MIAMI – “We are literally made up of the same stuff as everything in the universe, and related to all life on this planet. As a species we have the most power to protect life on this Earth, which may be the only planet we can be certain has life. If that isn’t sacred, I don’t know what is.”
Andrea Kendall is an elder in the Craft who currently runs EBSAT, the Earth-based Spirituality Action Team. EBSAT is a specific action team under the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an organization dedicated to making lobbying more efficient and accessible for the public. CCL makes it easier to lobby for your rights by leveraging technology to empower and enable ordinary people to step up in ways they’re comfortable with. It is a nonpartisan organization that empowers folks to lobby for themselves, and EBSAT is an independent action team under that wider organization.
Eco-activism is their main goal. “There is no such thing as a small action. Every action literally changes the world,” Andrea says. “It really does make a difference.” EBSAT was created by Bart Everson, a naturalist pagan, to create a team that allows Pagans to participate in CCL and bridge the gap between the Pagan community and the political community. EBSAT’s goal is to be a place for people to come and recognize that they are not alone in fighting for the earth.
Andrea has been a practicing Witch for over 45 years. Like many of us in the Pagan community, it was in her teenage years when Andrea began to look for other faiths. Raised in the Jewish religion, more and more, “some things just didn’t work for me,” she explained. She tried and explored lots of things, including the Rosicrucians and attending a New-Age Christian church, before finding her teacher in the Craft, Crystal Oldenburg (initiated by Judy Harlow, at the Eye of the Cat in Los Angeles).
Andrea Kendall [Courtesy]
Andrea has always been at the forefront of progress. For 9 years in the 1980s, Andrea designed and implemented Graphic User Interfaces as the only female programmer in IBM’s 3,000-strong department. As an international team leader and UX designer, Andrea encountered and enjoyed meeting, people from diverse backgrounds and faiths. Through the Covenant of the Goddess, she was able to continue this work.
When running EBSAT was proposed to her, Andrea said she saw right away how to blend her skills and interests. “Western science is the best way to understand nature,” Andrea says, “so we blend science and spirituality to better tackle climate change.”
The rate of species decline and “the reality that we are too late for the best-case scenario when it comes to climate change” is what motivates Andrea in her efforts as the head of EBSAT. “However, we have time to fight back the worst-case scenario. That’s where groups like Citizens Climate Lobby come in, and that’s where EBSAT lies in its heart. Starting at the local, smaller level while at the same time pushing the government in the right direction is the way to make lasting change,” Andrea says. “What EBSAT does is invite you to come and be with people who are also doing eco-activism, and encourages you to get re-energized. We are a perfect fit for anyone who sees the earth as sacred.”
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“The best part of what I do is getting to work with the people who give their time to show up and present for EBSAT”, Andrea says. At meetings, guest speakers often present on topics from permaculture to wildlife rehabilitations to earthworms. Andrea invites a diverse bricolage of speakers, including pastors, atheists, and of course Pagans. Past speakers include the one and only Selena Fox, speaking on ‘Earth Day Every Day’; Cecilia Sanchez-Garduño, founder of the Maya Nut Institute, who spoke on the Maya nut and its power to lift up women in indigenous populations; John Beckett speaking on ‘Animism: A Foundation for Connecting to Nature’; Patrick McCollum, speaking on ‘Eco-Activism with Indigenous Populations’; and Randy Woodley, an Indigenous American author of “Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth”, meditations to help us decolonize our thinking, who is building a permaculture farm for education. Most past speaker events can be found on EBSAT’s YouTube, link below.
Upcoming talks are yet to be announced and proposals are regularly invited. Andrea says that proposals from speakers can be sent to her attention at Andrea.Kendall.clergy@gmail.com.
“What I need to know is your topic and a bit of your background,” Andrea asks. “We want EBSAT to be a welcoming and inclusive space. You don’t have to be a big name. If you’re doing eco-activism and you see the earth as sacred, come share it with us.”
The only thing required for membership in EBSAT: is “holding the Earth sacred, in whatever way that means to you.” Pagans make up a large percentage of the group’s membership, but Christian ministers have been guest speakers, and Hindus also make up a proportion of EBSAT’s membership.
“Even if you don’t have a lot of time, share our posts on social media, and support us that way,” Andrea asks. “Getting the word out there is important. If you feel powerless, we’re going to help you reclaim it. You can reclaim it by showing up.”
EBSAT meets via Zoom on the second Monday of each month from 5 pm to 5:30 pm PST. When you become an official member, a monthly email announces each meeting and its goals.
Andrea wants to remind us all that “it is a strategy by oil companies to make people depressed and feel despair about climate change. Why? Because if you believe there is no hope you won’t bother, and they’ve already won. At the least you can say ‘I didn’t go down without a fight’; but I truly believe together we can be a part of the solution.”
EBSAT meetings are regularly announced in Pagan Community Notes.
For more information, on Andrea’s and EBSAT’s work visit:
EBSAT
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