Hope is more than a feeling; it's an action. Action, collective and faithful, creates power. Power transforms the world.
The Center for Climate Justice and Faith at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is one of the only centers in the country focused on building moral-spiritual power to address the causes and impacts of climate change.
Read the stories of current students below:
Rev. Brianna Lloyd
Through her participation in the Community Organizing for Climate Justice course, Hawaii Pastor Brianna Lloyd built an interfaith movement with local faith leaders to shut down a fuel storage facility polluting groundwater in their community.
Julie Gerrish
As a PLTS MDiv student with a concentration in Climate Justice and Faith, Julie served as an ELCA delegate to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) where she joined Lutherans from around the world in pressuring governments to make bold commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Katie Evans
Through her Ministry in Context placement at GreenFaith, Katie helped organize a national climate finance campaign. She’s learning first-hand how to be an effective advocate for climate justice and build a movement.
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Top 5 Reasons to Choose PLTS
- Most of our students have tuition fully covered by grants and scholarships.
- Our students can enroll in classes at other schools in the Graduate Theological Union as well as UC Berkeley, taking advantage of both interreligious and secular wisdoms.
- We offer classes in-person at our campus in Berkeley or online, asynchronously, so you can stay in your own context.
- All PLTS classes are taught through an intersectional lens centering liberation theologies and underrepresented voices: the Race-Class-Gender-Earth Nexus.
- Our diverse contextual learning opportunities help our students put their learning into practice and build their networks of support and action.
Master of Divinity
Prepare to serve as a rostered minister of the ELCA or other denomination. The curriculum focuses on the connection between a relationship with God and faithful social transformation. Possible concentrations in Climate Justice and Faith or Evangelism and Justice.
MA in Spirituality and Social Change
Theological education, spiritual formation, and leadership training for people seeking to become deacons, chaplains, non-profit leaders, activists, and faith-based leaders in other spheres at the intersection of spirituality and social change. Possible concentrations in Climate Justice and Faith or Evangelism and Justice.
Certificate in Climate Justice and FaithA two-semester, trans-continental certificate program that empowers participants to cultivate moral, spiritual, and practical power for leadership in the work of climate justice in communities of faith and in collaboration with others. Students meet in Zoom cohorts studying topics including: theology, ethics, and spirituality related to climate justice; climate change knowledge; and social change practices that connect ecological well-being with racial, economic, and gender justice. Community Organizing for Climate JusticeOver the course of one semester, this program trains people of faith, clergy and laity alike, to engage in community organizing for climate justice. A 3-day training session is followed by a mentored 12–week practice phase where students implement a climate justice project in their community. The mentored phase includes regular (weekly or bi-weekly) meetings with a seasoned community organizer and cohort meetings to build a network of on-going support. |
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SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS
PLTS automatically covers 100% of students' financial need for tuition through the PLTS Grant. Add to that the numerous merit-based scholarships available, and suddenly pursuing that persistent call seems a lot more realistic.