WEBINAR RESOURCES:
Winter Solstice 2024 Worship Service
Winter Solstice Worship Service
The contemplative worship service will observe the theme of darkness at Winter Solstice and prophetic proclamation of the birth of light from Advent. Darkness can be a safe place of retreat, like when bears hibernate in winter or perennial bulbs rest in the ground before shooting forth again come spring. Darkness can also be catastrophic, like when there is natural disaster or terrorism and war. Environmental news seems more threatening than ever – the middle Atlantic Current (AMOC) is weakening and the carbon sink of trees and land failed to absorb much carbon in 2023. At the same time, politicians and policy makers who deny Climate Change and stress government de-regulation over environmental protection will be making decisions that impact not just the USA but the entire globe. When the darkness seems most threatening, how does Christ give us courage to continue? If you are experiencing disquiet, depleted energy, and fears for the future, join with others on Saturday evening Dec. 21st for this special Zoom gathering. We are not alone.
Webinar Date: Saturday, Dec.21, 2024
Presenter: The Rev. Dr. Janet Adair Hansen
Rev. Dr. Janet Adair Hansen has been passionate about God’s Creation her whole life; her doctoral dissertation for San Francisco Theological Seminary was on “Wilderness Spirituality.” She was a General Assembly Commissioner in 1990 when the PCUSA adopted our major environmental justice policy statement and an original Restoring Creation Enabler trained at Ghost Ranch in 1996. From 1997-2003 she served on the Steering Committee for the predecessor to PEC – Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. She was Conference Coordinator for the national Eco-Justice Conference on “Living Waters” at St. Simon’s Island Feb. 2000. In Susquehanna Valley Presbytery in New York she helped the late Rev. Dr. William Gibson write the 2001 PCUSA statement on biodiversity loss and threatened mass extinction. She served the Synod of the Northeast on the Public Policy Advocacy Network for 13 years, the last 7 as Moderator. Since “retiring” in 2018, Janet has volunteered and worked at Yellowstone National Park, 2 California Redwoods State Parks, a Gulf Coast Texas State Park, and 6 New York State Parks. She served Presbyterian Churches for 36 years as a local pastor, the last 18 at Christ Community Church in Cortland NY. From 2019-2021 she served as Interim Pastor for a UCC church next to Acadia National Park in Maine, and has just begun as Interim Pastor for a Federated Church in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts.