Friends and Sabbath in the Time of Climate Change

Though keeping the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, Friends historically and today have a variety of perspectives on Sabbath-keeping, from rejecting it as legalistic to strictly enforcing it. This First Monday Lecture will focus on ways that practicing the Sabbath might help face the spiritual and emotional experiences of our changing climate. In this moment of potential for a just transition to a sustainable future, practicing the Sabbath may support us as we begin orienting to the community of all life.

The root of the practice of Sabbath offers a rhythm of rest for everyone, a communal time in which to reflect, celebrate abundance, and experience gratitude. Sabbath rest is for people of all genders and social statuses, and it is also for plants, animals, and the land, laying out a rhythm of weekly Sabbaths as well as Sabbath and Jubilee years. Health and wellbeing of people and land form the focus for the Sabbath. Rightly practiced, Sabbath centers equitable access to land, regular resetting of economic debt loads, and fair labor practices. Additionally, rest for the land and awareness of the rhythms and needs of the other-than-human world are considered part of the community’s wellbeing.

Practicing Sabbath creates a community of shalom – holistic peace – where economic, social, and environmental concerns remain balanced due to this dynamic spiritual practice. We will consider what it might look like for Friends to engage in Sabbath practices, and to create a community in which all are able to practice this rhythm of rest and renewal.

Leader(s)

Cherice Bock edits Illuminate, the Friends Bible study curriculum of Barclay Press. Since 2019, she has completed quarterly Bible studies on 30 books of the Bible. Bock also teaches Bible and ecotheology to undergraduates and seminary students. A Quaker from Oregon, Bock is a recorded minister and a member of North Valley Friends and Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends. She co-edited the book Quakers, Creation Care, and Sustainability with Stephen Potthoff and speaks and writes about – and advocates for – faith-based climate justice.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill.