In times of crisis and disaster, faith communities are often one of the first places people turn to for relief and connection. And it’s no surprise, as many of our congregations are already doing critical work caring for our communities day in and day out. But what if we were even more intentional about building relationships and resilience before an emergency? How might we better equip ourselves, and the land and buildings we steward, to respond to the new challenges we face with more frequent and severe disasters? What might become possible if we did this work not in isolation, but in community with our neighbors, with the land, and with other teams and communities across the state? 

This fall, a new Climate Resilience Cohort will bring together teams of leaders from faith communities throughout the state to learn and practice with each other in the work of building more resilient communities. 

Over the course of 9-months we will consider:

• How can our faith communities help co-create and participate in local resilience networks and hubs? Who else in our communities is already engaged in this work? What can we learn from each other?

• What concrete things can we offer or do to contribute to the material, social, and spiritual resilience of our neighborhood? Our watershed? 
• What is our faith community’s most faithful next step in this work? 

What is the commitment? 

• Come as a team. Register at least 3 (and up to 7) members of your congregation or community to participate together as a “Core Team.”
• Two gatherings a month. 
  • Core Teams from across the state will meet as a full Cohort via Zoom the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30–8:00 pm from October through June (10/17, 11/21, 12/19, 1/16, 2/20, 3/19, 4/16, 5/21, 6/18)
  • One gathering a month (in-person or online) with just your Core Team
  • We also anticipate additional (optional) opportunities to gather and act together in person, at various places and points throughout the 9 months.
• Contribute to sustainability. We invite participants to make a meaningful financial contribution towards covering the costs of the Cohort. Suggested contribution is $100 per individual participant, with a sliding scale.

Next Steps:

1. Register: Fill out this form. We know many of you are still in the process of building your team. As you confirm participants, please forward this link and have each person fill out the registration form. This will help us streamline communications and plan.
2. Form Your Team: As you pull together your team to engage in this work (at least three people from each community) consider who could serve as host or co-host. This point person (or people) will take responsibility to convene your team as needed, coordinate with your Companion, and communicate with the Cohort Design Team.

Climate Resilience Cohort One-Pager

For more information about the Climate Resilience Cohort reach out to Director of Disaster & Climate Resilience Sarah Loose.