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Reclaiming the Cosmic in Holiday Rituals

(4 customer reviews)

with Rev. Dr. Carol Kilby
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Description

Description

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“Reframing our holidays and rituals within the cosmic story,” says Carol Kilby, “is vital if we are to address issues such global warming and the spiritual crisis of our times. Rituals create cultures and then preserve them. At this time, it’s crucial that we develop evolutionary rituals that build ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible, and spiritually ethical communities.”  Carol in a conversation with host Jennifer Morgan discussed how we can celebrate our religious and cultural holidays in the context of the Universe Story. Though the webinar focused on Christmas, there is wisdom for people of all traditions, and no religious tradition.

 

This event took place on November 14, 2022

Levels: All

 

 

 

 

 

What you will learn? 

  • New ways to celebrate Christmas as well as seasonal celebrations from other traditions.
  • A renewed appreciation for the original cosmological purpose of many religious celebrations.
  • Ways to meaningfully share and celebrate the deepest cosmic mysteries.
  • Ways to bring the Cosmic into school celebrations.

 

Who is this for?

*Leaders of Christmas rituals (and other traditions as well) at home, in church, or in schools.   Many of you will have some familiarity with what is called Big History, the Epic of Evolution, Deep Time, or The Universe Story, and are interested in how Christianity and other traditions can evolve to further encourage ecologically conscious, environmentally responsible, and spiritually ethical social evolution.

* Teachers:  Are you looking for ways to ritualize this special time of year in your classroom?  This live lecture and Q&A will be of interest, particularly if you’re a Montessori teacher looking to find ways to connect the holidays with a Cosmic Curriculum.

* Parents/Grandparents:  For all of those interested in ritualizing this time of year in your home.   While the primary focus is on Christmas, there will be wisdom for people of all traditions during this season of celebrating light in the midst darkness.

 

 

 

Meet The Leader 

“The climate crisis together with the Deeptime Story,” says Carol Kilby, “have led me on a cosmic dance. First, out of the urban pulpit and mainline Protestant theology, into the woods to found the Gaia Centre for Eco-spirituality and Sustainable Work, and then to my surprise, back into leadership in a rural congregation. I’ll be sharing how, when we used both Christian and Cosmic stories themes like preparation in Advent and birth at Christmas pointed out our response-abilities in the planetary family.”

Carol brings years of immersion in the Cosmic Story and ritualizing it in multiple ways. She invites you to bring your experiences.

 

BIO:  Rev. Dr. Carol Kilby, author, speaker, and ritualist, is a retired minister in the United Church of Canada (16 years full time, 10 years part time), and retired founder and director of the Gaia Centre for Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Work, Haliburton, Canada.  The Gaia Centre, under her leadership, hosted numerous deeptime teachers including Matt Fox, Brian Swimme, Jennifer Morgan, Drew Dillinger, Miriam MacGillis, Michael Dowd, and Connie Barlow.  She has a Masters of Divinity (M. Div.) from the University of Toronto, Victoria University Emmanuel College; and a Doctor of Divinity from the University of Creation Spirituality, Oakland, CA.  She has studied with Miriam MacGillis and Lawrence Edwards at Genesis Farm and Gail Worcelo at Green Mountain Monastery.  Carol has authored two books: Cosmic Beatitudes – A Code of Being for this Evolutionary Moment with Caitlin and Peter Adair; and Out, In, and On The Fringe – My Dance From Pulpit To Cosmos.

 

Reviews (4)

4 reviews for Reclaiming the Cosmic in Holiday Rituals

  1. Jennifer Morgan

    This comment came by email to Carol Kilby:

    I was able to catch most of your podcast tonight – missed the beginning because of tutoring though so will listen on the website. You did a really nice job – your voice was clear, you were articulate and obviously well organized. The photos really added as did the words being printed as you were doing a reading. You looked relaxed and very confident. I was impressed with your answers to questions as some of them would have been difficult to answer. Your answers were satisfying to the question but also added more to think about. WOW! I am impressed. And, most importantly, you gave a lot to ponder as we enter the “festive” season. Made me think about how I could tweak things to make the time with family deeper in terms of reflection and with the opportunity to be thankful for our world . . . while reminding us to reflect on our usage of and dependence on “things”.

    Now I really want to read your new book. Please keep me posted as to when it is available.

