October 2026 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following 24 items:
- We Have a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2027;
- Across the Cosmos for October 2026: The Moon in Science and Art;
- The Illuminated Soul: Free Book Offer;
- Crossroads of Science and Faith: New Podcast;
- Would Jesus Like Waymo?;
- Warmest Summer on Record;
- Clergy Letter Project Members Arrested;
- They Look Like Religious Teachers. But They’re AI;
- As We Give Birth To AI, Will it Also Kill Us?;
- The Cognitive Dissonance of AI in the World and in the Church;
- A Sermon on Radical Climate Action;
- Who Gets to Write in Tranquility?;
- More Intelligent Design Claims Debunked;
- ELCA Releases Paper on AI;
- The Copernican Principle: De-centering Earth and De-centering Humanity;
- God’s Creation and Big Bang Cosmology;
- How Ministry Shaped My Science;
- Pastoring the Whole Person;
- Measuring the Sacred: Faith, Science, and the Search for Human Flourishing;
- Religious Leaders Confront What Technology Could Cost Humanity;
- Humanoid Robots Set Records;
- There Is No Free Lunch;
- The Salesman; and
- Ideas From the Vatican Observatory.
1. We Have a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2027
Thanks to your efforts, we’ve selected a theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2027:
Resilience and Renewal: Religion and Science in Times of Crisis
I hope you find this theme as exciting as I do and I hope it encourages you to participate in our celebration of religion and science (12-14 February). Remember that participation can take many forms. You can focus on our selected theme or you can take another avenue to demonstrate the compatibility of religion and science. You can offer a sermon, a lunch discussion, an invited speaker, a children’s class, an adult seminar, a note in your weekly bulletin or any other event you deem appropriate. And you can participate on the weekend we’ve historically designated for Religion and Science Weekend (12-14 February) or at any other time if that specific weekend doesn’t work for you. What’s important is the message you share. As always, our event, rather than having a central location, is distributed across congregations and other groups around the world. Together we reach thousands of people with our message detailing the importance of both religion and science while demonstrating their compatibility. Indeed, over the years, we’ve reached well over 1.5 million people directly and orders of magnitude more via news reports of our efforts. Together we can make this Religion and Science Weekend, our 22nd iteration of this wonderful tradition, a huge success. Please sign up now!
_____Great theme! I plan to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2027 (12-14 February 2027). Please add me and my congregation to the growing list of participants
Name of Congregation (or other group):
Location:
Your Name:
2. Across the Cosmos for October 2026: The Moon in Science and Art
In this month’s installment of Across the Cosmos, Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, discusses the origin of the Earth/Moon system.
Throughout human history, the Moon has been a source of fascination and speculation. My AI puts it this way: “The Moon serves as a universal mirror for human imagination, blending the measurable truths of astronomy with the emotional depths of art and poetry.” In 1975, Planetary Science Institute (PSI) co-founders William Hartmann and Don Davis published a paper on the Moon's Origin in the journal Icarus. More than 50 years later, their idea continues to be the leading hypothesis on the Moon’s formation. A renowned space artist, Bill Hartmann has also blended science and art throughout his career. His paintings of the Moon and its origin are part of the William K. Hartmann Art Collection at PSI Headquarters in Tucson, Arizona.
Although we can’t turn the clock back to the time our Solar System formed, the Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter Array ( ALMA) in Chile has captured high-resolution images of planet formation around many other young stars. At the time the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, there were other growing planetary bodies. The Earth-Moon system is curious among the planets and moons in our Solar System in several ways. There are similarities and differences between the Earth and Moon that are difficult to explain if both worlds formed as separate bodies. Hartmann and Davis proposed that these features could be explained if a large body impacted the young Earth, blowing out rocky debris into orbit around the Earth, which then aggregated into the Moon.
Hartmann and Davis’s hypothesis explains why the Earth has a large iron core, but the Moon does not, since the debris came from the iron-depleted rocky mantles of the Earth and the impactor. It also explains why the Earth has a much larger density than the Moon. On the other hand, the Earth and Moon have exactly the same oxygen isotope compositions, whereas Mars rocks and meteorites from other parts of the Solar System do not, indicating that the Moon formed in close proximity to the Earth. The giant impact hypothesis also explains the size ratio of the Earth and Moon, which is much smaller than for other planets and their moons in our Solar System.
I encourage you to check out some of the fascinating Lunar Research at PSI. You might also check out the personal website of PSI scientist Kirby Runyon who leads several educational outer space experiences, including zero gravity flights.
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (she/her/hers) (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist & Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/gwchase)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: www.casiras.org)3. The Illuminated Soul: Free Book Offer
Our friends at Church Publishing have donated copies of a book they’ve just released, The Illuminated Soul by Charles Rohrbacher. Given Clergy Letter Project members’ interest in climate change, I thought this might be a book that many of you would find both fascinating and useful. It’s described as follows: “Through twenty-three hand-drawn color illustrations paired with hand-lettered text, this devotional invites you to enter the Benedicite as a living hymn of praise. The author particularly positions this devotional amid the fight against climate change.” A reviewer enthused that the book is “a quiet feast for the spirit – radiant with beauty, tenderness, and reverence…a work that feels both ancient and deeply alive, inviting readers to slow down, pray, and see the world again with wonder.”
I will award a free copy (you pay for postage) to every third person requesting one until all are claimed. If you aren’t lucky enough to win a free copy, you can purchase one directly from the publisher and receive a 20 percent discount if you use the code ILLUMINATE20 at checkout. You can learn more about the book and checkout here.
_____ Please put me in the mix for a free copy of The Illuminated Soul. I agree to pay $6 for postage if I win a copy.
And here’s a quick reminder that the same publisher also donated copies of Pan Conrad’s book, A Believer's Journey through the Stars: Spiritual Reflections on the Wonders of the Universe, which I made available several months ago. The discount code provided at that time still works. You can read more about the book and purchase it with a 20 percent discount using code SPACE20 here.
4. Crossroads of Science and Faith: New Podcast
James McGrath, my friend, a scholar of religion at Butler University and a Christian, has joined forces with Bill Sullivan, professor of microbiology and immunology at Indiana University’s School of Medicine and an atheist, to create the podcast Crossroads of Science and Faith. James described the endeavor to me by saying, “We talk about points of intersection and possible disagreement between religion and science and have a lot of fun doing so, modeling respectful engagement across disagreement, as well as finding much we can agree on.” I suspect you’d enjoy exploring what these two have to say. You can watch and listen here.
5. Would Jesus Like Waymo?
The subheading of a recent article in The Washington Post explains the situation nicely: “As religious groups contend with artificial intelligence, some Baptist pastors are lobbying against a bill that would allow driverless cars to operate commercially in D.C. They say autonomous vehicles are antihuman.” You can read this gift article here.
6. Warmest Summer on Record
The United States just experienced the warmest summer on record driven, in part, because nighttime temperatures remained so high. You can read about this dangerous situation here.
7. Clergy Letter Project Members Arrested
Seven clergy members, including two members of The Clergy Letter Project, were arrested in Williston, VT while protesting at the National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center, one of three major facilities that help Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hone their operations. One of those arrested explained, “I think it is imperative on me, as a faith leader, to proclaim that human beings are not targets and that God is a God of justice and of love." The two Clergy Letter Project members participating in the protest are The Rev. Elizabeth Gleich from The Congregational Church of Middlebury in Middlebury, VT and The Rev. Dr. Earl Kooperkamp from the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, VT. You can read the story published in the National Catholic Reporter detailing the situation here.
8. They Look Like Religious Teachers. But They’re AI
Religion News Service recently ran another story about how AI is playing an increasingly large role in religion. This iteration explains how millions of people, across a wide swath of religions, are turning to AI images, often unknowingly, for spiritual guidance. A Hindu monk, Swami Sarvapriyananda, “met an AI version of himself. A computer science project at the University of Texas had trained a system on more than 1,000 hours of his recorded classes and lectures.” He noted, perhaps with a bit of surprise, “I must admit, the AI performed very well.” He went on to say, “AI can help maybe with information and training and insight, but it can’t actually transmit spirituality.” You can read the article here.
9. As We Give Birth To AI, Will it Also Kill Us?
Rabbi Geoff Mitelman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and the founding director of Sinai and Synapses, posed this provocative question in his latest essay. He writes, “Rosh Hashanah marks the birth of the world. As we bring AI into existence, what kind of parents are we turning out to be?” You can read his essay here.
10. The Cognitive Dissonance of AI in the World and in the Church
The Rev. Jessica Hetherington is a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a climate activist with a wonderful blog. She’s posted a number of compelling pieces this month. In this piece she discusses her participation in radical climate action with Seniors Climate Witness and shares her opening words for an international webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches about the ecological cost of AI. You can read her thoughts here.
11. A Sermon on Radical Climate Action
Jessica’s second piece is entitled “I Saw Jesus Last Week: A Sermon on Radical Climate Action.” Her sermon is filled with pathos and disappointment, hope and a clarion call to action. You can read it here.
12. Who Gets to Write in Tranquility?
In Jessica’s third post, she shares her blog with Nghi Nguyen, a young climate activist new to the United Church of Canada. You can read his heartfelt thoughts here.
13. More Intelligent Design Claims Debunked
A recent piece in Gadget Review appeared with the following headline: “Scientist Says Human DNA Contains Clues of an Intelligent Creator.” His claim for intelligent design is the assertion that the genetic code is a “frozen accident— established early and virtually impossible to alter” meaning it could not have evolved stepwise. The article goes on to briefly describe research conducted at the Salk Institute designed to test exactly this point and provides evidence, not surprisingly, that such evolution is possible – no intelligent designer needed. You can read the story here.
