Developing an ecotheology of critical hope in Cascadia
Over spring break, my kids and I decided to try the 4T Trail around Portland. 4T stands for train, trail, tram, and trolley, and it's a loop that takes you on a trail starting near the Oregon Zoo, up to Council Crest and across to Oregon Health Sciences University, where you catch the Portland Aerial …
Continue reading "Outdoors with Kids in the Chehalem Valley: the 4T Trail"
On Thursday, I'll be in Boston for Harvard Divinity School's Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture Conference, and I'll be sharing a poster presentation based on my work to develop an ecotheology of critical hope. I'm looking forward to chatting with people about this concept and finding out whether or not it connects with their experiences. Below is …
The other day, my five-year-old son and I wanted to go to the library after we dropped off our car to my husband. We were in downtown Newberg, OR, a little over a mile from home, and we'd have to walk home if we didn't want a ride right then. K said he was up for it. …
Continue reading "Outdoors with Kids in Chehalem Valley: walking around town"
As spring begins and it's possible to get outside more often without freezing or getting soaked to the bone, I've been trying to spend more time outside with my kids. Therefore, I'm starting a new series here called "Outdoors with Kids in Chehalem Valley." If you have ideas for other nearby places to go, let …
Continue reading "Outdoors with Kids in Chehalem Valley: Harvey Creek Trail"
While studies in hope from a psychological perspective are helpful and give a basic understanding of the concept of hope, they leave something to be desired regarding the breadth and depth of the concept of hope for people of faith. Therefore, I wanted to do a biblical word study on the terms we translate "hope" …
Yesterday, my two sons returned home from their days' activities to a few hours of free play before dinner. Afternoons at our house can be great times to just relax, with the boys doing their own free play or playing together, but they can sometimes (OK, often) turn problematic. You know how it goes: Little Brother …
Tomorrow, February 23, 2016, I'll be giving a talk based on environmental history research I did about the land on which the George Fox University Community Garden used to reside. I'll be speaking to the Newberg Historical Society and any others who want to attend, and it will be held at the Chehalem Cultural Center at 7pm. …
My review of Grace Ji-Sun Kim's book, Embracing the Other: The Transformative Spirit of Love, went live Monday on Christian Feminism Today. She writes well and covers a broad range of topics of interest to Christian theologians, but you'll have to go to the review to find out more! For that review I focused more on …
I recently noticed that I wrote my thoughts about hope in three blog posts in 2013, based on my own thoughts, experiences, and interpretation of my faith tradition (the Bible and Quaker history). It's interesting reading back through my thoughts after spending last semester engaged with literature around hope in the fields of psychology, theology, …
Continue reading "What is hope? a psychological perspective"
I embarked on my journey toward a PhD in environmental studies in the summer of 2014. With a background in psychology and theology, this academic trajectory perhaps does not look like a straight line, but to me it makes perfect sense. I grew up hearing stories of Quaker ministers who stood up courageously for the social justice …
Cherice Bock 