john clayton gehman, MTS '24: Climate Justice Week Transcripts

I attended the opening ceremony on the Monday launching the event. And there, Maya, one of the co-organizers, had led us in a candle lighting service, and there we sat and meditated with our flame—the flame that is us and the flame that we pass around to one another. And having looked at my flame for quite some time, there was an image in my head that I can never get out, and it still lasts with me to this day about what it means to look at our flame and know that our flame will never go out, despite all the horror that we see in the world.

So that was a very impactful moment for me, and it made me think why this must be involved in these conversations. And it's because that so much of religion is based around nature, and if we don't have nature, we can't have religion. We can't have the celebration of life, we can't have the celebration of the sacred, and we can't have the celebration of ourselves and one another. So I think it's very important that HDS be involved in climate justice and planetary health conversations.

What was impactful for me about opening the Rebecca Solnit event and attending was to see the intergenerational leadership in climate justice and planetary health. It's been an honor to work with Terry Tempest Williams and Rebecca Solnit to speak about these issues and to also offer a perspective from my generation—one that enters into Anthropocene and needs to look at alternatives which were not previously accessible or given to us by our past generations.

For previous generations to realize what is at stake for my generation and all the grief, horror, and fear that we're facing, it means a lot to be not only in space and time together, but also in transgenerational solidarity. It was an honor to open this event and hear the wisdom across the generations.