Please join us for our annual Celebration of World Faiths in the miniature earth, Fuller Dome at SIUE, hosted by the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability. This years theme is: “Worship for a Wounded Planet” and it will feature a multi-faith service dedicating prayer to the planet. We will be finding unity and common cause across faith traditions in honoring the creator by protecting creation.
Equinox Ceremony in the Dome
Sound & Symmetry ~ Fall Equinox Ceremony
An Equinox Ceremony in the Buckminster Fuller Dome at SIUE with Benjamin Lowder, Pati Pellerito & Stephanie Kusmer.
On Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, join Benjamin Lowder, Pati Pellerito and Stephanie Kusmer for Sound & Symmetry ~ Fall Equinox Ceremony at the SIUE Fuller Dome.
Benjamin will lead a guided Equinox Sacred Ceremony, invoking the polarities brought on by the Equinox; assisting us as we tune into our center of equilibrium, connecting with other's and the crystalline symmetry and geometry of the Fuller Dome.
You will be supported by harmonic vibrations of gongs, singing bowls and sacred drum rhythms presented by Pati and Stephanie. Together, we will raise and amplify our intentions as we gather in community on this seasonal celebration.
Doors Open at 6:30, we’ll start ceremony at 7pm. Once ceremony starts doors will be locked.
To pay with credit card pre-register at Eventbrit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sound-symmetry-fall-equinox-ceremony-tickets-70531063309?fbclid=IwAR0dvaGoMx9EuB9SWiEAlNINT982qbHsvYC-ocG9UCNTjkP8Rpd4PiNIFHo $30 in advance, $35 cash at door. No cards will be taken at the door. We are limiting the tickets to 40, so sign up early to save your spot.
Bring blanket or mat for comfort. No children under 12 and no refunds unless event is cancelled.
Celebration of World Faiths 2019
Our Annual Celebration of World Faiths is coming up on Saturday, October 19th. Come help us celebrate unity amongst faith traditions as we explore our role as guardians rather than exploiters of our planet.
Earth Day in the Fuller Dome
Earth Day 2019
For Earth Day 2019 we created a two fold celebration of the planet. The first half of our celebration occurred at noon on Earth Day and featured a “Blessing For Our Planet” by Rev. Annie Clark, our 2014 Spirituality Award Winner. Those in attendance joined hands in a circle beneath the dome and offered a blessing that included the request to:
“Let us each care for this gift entrusted to us. Let us individually and collectively open ourselves to be worthy of this stewardship, as we joyfully shower unconditional love, compassion and care for our planet, which so wonderfully provides for us.” - Rev. Annie Clark
Earth Day 2019 “Blessing For Our Planet” photo by Howard Ash, Southern Illinois University Marketing and Communications
The second half of our Earth Day celebration consisted of a round-table style discussion lead by a distinguished panel of professionals working in the fields of sustainable design. The discussion utilized Buckminster Fuller’s legacy as a catalyst for entering into an analysis of contemporary sustainable design practices lead by the considerable shared experience of our panelists:
John C. Guenther, FAIA,
LEED AP
John C. Guenther Architect
Daniel F. Hellmuth, AIA
LEEDTM Accredited Professional Principal
hellmuth + bicknese architects
William Odell, FAIA,
LEED® AP
HOK Architects
Angela A. Moore, LEED AP O+M,
TRUE Advisor Facilities and Sustainability Coordinator
Missouri Historical Society
Earth Day 2019 in the Fuller Dome
A Perfect Way to Honor Earth Day
On Monday, April 22nd, The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is hosting a pair of special events in the Fuller Dome on the Southern Illinois University Campus, Edwardsville, to observe Earth Day 2019. This two-fold celebration of the planet is intended to address both the spiritual and material aspects of how we can be good stewards of this planet. The Fuller Dome is a translucent, miniature-earth, geodesic dome built by the architectural firm of Fuller and Sadao, Inc. on the campus of SIUE in 1971. Designer Buckminster Fuller and Architect Shoji Sadao sited the center’s dome to straddle the Earth’s 90th Meridian which serendipitously allowed them to reference their earlier work on a more accurate world map that Fuller called the Dymaxion Map. This map also used the 90th meridian as its central reference point, and the resulting structure allows occupants to get a profound sense of their place in the world and the worlds place in the Universe.
