Real Hope and Action in the Midst of the Climate Crisis
Inquirer’s Class November 1, 8, and 15, 2026
Join us in the Westminster Room or on Zoom Sundays at 9:30 AM
Everyone is welcome!
We are at a crucial point in human history, when our future depends on the choices we make now—especially how quickly we are willing to transition to clean, renewable energy. The planet is heating rapidly, and the impacts are happening far too quickly for us to wait for our existing institutions to transition to renewable energy in the normal course of business. Even within the faith community, we have wasted decades with an inadequate response. This series is designed to inform and equip us to embrace the remarkable and rapidly growing transition to renewable energy and to inspire us to identify next steps for our local church and the wider church as we address the climate crisis.
November 1 – “The PCUSA’s Response to the Growing Climate Crisis.” Pam McVety will introduce the series, provide an update on climate change science, and report on General Assembly actions and guidance. She is a retired biologist, Creation Care Enabler for the Presbytery of Florida, a member of Fossil Free PCUSA, and Presbyterians for Earth Care Advocacy Team, which led the fossil fuel divestment movement. She is also a member of First Presbyterian Church.
November 8 – “The Future of Energy and the Technology That Supports It.” Dr. Patrick Love will provide an in-depth look at the rapidly growing transition to renewable energy, including a deep dive into what is realistic and why our carbon emissions are not yet dropping. Dr. Love is a physicist who worked in various industries, including on artificial intelligence; a climate science lecturer at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at FSU; an author; and Chair of the ReThink Energy Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the City of Tallahassee’s Clean Energy
Plan.
November 15 – “How We Can Make a Difference in the Transition to Clean, Renewable Energy.” Dr. Dan Terpstra will lead a discussion on what people of faith can do to prophetically model participation in the transition to renewable energy at a meaningful pace. Dr. Terpstra earned his PhD in Chemistry from Florida State University and was a member of First Presbyterian Church. He spent his career in computer science beginning with commercial software for the Macintosh and ending with supercomputers at the University of Tennessee. Dan was an instigator of fossil fuel divestment in the PCUSA and the first moderator of Fossil Free PCUSA. More recently, he was a founding member of Third Act, including the Faith and Tennessee Working Groups, and is a certified Electrification Coach for Rewiring America. Dan’s current passion includes working on legislative approval for balcony (plug-in) solar in deep red Tennessee.
For additional information or questions, please contact Pam McVety. pammcvety@hotmail.com.
Recommended reading and listening in advance of the series:
“Here Comes the Sun” book by Bill McKibben
“The Crucial Years” blog by Bill McKibben
“Volts” podcast with Dave Roberts
“Outrage and Optimism: The Climate Podcast” with Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson.