Film Titled Regenerating Life Viewed at St. Philip Lutheran Church

The climate change has been identified as the most pressing environmental challenge of the 21st century. St. Philip Lutheran Church and its Perennial Waters Project recently took part in a national event to view a new film titled Regenerating Life and participate in a discussion of what can and should be done to address the climate change crisis.

“Regenerating Life offers a fresh take on the global climate crisis, and on nature-based solutions that can revitalize our human and natural communities,” said Curt Meine of the Aldo Leopold Foundation. “The film shows how, by working with and within the Earth’s interconnected biological systems, we may simultaneously enhance climate resilience, restore biodiversity, and foster community health and well-being.”

The movie was viewed on Feb. 25th, with a follow-up discussion with filmmaker John Feldman on Feb. 27th. This two-day event was sponsored by Lutherans Restoring Creation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) World Hunger. Lutherans Restoring Creation and ELCA World Hunger hope this film will be a catalyst for faith communities to start local discussions and inspire community-based solutions to grow climate justice.

The film challenged viewers to think beyond just mitigating carbon inputs and also restore regenerative processes to achieve healthy ecosystems and a healthy planet. The film called for restoring natural ecological cycles through the regenerative design of ecosystems. This would include working with nature to restore ecosystems, taking care of the soil and feeding people through regenerative agriculture, replanting forestland, restoring water cycles, and learning from people living near the land. The film pointed out that the more we protect and steward the land, the more it will take care of us.

The Feb. 27th discussion with filmmaker John Feldman was about how faith-based organizations can help cool the planet, feed the world, and live sustainably. This effort is part of a larger inter-faith collaborative called One Home, One Future that is designed to celebrate the wonders of creation and renew our call as caretakers of this planet.

The trailer of the film can be viewed here: https://hummingbirdfilms.com/regeneratinglife/

Ideas for what congregations and other faith-based organizations can do to care for creation, address the climate crisis, and work toward justice (including receiving a free Earth Day 2024 toolkit) can be found here: https://www.onehomeonefuture.org/

More information about St. Philip Lutheran Church and its Perennial Waters Project can be found here: https://stphilipelca.com/