The first event is a “Prayer for the Planet” happening in the Fuller Dome at noon on Earth Day. The “Prayer for the Planet” is a nondenominational expression of love and gratitude directed toward the earth. The Fuller Dome’s translucent, miniature-earth, dome provides the perfect place to direct our thanks to our planet that we all too often take for granted. Attendees will be invited to join hands beneath the dome and the Center’s 2014 Spirituality Award winner, Rev. Annie P. Clark of Inner Splendor will share a devotional she wrote titled “A Blessing for Our Planet.”
The second portion of the Fuller Dome Earth Day Celebration begins at 7:00 pm on the evening of 4/22 in the newly inaugurated Fuller Dome Gallery. The Gallery is currently exhibiting a collection of art prints created by Buckminster Fuller of his most transformative inventions. This collection of photographs and renderings of Fuller’s sustainably driven inventions are being offered as inspiration to professionals working in the fields of architecture, design and engineering. Fuller called for a "design science revolution" to “make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.” Attendees will join in an informal round table discussion lead by professionals working in fields of design science to discuss how our built environment can be in better balance with our natural environment. The discussion will draw on the inspiration presented by Fuller's legacy and offer it as a challenge to create a more sustainable society by taking an examined look at where we have been, where we are are now and where we need to go as a species.
The Earth Day 2019 events in the Fuller Dome are free and open to all who wish to attend. For more information email fullerdome@hotmail.com or visit www.fullerdome.org
Scenes From the 2019 Spirituality and Sustainability Awards
Thank You to our sponsors and attendees who made the 2019 Spirituality and Sustainability Awards Dinner possible. This years award winners provided a fantastic evening of inspiration.
2019 Spirituality Leadership Award:Rev. Steve Jackson– Reverend Steve Jackson is the Pastor of Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest Black Baptist Church in Edwardsville, Illinois. Mt. Joy has been richly blessed to have had Rev. Steve Jackson as its Pastor for over 40 years.
2019 Sustainability Leadership Award:Goshen Market– For over twenty years the Land of Goshen Community Market in Edwardsville, IL. Has provided local produce, crafts, and music to downtown Edwardsville. The Market has proven to be an integral part of the community using its resources to provide greater access to healthy food, encourage the growth of local agriculture and to educate the community on sustainable farming practices.
2019 Spirituality & Sustainability Awards Dinner
The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is hosting its 16th annual Leadership Awards Dinner on Saturday, March 30th, at 7:00 p.m. in the LeClaire Room on the N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Edwardsville. Each year the Center bestows two awards, one for Spirituality Leadership and one for Leadership in Sustainability. These dual awards reflect the Center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the Earth and each other.” The 2019 Spirituality and Sustainability Award recipients are:
Spirituality Leadership Award:Rev. Steve Jackson– Reverend Steve Jackson is the Pastor of Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest Black Baptist Church in Edwardsville, Illinois. Mt. Joy has been richly blessed to have had Rev. Steve Jackson as its Pastor for over 40 years. He has worked to increase the diversity of the congregation and the youth program under his leadership has grown tremendously to include children’s church, young people’s dramatic performances, praise dance troop, worship and praise team.
Sustainability Leadership Award:Goshen Market– For over twenty years the Land of Goshen Community Market in Edwardsville, IL. Has provided local produce, crafts, and music to downtown Edwardsville. The Market has proven to be an integral part of the community using its resources to provide greater access to healthy food, encourage the growth of local agriculture and to educate the community on sustainable farming practices.
