Cross Culture

A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World BY KATHARINE HAYHOE

Katharine Hayhoe, a Canadian scientist living in Texas, has spent much of her career talking to evangelicals about the reality of climate change. In Saving Us, she argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values and build connections in order to move forward with collective action. With hope and optimism, Hayhoe’s book is a multi-layered look at science, faith and human psychology. Combining stories and research, Hayhoe shows how respectful conversations can have amazing results. Saving Us offers readers the tools to have meaningful conversations about climate change and how we all can play a role in tackling the crisis.

Home Sweet Home

From acclaimed director Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time, Selma) comes a new reality TV series that aims to help people understand others who are not like them. In Home Sweet Home, 16 families from different religious, racial and economic backgrounds or sexual orientations trade homes for a week. “This isn’t a Kumbaya, ‘all hold hands and love each other’ moment,” DuVernay told Religion News Service. “This is ‘understand my life so that we can have a better time living in this world together.’ ” The first episode, for example, pairs a Greek Orthodox family with a queer Black couple with three kids. Other episodes of Home Sweet Home feature families of Sikh, Jewish, Hindu and atheist backgrounds.

MICHAEL W. SMITH

In honour of the 20th anniversary of the release of his bestselling album Worship, Michael W. Smith has dropped a new album, Worship Forever, which reimagines the original from start to finish. Recorded in front of a live audience in July 2021, Worship Forever features a full symphony orchestra and special appearances by Amy Grant, Matt Redman and Tauren Wells. Along with the 13 original tracks, Worship Forever includes a bonus track, Sing Again.

According to a recent survey of church leaders by Alpha Canada and the Flourishing Congregations Institute, 65 percent say their congregation has not prioritized evangelization over the last several years.

However, the survey also found that the global pandemic has prompted innovation and increased prioritization: 52 percent of church leaders report having adapted or innovated how they approach evangelization during the pandemic, and 41 percent of church leaders said COVID-19 increased the prioritization of evangelism.

For survey respondents, the three biggest challenges in evangelism were: perceived antagonism toward Christian values and the Christian church; few non-Christians as friends; and lack of confidence.

More than 2,700 church leaders responded to the survey, the majority of whom represented evangelical denominations. Full results can be found at alphacanada.org.

Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn is known for chart-topping hits such as Lovers in a Dangerous Time and Waiting for a Miracle, with The Grateful Dead. Now, he can add worship leader to his resumé.

According to Christianity Today, Cockburn has been playing with the worship team at Lighthouse Church in San Francisco since he started attending three years ago. It seems that no one in the church realized Cockburn was a famous musician. “Nobody knew who I was,” Cockburn told Christianity Today. “They needed a guitar player, so they were foolish enough to ask me.”

While Cockburn was not always a churchgoer, he is a steadfast Christian and says the worship band is “a meaningful way for me to participate” in the life of the church.