CLIMATE-INFORMED CLERGY COHORTS

• Open to Iowa clergy of any denomination or faith who are employed in a congregation at least half-time. We know clergy may have unique employment situations, so please don’t hesitate to ask if you would like to be considered.
• Participants must commit to the full experience and have the support of their council, board, etc.
• Up to 15 clergy will be accepted.

• $75 application fee (upon acceptance)
• Participants will receive a stipend of $1000, paid in two $500 installments.
• 6 required books will be covered and sent to you.
• Congregations can apply for funds (up to $1000) for a final project.

Not included:

• One or two additional books you choose to read
• Final project expenses above $1000.

Partial List of Topics

• The science of climate change
• Climate communications and climate storytelling with congregations
• Connecting climate and environment with any ministry
• Helping people with eco-anxiety and climate anxiety
• Ecotheology
• How to work with community organizations and government on projects
• Using the arts and other creative means to enhance your efforts
• Climate justice issues
• Making your building, grounds and congregation more resilient to climate change
• Essentials of doing advocacy work

Estimated investment per month: 10-18 hours

We know your schedule is often overflowing, so we’re designing this to be flexible and to fit in with what you’re already doing. So, for example, the readings will hopefully be useful for your sermon preparation. The monthly actions can be integrated with activities you’re already doing and your existing groups. Books will vary in length so that you can read at a pace that works for you. Here’s an estimate of what you can expect each month; please let us know if you have any questions.

• Monthly cohort meeting via Zoom (2 hours).
• Reading: 7 books during the year from a list. 6 are required with 1 elective. (4-10 hrs)
• Monthly action (you choose the order that’s best for you!), e.g. creation care sermon; farmer conversation, congregational survey (1-5 hrs)
• Check-in phone call 3 to 4 times (10-15 minutes each)
• Participation as time allows in a group email (optional & minimal).
• Completion of reflection, feedback and other forms periodically. (15-30 min.)
• Final project & report, done in collaboration with others from your congregation. (2-8 hrs)

Congregational life is understandably unpredictable, so we know both your exact time investment and availability will fluctuate. You may wish to consider setting aside a full week during the year to ensure you have the time needed to participate fully and to mitigate against any unexpected circumstances.

Please note that depending on the final project you choose, you may need additional months to complete the project due to any requirements such as fundraising, project planning, scheduling contractors, and so on.

The cohorts will be facilitated by Tim Gossett, Associate Director of Iowa Faith & Climate Network. Tim is a graduate of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, with a Masters of Religious Education and a Masters of Religious Communications. He’s the author of nine books, including Burst: Green Church (Abingdon Press), along with dozens of Bible study lessons and articles for various publications. Tim worked in faith formation roles for over 25 years at 3 United Methodist churches, primarily Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa. Before joining the team at Iowa Faith & Climate Network in 2024, Tim spent several years as the Director of User Experience at Aboundant, a nonprofit-focused web design agency and carbon-neutral webhost.

In addition, other climate ministry experts will join us for our Zoom calls as guest speakers. We’ll add their names here as they are confirmed. Some of the 2025-2026 cohort speakers included:

• Rev. Diana Smith, Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa (Being “The Greenest Church in Iowa”)
• Chris Cloninger, former KCCI Meteorologist & one of the people behind the Three Degrees Podcast (Climate Science)
• Brooks Witter, LHMC (Ecoanxiety)
• Dr. Kiara Jorgenson, author and professor at St. Olaf College (Ecotheology)
• Jessica Moldanado, Vice President of Public Affairs at PolicyWorks (Effective media communications)
• Vanessa Burnett, Executive Director of Fierce Community (Community Resilience)
• Vivian Cook & Taylor Sklenar – two of the team at EcoTheatre Lab & Regina Laroche – Diaspora Gardens (Using arts to communicate about climate issues)
• Rev. Karla Stolzfus-Detweiler, former Climate Justice Coordinator for the Mennonite Church USA (Climate Justice)

Participants in the cohorts will assist in the leadership of the Zoom calls by offering prayers, reflections, and so on.

Each participant’s results will vary due to differences in the needs of their settings, the time they invest, their previous experience, and so on. However, we anticipate that these will be some common outcomes:

• Participants will feel empowered to take consistent climate action (i.e. as climate-informed clergy) in their contexts.
• Participants will experience a strong sense of connection with others doing climate-informed ministry.
• Participants will know how to utilize natural settings effectively in ministry.
• Participants will develop a final project in and with their faith community.
• Participants will see a measurable change in their congregation’s climate engagement.
• Participants will receive a completion certificate. We will also be glad to inform the state, regional or national organization you affiliate with that you have completed the cohort training.

 “Climate-informed Clergy” take a faith-based approach to congregational life that is borne out of an awareness that humanity is never separate from the environment. They acknowledge and prioritize the current impacts of climate change on individuals and local communities and prepare for climate-related events. Some key principles to this approach include:

• Reading sacred scriptures and texts with a “green lens”
• Emphasizing connection and community
• Building and growing community partnerships with farms, local businesses, government and others
• Working against environmental injustice
• Telling hope-filled climate stories.

This type of leadership addresses issues like protection of the land and water, increased food prices, threats to vulnerable people, climate-induced migration, and psychological crises related to climate stress. By integrating climate awareness regularly into sermons and classes, offering counseling and other opportunities to process climate anxiety, and creating community-focused initiatives, climate-informed clergy aim to build resilience and meet the evolving needs of their communities amidst rapidly changing environmental conditions.

Unfortunately, the grant limits us in who we can accept. Clergy who live outside Iowa but work in an Iowa congregation full-time are also eligible to participate. 

Over the course of the year, there will be several projects for you to complete. Many of these can be done as part of your regular work, programs, worship etc., such as giving a sermon on climate change or talking with a board of trustees about considering renewable energy.

Each participant will also develop a final project, ideally along with others from the congregation. These are limited only by your time, imagination, and resources. Examples: creating a community garden; offering a climate-focused public event; creating an ecumenical or interfaith Disaster Resilience Team in your community.

We are grateful to the Walton Foundation for providing most of the funding for these cohorts. Additional funding comes from individual and congregational donations to Iowa Faith & Climate Network.

Most of the required and recommended books are available in audiobook and digital formats. If, for accessibility or other reasons, you need the books provided as audiobooks or digital books, we will do our best to work with you. Please contact us if this will be important for you. Of course, you are always welcome to secure copies on your own if you wish.

We hope there will be one in 2027-2028! At this time, our funding goes through the 2026-2027 cohort year, but we will likely apply for additional funding. If you are thinking of applying, we encourage you to go ahead and do so. You can always decide to defer if need be.