The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is a nonprofit multifaith home for spirituality and sustainability efforts housed in the Buckminster Fuller designed dome on the SIUE campus.
Tickets for the Awards Dinner are $55, to reserve your ticket call
Juli Jacobson at (618) 650-3246 or email: juljaco@siue.edu
Equinox Balance
Spring Equinox Event Under the Dome, 3/20/19
The day of the Spring Equinox marks a seasonal transition point when the amount of daylight is equal to the amount of darkness. This represents a powerful opportunity to discover balance inside of ourselves and the world around us. The Equinox is a time for us to come into alignment within ourselves and consider the larger planetary motions that are also coming into balance on the day of the Equinox.
Dianna Lucas presents “Equinox Balance” in the Fuller Dome 3/20/19 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM
We are hosting a special “Equinox Balance” program in the Fuller Dome being lead by Dianna Lucas. Dianna is a student and teacher of meditation and movement techniques with more than 35 years of experience. For “Equinox Balance” Dianna will be combining yoga and guided meditation with sound under the Fuller Dome to promote physical and spiritual alignment. The program will run from 6:30 to 8:30 with an optional potluck to follow. Guests may bring a dish to share if they would like to stay after the program for a community potluck and conversation. $40 registration for the “Equinox Balance” program Includes Sacred Cacao by Dianna and the community potluck. Register here on Dianna’s “Sacred Wisdom” website, space is limited. We look forward to seeing you on the equinox in the Center’s miniature earth dome, designed by Buckminster Fuller for the SIUE campus in Edwardsville, IL.
yoga with Dianna
guided meditation
sound healing
sacred Cacao
2019 Spirituality & Sustainability Awards Dinner
The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is hosting its 16th annual Leadership Awards Dinner on Saturday, March 30th, at 7:00 p.m. in the LeClaire Room on the N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Edwardsville. Each year the Center bestows two awards, one for Spirituality Leadership and one for Leadership in Sustainability. These dual awards reflect the Center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the Earth and each other.” The 2019 Spirituality and Sustainability Award recipients are:
Spirituality Leadership Award:Rev. Steve Jackson– Reverend Steve Jackson is the Pastor of Mt. Joy Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest Black Baptist Church in Edwardsville, Illinois. Mt. Joy has been richly blessed to have had Rev. Steve Jackson as its Pastor for over 40 years. He has worked to increase the diversity of the congregation and the youth program under his leadership has grown tremendously to include children’s church, young people’s dramatic performances, praise dance troop, worship and praise team.
Sustainability Leadership Award:Goshen Market– For over twenty years the Land of Goshen Community Market in Edwardsville, IL. Has provided local produce, crafts, and music to downtown Edwardsville. The Market has proven to be an integral part of the community using its resources to provide greater access to healthy food, encourage the growth of local agriculture and to educate the community on sustainable farming practices.
The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is a nonprofit multifaith home for spirituality and sustainability efforts housed in the Buckminster Fuller designed dome on the SIUE campus.
Tickets for the Awards Dinner are $55, to reserve your ticket call
Juli Jacobson at (618) 650-3246 or email: juljaco@siue.edu
"Our InVisible World" Book Signing in the Fuller Dome
New Book Reflects on the Transformative Powers Inside of Us
Cover Art and title of Rev. Annie Clark and Bill Anderson’s new book
We invite you to join us at the CSS on January 26th from 10:00 am to noon for a book signing by Rev. Annie Clark and Bill Anderson, authors of Our Invisible World. Rev. Annie has graced the CSS Annual Celebration of World Faiths by serving in a variety of roles such as panelist, moderator and prayer leader. She received our annual Spirituality Leadership Award in 2014. We are grateful for her generosity of spirit!
Rev Annie Clark receiving the 2014 Spirituality Leadership Award from the CSS.
