In this special off-season episode of Climate Changed, we are thrilled to share a podcast swap with Refugia. The show is hosted by our good friend and colleague, Professor Debra Rienstra.

Debra explores the biological concept of "refugia"—habitats where life endures in times of crisis. She applies this as a profound metaphor for how people of faith can nurture life-giving spaces today.

In this episode, Debra visits Spring Forest, a new monastic community and regenerative farm in North Carolina. She sits down with its founder and abbess, Dr. Elaine Heath, for a beautiful conversation about holy experimentation outside the traditional walls of the church.

Episode Highlights:

• The Metaphor of Refugia: Nurturing life-giving spaces in our earth and spiritual communities during times of severe disturbance.
• The Church's "Dark Night": Understanding the current confusion in conventional churches as a Spirit-breathed "dark night of the soul".
• Holy Experimentation: How Spring Forest functions as a dispersed network rooted in a simple rule of life: prayer, work, table, neighbor, and rest.
• Neighboring Well: A practical starting point for change—forming authentic friendships and sharing meals with the people who live on your street.

About This Swap: Rev. Nicole Diroff, Associate Director at The BTS Center, introduces and wraps up this special shared episode.

If you are joining us from the Refugia feed, welcome to Climate Changed! If you haven't yet, we highly encourage you to go back and listen to our recently completed Season 4, where we challenge listeners to engage in world-building through spiritual imagination, grief work, and adaptation.

Learn more about Debra Rienstra and listen to more Refugia episodes: https://debrarienstra.com/podcast/

Explore More: For full show notes, transcripts, discussion guides, and links to all the resources mentioned in this episode, please visit our website at https://climatechangedpodcast.org/.

How do we turn spiritual imagination into practical action in a climate-changed world?

In Part Two of our Season 4 reflection, Rev. Nicole Diroff, Peterson Toscano, and Ophelia Hu Kinney dive into a flood of inspiring listener voicemails—including a reflection from Susan in Baton Rouge on how local churches coordinated disaster response during Hurricane Katrina—to explore what world-building looks like in real time.

From disaster response asset mapping after Hurricane Katrina to congregational solar panel votes, public repair, and indigenous wisdom on building a "bird with two strong wings," this episode offers a roadmap for living, loving, and leading today.

Key Takeaways in This Episode:

• Asset Mapping in Crisis: How local communities and churches organize existing gifts to adapt before disaster strikes.
• A Bird with Two Strong Wings: Dwayne Tomah's indigenous perspective on moving past political divides toward shared truth and collective action.
• Dream Seeds & Practical Action: Translating spiritual hope into real commitments like community solar energy.
• Becoming Good Ancestors: Stretching our moral imaginations to care for generations across time.
• Opportunity Multipliers: Seeing climate challenges as a catalyst for deeper human connection.

Listen in and discover how we can keep building what love requires!

🌐 Learn more & access discussion guides: thebtscenter.org

📧 Email us: podcast@thebtscenter.org

In this season-reflection episode of Climate Changed, Rev. Nicole Diroff, producer Peterson Toscano, and Ophelia Hu Kinney look back on Season Four and the conversations that shaped it.

Together, they reflect on imagination, adaptation, grief, ancestors, speculative futures, ritual, and the sacred work of becoming people who can live faithfully in a climate-changed world.

Ophelia joins the podcast microphone family for the first time as The BTS Center’s Strategic Communications Director, former board member, and longtime listener.

This episode also features listener reflections from Fritz from Portland, Maine, and Grace Pugh Hubbard, along with clips from Season Four guests.

In this episode:

• Spiritual imagination and climate change storytelling
• Climate stories with culture, longing, and emotional depth
• Naming our experiences and being witnessed
• Becoming good ancestors
• Friendship, grief, and spiritual leadership
• Accountability, apology, and repair

Next Steps

Share this season. Send an episode to someone who might need it.

Host a listening party. Gather a few people and listen together.

Use the discussion guides. Each episode includes questions and activities for groups.

Share the videos. Find full episodes, short clips, and bonus material on The BTS Center’s YouTube page.

Tell people why. When you share an episode, add a personal note about what moved you.

Resources

Climate Changed Podcast: https://climatechangedpodcast.org/

The BTS Center: https://thebtscenter.org/

The BTS Center YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBTSCenter

Contact: podcast@thebtscenter.org