    THANKS!!

    Roberta Ransom

  2. Jennifer Morgan

    This review came by email to
    Carol:
    Thank you for a really well done
    Presentation…you have such a great grasp
    Of how to frame evolutionary spirituality!

    Penny Andrews

  3. Jennifer Morgan

    This came by email to Jennifer Morgan:
    Hi Jennifer! I did enjoy the workshop! I realize that our family ALWAYS celebrated the cosmic Christmas—we made ornaments of the planets, galaxies, etc. And all the wise figures of the world were included in our tree!

    Pam Hughes (I live in Florida now, so I’m glad you’re doing webinars!)

  4. Mary Conrow Coelho

    Carol was terrific! The program had a lovely quality. I like the idea of a garland.

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The focus of Tony's current work is developing Earth law in practice and creating revenue-generating opportunities for Earth lawyers.

Learn more about Tony’s journey from a recent Boston College Law School Magazine profile.https://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2025/02/voice-for-the-earth/

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Kerry Hudson, Hudson works as an activist and public interest lawyer with a focus on social justice, and an academic and employment history addressing heirs' property reform and protections of the Florida aquifer. He served as co-founder and manager for a medical practice that focused on Environmentally Acquired Diseases, and the effects of that most macro of human phenomenon—climate change, on the most granular, personal issues—individual health and the chronic and intractable maladies brought on by changing climate. He has served as Education Director for Rights of Nature and eco-centric education, creating informational content addressing topics such as environmental protections and property law, and the Public Trust Doctrine, and creating supplemental educational content for the law school textbook Earth Law: A Practitioner’s Guide. He holds an MFA in writing, has a publication history with both fiction and non-fiction, and has authored funded grants examining strategies to mitigate generational heirs' property abuses. He holds a J.D. with a focus on Environmental Justice, social equity, and restorative justice and has created informational and educational content addressing the intersection of environmental and legal issues such as the one-percenters' climate change preparations. Currently based in London, He works on a long-form manuscript addressing the importance of property law, social justice, and the climate change crisis.

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Tara A. Pierce, Tara holds degrees in painting, the humanities, a J.D., and an LL.M. in Oceans, Environment, & Sustainability. This transdisciplinary background enriched her legal studies and contributed to the successful publication of several papers on Earth Law and Restorative Ocean Farming. Her latest thesis synthesised her entire academic and hands-on experiences into an approach to transforming the law into a healing practice. Tara regularly guest lectures on Ocean & Coastal Law developments for various institutions in the United States and Europe.

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Aurélie Rodzynek, advances Earth Law by uniting global advocacy, legal strategy, and community-led action. As Communications, Marketing, and Strategy Lead for the Earth Law Alliance, she works to embed Rights of Nature principles into governance systems worldwide. She has held leadership and coordination roles across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, guiding water governance initiatives, supporting international advocacy campaigns, and developing education programs on climate resilience and biodiversity. Leveraging her expertise, Aurélie has contributed to major UN-based gatherings and COP, promoting a holistic legal approach to protecting nature.

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Janet Marley is completing an MA in Ecopsychology at Naropa University. She is currently researching styles of governance in traditional indigenous societies of Turtle Island and how such wisdom ways can positively influence modern ecocentric regenerative residential communities and bioregional initiatives. She has a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University. Janet is a community organizer with an abiding interest in designing and co-creating intentional living and learning centers that model and teach connection, communication, and reciprocity with the natural world. Her gifts and roles include Teacher, Naturalist, Healer, Event Producer, and Facilitator of ceremony, council, rites of passage, vision quests, ecotherapy, and trauma integration work. She is a Montessori-trained educator and mom of two young children. She currently serves as a board member for The Circle for Change Initiative and is the Director of Programming and Events at the Manitoulin Eco Park, an indigenous-led nature connection facility in Ontario, Canada.

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Urwa Hameed, is a final year law student at Boston College Law School. She is a graduate of Boston College with degrees in International Studies and Political Science and has taught a course in Environmental Law at her alma mater. Urwa is the author of two published books, including her most recent, Hosting Earth: Facing the Climate Emergency (Routledge, 2024), which examines the environment through a philosophical and theological lens, framing humans as both hosts and guests of the Earth. Her work blends academic rigor with a deep commitment to exploring humanity’s moral and spiritual responsibilities toward the planet.

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