In this lovely book, Rev. Annie and Mr. Anderson examine the powers of love and good that reside in each of us by reflecting on various scripture passages. The reflections are both inspiring and practical, deep and relatable, rendering this book a good bedside or coffee table companion for starting the day. The authors examine the unseen forces within each of us – feelings, emotions, beliefs and fears – that influence the visible world around us, ‘moment by moment.’ While starting from scripture passages, the reflections offer food for thought for people of any faith tradition to guide their daily lives.
Rev. Annie, an ordained minister, is a graduate of Holmes Institute, formerly Ernest Holmes College, School of Ministry in St. Louis. Her current ministry is Inner Splendor. Through metaphysical Bible studies, spiritual retreats and workshops Inner Splendor serves people of all faiths who seek to examine and uncover their personal beliefs and understanding of life issues. A member of the Metro-East Interfaith Partnership, she is a frequent guest speaker at area churches and civic events. She is a board member of the Eagle’s Nest of St Clair County, serving homeless veterans.
Mr. Bill Anderson has used his background in engineering, accounting and information services to pursue a successful career managing large software development projects for Fortune 100 companies. Early in his life he was driven to learn more than what church or school could teach about spiritual truth and embarked on a path of self-discovery. He shares the knowledge he’s gained through this pursuit to encourage people to utilize their own power within to be their source of happiness, love and connection to all living things.
Rev. Annie and Mr. Anderson will be signing their book in the Fuller Gallery at the Dome on SIUE’s campus from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, January 26, 2019. Hope to see you there
Jeff Bridges Credit's Bucky as Inspiration
Bridges Draws on Bucky’s “Trim Tab” Philosophy in Golden Globes Speech
Actor Jeff Bridges received the Cecil B. deMille Award at the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday January 6th 2019. During his acceptance speech for the award, Bridges referenced our very own Buckminster Fuller as the person outside of the movie industry who has provided him with inspiration. Bridges specifically sited Bucky’s metaphor of the “trim tab” to explain the big change that can result from a single individual. The trim tab is a small hinged flap placed on a ship’s rudder that is used to turn the rudder which in turn changes the course of the entire vessel. Bucky used the idea of the small trim tab’s ability to effect big change as an inspiration for the impact that a single person can have on the world. Bridges evoked Bucky’s “trim tab” metaphor to challenge the 2019 Golden Globes audience to see what they could do as individuals to move us collectively toward “love and creating a healthier planet.” This concept was important enough to Bucky’s world view that he had the phrase '“Call Me Trim Tab” etched into his tomb stone.
“I like to think of myself as a trim tab,” Bridges said. “All of us are trim tabs. We seem like we’re not up to the task, but we are, man. We’re alive! We can make a difference. We can turn the ship in the direction we want to go, man! Toward love and creating a healthier planet.”
The Golden Globes wasn’t the first time Bridges evoked Bucky’s trim tab concept. He also shared the concept with Bill Maher in 2018 during a discussion on our individual responsibility to act on climate change.
Reserve a Ticket Now to Bring This Film to Edwardsville
Normal is Over
As of 12/31/18 we need 13 more reservations to bring this documentary film to AMC Edwardsville 12
Normal Is Over The Movie. Award-winning documentary about humanity's wisest responses to climate change, species extinction, resource depletion, income inequality, and the connection between these issues. First film connecting the dots: A look at the financial and economical paradigm underlying our planetary problems, while offering various SOLUTIONS to reverse the path of global decline.
Allegra Fuller Snyder, at the Fuller Dome Gallery Inauguration
Buckminster Fuller’s daughter, Allegra Fuller Snyder attended the Inaugural Reception of the new Fuller Dome Gallery. This new exhibition space was made possible by a grant from the Meridian Society. It is located inside of the Fuller Dome on the SIUE campus. This inaugural exhibition created an opportunity to exhibit the Buckminster Fuller print portfolio, “Inventions, Twelve Around One.” Allegra had donated this portfolio of her father’s artwork to the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability in December of 2017 as way to recognize the good work being done by the Center to continue Bucky’s legacy.
