the Talent Public Library, Ware attends Sustaining Climate Activists, a gathering of mostly retired adults led by an eco-chaplain. She went to her first meeting shortly after a wildfire swept through Lahaina, Hawaii, in 2023. She was upset by a report that claimed news organizations had failed to link the wildfire to climate change.

The eco-chaplain is a 21st century invention, and while no one knows exactly how many there are, chaplaincy experts agree that the number is likely less than 100. There is no universally recognized eco-chaplaincy training, as there is for other kinds of chaplaincy, but a number of organizations offer training from Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and secular perspectives.

Today, there are chaplains working at the intersection of climate, grief and spirituality in the United States, Great Britain, Australia and Canada. Most develop their own ways of addressing the issue, from one-on-one therapy sessions to online climate grief circles and in-person support groups.

Hey, nothing like taking advantage of people who’ve already been driven batshit guano by a doomsday cult, right? And then being given all sorts of advice which keeps the crazy going, eh?

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