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Be inspired by the LSA of Glasgow, UK!

Feb 1, 2022
Overhead view of a bridge over the river Clyde, Glasgow, UK.

Photo: The Clyde Arc (“Squinty”) Bridge over the River Clyde in the city center of Glasgow. The bridge connects Finnieston, near the ‘Scottish Event Campus’, with Pacific Quay and the Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. A feature of the bridge is its curved design and the way it crosses the river at an angle.

by Christine Muller

Science, religion, art, and love can all be incorporated in community action. An example for that is the Eco-Pledge prepared by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Glasgow, UK, in connection with the Climate Conference COP26 held in its city last November. This wonderful resource can serve “as a tool for individuals and communities to reflect on and enable practical action towards the sustainable use of the world’s material resources.” Each of the beautifully illustrated 19 pages contains an idea for a practical action supported by science and a quotation from the Bahá’í Writings. 

We can be inspired to incorporate these actions in our own life. In addition, we can strive for similar actions in our Bahá’í communities and by our institutions.

The Glasgow Bahá’ís’ “Eco-Pledge” is available for download on its website.

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Christine Muller, Teacher of Music and the Environment

Board Secretary, International Environment Forum

I was interested in environmental issues already at a young age and became a Bahá’í when I was 17, which was the beginning of a life-long study of the Bahá’í Faith. As the environmental crisis was worsening, I began to systematically study climate change at a time when not much information was easily available. I also searched the Bahá’í teachings for a spiritual solution to the climate crisis. At that time, climate change was not known to most people and there were no educational materials available. That’s why I wrote Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change – an Interfaith Study Course, which the International Environment Forum posted in 2009. I joined the Wilmette Institute as support faculty for its Sustainable Development course in 2011 and created its Climate Change course the following year. I also teach a course on climate change for the Environmental Sciences Department of the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran. I have served on the board of RI Interfaith Power&Light for more than a decade. In recent years, much of my time is spent serving the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum (iefworld.org) as its secretary.  My formal academic background is in music, and I enjoy part-time piano teaching, playing and - when there is time - composing music. A recent composition is Humans on Earth – a Ballad of Our Time for two singers, string orchestra, piano, and percussion. Its lyrics include quotations from scientific sources and the Bahá’í Writings. Christine’s articles on BahaiTeachings.orgSee Faculty Bio

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