Going forward, the Fuller Dome Gallery will share exhibitions curated from the SIUE University Museum Collection that align with the Center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the earth and each other.”
Bucky's Daughter & Granddaughter to visit the Dome
Come join two generations of Buckminster Fuller’s family and celebrate a “Bucky Weekend” honoring his legacy in this region. The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is hosting an opening reception of their new Fuller Dome Gallery. This new exhibition space is located inside the Buckminster Fuller designed Fuller Dome on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It opens with a reception on Friday, November 9th running from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
Examples of Bucky’s art prints that will be on view in the Fuller Dome Gallery
The opening reception will feature an exhibition of Buckminster Fuller’s art print portfolio entitled Inventions: Twelve Around One. This print portfolio was gifted to the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability in 2017 by the Estate of Buckminster Fuller and was received into the SIUE University Museum collection in cooperation with the SIUE Foundation. This important set of art prints, produced in 1981, features 13 of Buckminster Fuller’s most significant inventions presented as drawings as well as duotone photographs of those inventions. Future exhibitions in the Fuller Dome Gallery will be curated from the SIUE University Museum’s culturally significant collection of art and artifacts. The framing of the Fuller art prints and the creation of the Fuller Dome Gallery was made possible through a grant from The Meridian Society.
Bucky Fuller’s daughter, Allegra Fuller Snyder, his granddaughter Alexandra May and her husband Sam May will be in attendance for the gallery’s opening, which is part of the “Bucky Weekend” presented at the Fuller Dome. The opening reception of the Fuller Dome Gallery is free and open to the public; however, a premium ticket is available for private events with Bucky’s family that include a VIP Preview of the exhibition and a Bucky related art and architecture tour of the St Louis area.
For a Fuller Experience: We are offering a limited release of 30 Premium Tickets at $100 per ticket for you to enjoy an exclusive VIP Preview of the Fuller Dome Gallery art exhibition with Bucky’s family on Friday, November 9th from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Your ticket gets you exclusive access to the preview with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar before the public reception that opens at 7:00 pm.
Plus you’ll have exclusive access to a Bucky related art & architectural tour on the following day in a chartered bus with lunch provided. The tour begins from the SIUE Fuller Dome on Saturday, November 10th at 9:00 am and will cover an array of Bucky related sites and history found in the St Louis area. The tour plans to return to the SIUE Fuller Dome at 4:00 pm. Premium tickets for the VIP Preview on 11/9/18, includes the bonus architectural tour with Bucky’s family on Saturday, 11/10/18.
Bucky Art & Architecture Tour:
The tour begins at the Bucky designed SIUE Fuller Dome at 9:00 am on Saturday 11/10. After meeting in the dome we’ll board a chartered bus in front of the Fuller Dome at SIUE in Visitor Parking Lot B
The first stop is the Mary Brown Center in East St Louis. This is a built example of Bucky’s 1965 Laminar Geodesic Dome patent. It was built in 1968 and housed the “town hall” meetings for Bucky’s Old Man River City Project he designed for East St Louis in collaboration with Washington University at the urging of famed East St Louis dancer, Katherine Dunham and Wyvetter H. Younge, an Illinois state representative serving East St Louis.
The second stop will be the Union Tank Car dome in Woodriver Illinois. The Woodriver dome was built in 1961. It’s 384-foot-wide by 120-foot-high geodesic dome. It was constructed for the Union Tank Car Company for the repair of railroad oil tank cars. Synergetics, Inc., a company founded by Bucky, built this as a pair of tank car domes, but the earlier dome in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, built in 1958 was demolished 2008. At the time, the two domes were the world’s largest clear-span structures.
