For this episode we bring in Rev. Ana Levy Lyons, a senior minister of First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn. We discuss Ana’s path to divinity, the nuanced responsibility of parenthood in the era of the climate crisis, the allusions technology has placed on our framings place, waste, and haste. Ana calls on listeners to examine the role of our spirituality in the climate crisis, introduces us to the homo amandi, relays the importance of changing our spiritual culture from the inside, and suggests that the sabbath might be one of our best tools for climate action. She was first mentioned in our episode with Jan Thompson when she talked about the “Diorama of Extinct Homosapiens.” We get to talk about that exhibit, the sermon that inspired it, and when the best time to plant a tree is.
Watch a snapshot of the exhibition here
The Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons is Senior Minister at First Unitarian. She brings to her ministry a passion for social and environmental justice and a belief in the power of liberal religion to transform our world. She also brings a love of creative, embodied, music-centered worship from a previous life as a musician. Ana holds a B.A. in Music from Brown University and an M.Div. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She has won numerous awards for her sermons including the Borden Sermon Award, the Jerry Davidoff Sermon Award, and the Dana Greeley Sermon Award. Her sermons and articles have been published in UU World, Criterion (a University of Chicago publication), and Tikkun magazine where she is a contributing editor.