14. ELCA Releases Paper on AI
Covalence Magazine summarizes a report recently released by the ELCA which outlines “ethical concerns surrounding the transformational technology that has found its way into the business world, congregations, laboratories and, increasingly, daily life.” You can read the summary here.
15. The Copernican Principle: De-centering Earth and De-centering Humanity
Covalence Magazine also published a wonderful essay by The Rev. Ted Peters, an ELCA pastor, co-editor of the journal, Theology and Science, and a member of The Clergy Letter Project. His piece opens with a number of provocative questions: “Are we earth-born terrans sinfully arrogant when we sanction geocentrism? Do we Homo sapiens express too much pride or hubris when we place ourselves atop the food chain and subject all other life forms to anthropocentrism? Should we repent? Will science compel us to repent?” You can read the full article here.
16. God’s Creation and Big Bang Cosmology
Good news! More Ted Peters! Last month I noted that our friends at Science for the Church were publishing seven essays by Ted dealing with creation and science. The second of the seven is entitled “God’s Creation and Big Bang Cosmology” and has now been published. You can read it here.
17. How Ministry Shaped My Science
Science for the Church posted an interview with Dave Wang, the Cliff and Joyce Penner Chair of Formation of Emotionally Healthy Leaders at Fuller Theological Seminary, a pastor, and psychologist, to learn more about spiritual formation, clergy well-being, and what the American church might learn from Christians around the world. I suspect you’ll find the interview interesting. You can read it here.
18. Pastoring the Whole Person
Science for the Church recently posted in interview with Erin Smith and introduced it by writing the following: “Why are we featuring California Baptist University psychologist Erin Smith again? The subtitle of her new book, Pastoring the Whole Person, says it all. She has written a book describing relevant “Psychology for Ministry Practice.” Everything Erin does in her scientific work is informed by her faith and a desire for it to bring glory to God. So, I was thrilled to interview her again to learn more about her and her book helping the church to see the many ways psychological science informs ministry.” You can read the interview here.
19. Measuring the Sacred: Faith, Science, and the Search for Human Flourishing
This has been a month of interesting articles produced by Science for the Church. Here’s a fourth one! It leads as follows: “For thousands of years, humans made sense of the world through stories told around campfires—stories about God, good and evil, and the purpose of life. Ancient storytellers have been replaced by private screens and an endless stream of digital noise. More than ever, modern stories are built on modern knowledge, and modern knowledge is grounded in data. This shift leaves churches with an important question: Should we view numbers and science as a threat to faith, or can empirical tools help us build stronger, healthier communities?” You can read the full piece here.
20. Religious Leaders Confront What Technology Could Cost Humanity
Religion News Service reported on an interesting panel discussion with the following provocative headline: “Religious Leaders Confront What Technology Could Cost Humanity.” You can read the story here.
21. Humanoid Robots Set Records
The AP has reported on the “Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing” noting that the robots have bested human athletes in a number of events, including achieving a faster time in the 100-meter sprint than the world record set by Usain Bolt. More than 2,000 humanoid robots participated in the event. You can read the full story here.
22. There Is No Free Lunch
I’m delighted to say that The Rev. Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a frequent contributor to this newsletter, has shared two more of his great essays with us. The first is entitled “There Is No Free Lunch.” Ken ranges from discussing C.S. Lewis, Voltaire and Heinrich Heine to focusing on his intersectional topics of love, free will, grace and forgiveness. You can read his essay here.
23. The Salesman
Ken’s second essay this month is entitled “The Salesman.” The epitome of the grifting salesman Ken is discussing is Donald Trump, but his message is deeper than simply vilifying a politician he detests. He amuses us with a quote from Mark Twain discussing a pastor (“He charged nothing for his services, and he was worth it.”) and offers hope looking forward to a future when we move past greed and celebrate a shared sense of morality and cooperation. You can read the full essay here.
24. Ideas From the Vatican Observatory
There were a number of interesting articles posted this month by the Vatican Observatory including one entitled “Faith, Science & Astronomy” and another entitled “Can You Be a Jesuit and a Scientist?” You can access both pieces here.
Concluding Thoughts
I wish you all the very best as the world seemingly continues to spiral out of control. We know that both science and religion can help us construct a future that might yield health and happiness for us, our family, our friends, and for all living beings. But our task includes educating others about the value of these two complimentary fields. Please continue to walk this path together and, perhaps, join with many of your colleagues to celebrate Religion and Science Weekend 2027. (Drop me a note and I’ll add you to our growing list of celebrants.) And, if you’re a US citizen, please vote, either early or on Election Day, 3 November.
Finally, as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org
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