Our Lunch stop in St Louis at the Kranzberg Foundation’s “Zack” Building is presented by the Creative Exchange Lab. Bucky’s daughter Allegra Fuller will do a reading from he father’s essay entitled “Geoview.” This essay was written for the inauguration of Bucky’s SIUE dome. A box lunch will be provided and during lunch you can enjoy a presentation on the construction of St Louis’ “Climatron” dome at the Missouri Botanical gardens.
After lunch we are going to the Ruth Asawa Exhibition at St Louis’ Pulitzer Arts Foundation. Artist Ruth Asawa drew inspiration from Bucky as one of his students at Black Mountain College, NC. Ruth and Bucky remained life-long friends and an important Asawa sculpture that hung in Bucky’s Carbondale Illinois dome home is on loan to for exhibit from Bucky’s daughter Allegra.
After taking in the Ruth Asawa exhibition we will return the SIUE dome by approximately 4:00 pm.
Space is limited and demand is high so reserve your ticket today by clicking the link below or call Juli Jacobsen at (618) 650-3246 to reserve a spot.
This “Bucky Weekend” was made possible through the partnership and collaborative effort of:
Celebration of World Faiths 2018
“Religious Freedom in America: Building Bridges of Trust.”
Please join us at the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability in Edwardsville on October 20, 2018 at 7:00 for our 2018 Annual Celebration of World Faiths. This year’s program is a presentation on “Religious Freedom in America: Building Bridges of Trust.” It will begin with an animated video that explains in clear terms the origins of the separation of church and state doctrine and its importance to all faith traditions within the context of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The presenter will be Dr. Jaymeson Stroud, M.D., who is the president of the O’Fallon Illinois Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. He will share stories of religious persecution that LDS Church members experienced in Illinois and Missouri in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries to demonstrate the importance of religious freedom as intended by the founders of our country. Questions from the audience will be entertained as Dr. Stroud finishes his presentation. Refreshments and opportunity for fellowship will be provided after the program.
The event is free and open to the public
We Are Proud to Host "The Mississippi Project Workshop VIII"
The Mississippi Project Workshop VIII:
The Value of the Humanities in Teaching and Learning about Sustainability:
Teaching Sustainability Through the Humanities
Are you interested in exploring how you can incorporate sustainability into your curriculum? Are you curious as to how the humanities can add value to your curriculum – even if you’re not in the humanities yourself? Join us for an interactive experience where we’ll explore just that, as well as sustainability learning outcomes, strategies for infusing sustainability into the curriculum, and assignments that promote systems thinking and a sustainability mindset. Participants will also have opportunities to extend research and teaching horizons across disciplines and create new networks with fellow colleagues from SIUE and the region. To register, please email Connie Frey Spurlock.
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 15
SIUE Center for Spirituality and Sustainability (The Fuller Dome)
The workshop is free to educators in the region, and will be co-facilitated by Connie Frey Spurlock and Lisa Martino-Taylor. Register at cfrey@siue.edu.
- These resource experts bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the workshop. SIUE's Shelly Goebl-Parker will help participants think about how art can be incorporated into the sustainability curriculum.
- SIUE Distinguished Research Professor Greg Fields will share connections between indigenous knowledge and sustainability.
- The Mississippi Project at SIUE is one of 13 AASHE recognized Centers for Sustainbility Across the Curriculum. The workshop is in its 8th year, and has been hosted by SIUE, Saint Louis University and Harris Stowe State University.
- Deadline to register is August 8, 2018.
See the AASHE event page here.
We Won!
The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability partnered with The University Museum at SIUE to submit a successful application to The Meridian Society for a grant to create an exhibition space inside of the the Fuller Dome.
The 2018 Meridian Awards were presented were presented to this years winners at a jazz-age themed gala held at the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities. The Fuller Dome Gallery made possible by this generous grant from the Meridian Society is scheduled to open this Fall. Please watch for future announcements for the opening of this new exhibition space.
Scenes from our 15th Annual Leadership Awards Dinner
We had a fabulous evening honoring and gaining inspiration from our 2018 Spirituality Award winner, Rev. Traci Blackmon and Sustainability Leadership Award winner, Sheila Voss.
Huge Thanks to our 2018 Awards Dinner Sponsors
Center for Spirituality and Sustainability Leadership 15th Annual Awards Dinner Sponsors
We are very grateful to the following sponsors who are are joining the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability in honoring Sheila Voss and Rev. Traci Blackmon for the good works they've done to enhance the quality of life in our community, region, nation and world at large:
Madison County Transit & Trails
Each year the Center bestows two awards, one for Spirituality Leadership and one for Leadership in Sustainability. These dual awards reflect the Center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the Earth and each other.” This year’s recipients are:
Sheila Voss – Sustainability Leadership Award - Sheila Voss serves as the Vice President of Education at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping engage, educate, and inspire current and future generations of citizens to transition to a more sustainable world. She leads a team of diverse professionals, including environmental science educators, early childhood specialists, curriculum developers, teen program coordinators, public engagement strategists, exhibit designers, and community outreach staff based at the Garden, Shaw Nature Reserve, and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House.
Rev. Traci Blackmon – Spirituality Leadership Award - The Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Acting Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO. Initially ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Blackmon's communal leadership and work in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, Jr., in Ferguson, MO, has gained her both national and international recognition and audiences from the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack H. Obama.
The 2018 Spirituality & Sustainability Awards Dinner
The Center for Spirituality & Sustainability hosts an annual awards ceremony honoring two awardees each year. One award is presented for spiritual leadership and another for leadership in sustainability. These annual dual awards allow the Center recognize those who have shown leadership values that reenforce the Center's mission to promote humanity's sacred connection to the Earth and each other.
Call Juli to reserve your tickets today: (618) 650-3246
Meet the 2018 Spirituality and Sustainability Awardees:
Sheila Voss 2018 Sustainability Awardee
Sustainability Award • Sheila Voss serves as the Vice President of Education at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping engage, educate, and inspire current and future generations of citizens to transition to a more sustainable world. She leads a team of diverse professionals, including environmental science educators, early childhood specialists, curriculum developers, teen program coordinators, public engagement strategists, exhibit designers, and community outreach staff based at the Garden, Shaw Nature Reserve, and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. In this role, Sheila leads the public awareness and education initiatives of BiodiverseCity St. Louis, a region-wide effort involving more than 100 organizations working together to enhance and protect local forests, wetlands, grasslands, rivers, parks, trails, and community green space in ways that improve health, well-being, and quality of life for all. She also co-chairs the Biodiversity Working Group of the OneSTL Sustainability Plan, an East-West Gateway Council of Regional Governments-led initiative to transition the greater St. Louis bi-state region toward more sustainable policies and practices. In 2016, Sheila was appointed by the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat to serve on the Informal Advisory Committee on Communications, Education, and Public Awareness, a multi-sector group of biodiversity communications professionals from more than 15 countries. In this role, she collaborates with international colleagues to mainstream biodiversity into public awareness, policies, and practice.
Sheila has over 25 years of experience working in informal science learning environments, including zoos, aquaria, nature centers, and botanic gardens. Prior to joining the Garden, Sheila served as Corporate Director of Education and Conservation for the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove parks. In this role, she developed visitor engagement initiatives focused on the parks’ zoological exhibits and conservation programs, reaching more than 20 million people a year. She worked with global wildlife organizations including World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic Society, National Wildlife Federation, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and others to launch public awareness campaigns, develop cause-related marketing programs, and further conservation education worldwide. Sheila also served as Executive Producer for the Saving a Species family documentary series, and earned a 2006 National Daytime Emmy Award for Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue, documenting a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of South Africa. During her zoological career, Sheila co-founded and served as the executive director of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a non-profit foundation supporting species research, habitat protection, animal rescue, and conservation education around the world.
Today, Sheila remains an active board member of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and also serves on the board of Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, a regional non-profit focused on restoring and protecting urban trees and forests. A native Floridian but lover of Midwest seasons, Sheila currently resides in Edwardsville, Illinois. She co-chairs the Environmental Committee of Action Metro East, a local group of 1,400 citizens working in focused ways to promote progressive people, policies, and practices that improve quality of life for all. In 2017, Sheila and her family participated in the Solarize Madison County group purchasing program, installing a 16-panel solar array in their backyard, nestled in the middle of their native prairie garden. In her spare time, she strives to spend as much time as possible in the great outdoors with her husband and two children – hiking, gardening, volunteering, nature-sketching, and exploring. On the weekends, she especially enjoys planting trees and removing invasive species at local, little-known outdoor gems like Edwardsville’s Watershed Nature Center and cleaning up trash in local creeks and streams. Sheila holds an M.S. in Environmental Sciences (Public Administration and Policy) from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University.
Spirituality Award • The Rev. Traci Blackmon
Spirituality Award • The Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Acting Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO.
Initially ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Blackmon served in various ministry capacities for nine years prior to becoming ordained in the United Church of Christ and installed as the first woman and 18th pastor in the 159-year history of Christ The King United Church of Christ. A registered nurse with more than 25 years of healthcare experience, Rev. Blackmon's clinical focus was cardiac care. In later years, her focus shifted to mobile healthcare in underserved communities, with the greatest health disparities being in her region. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Birmingham - Southern College (1985), and a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary (2009).
As pastor, Rev. Blackmon leads Christ The King in an expanded understanding of church as a sacred launching pad of community engagement and change. This ethos has led to a tripling of both membership and worship attendance over the last seven years, expanding membership engagement opportunities, and the establishment of community outreach programs. Community programming includes a computer lab, tutoring, continuing education classes, summer programming, a robotics team, children's library, and girls' mentoring program. All housed in the church.
Regionally, Rev. Blackmon's signature initiatives have included Healthy Mind, Body, and Spirit, a mobile faith-based outreach program she designed to impact health outcomes in impoverished areas. Sacred Conversations on Solomon’s Porch, quarterly clergy in-services designed to equip local clergy to assess physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health concerns within congregational life. Sista SOS Summit, an intergenerational health symposium for women and girls. In addition to, Souls to the Polls STL, an ecumenical, multi-faith collaborative that was successful in providing over 2,800 additional rides to the polls during local and national elections.
A featured voice with many regional, national, and international media outlets and a frequent contributor to print publications, Rev. Blackmon's communal leadership and work in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, Jr., in Ferguson, MO, has gained her both national and international recognition and audiences from the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack H. Obama.
Rev. Blackmon toured the nation with Rev. Dr. William Barber of Moral Mondays and Repairer of the Breech, Rev. Dr. James Forbes of The Drum Major Institute and Pastor Emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York, and Sister Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus, proclaiming the need for a Moral Revival in this nation.
Rev. Blackmon is a graduate of Leadership St. Louis and currently serves on the boards of The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Chicago Theological Seminary, and Woman Preach!
This year, Rev. Blackmon co-authored the newly released White Privilege curriculum through the United Church of Christ and has received several awards and recognitions, inclusive of:
- The White House President’s Volunteer Service Award
- The St. Louis American Stellar Award
- 2015 Ebony Magazine Power 100
- Deluxe Magazine Power 100
- St. Louis University - Community Leader of the Year
- 100 Black Men of St. Louis Community Leader of the Year
- The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist - Drum Major Award
- NAACP - Rosa Parks Award
- Rosa Parks Award - United Trade Unionist
- The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Woman in Leadership Award
- National Planned Parenthood Faith Leader Award
- The United Church of Christ - Antoinette Brown Leadership Award
- Honorary Doctorate, Eden Theological Seminary
Rev. Blackmon currently resides in both St. Louis, MO and Cleveland, OH and was recently named as one of St. Louis' 100 most influential voices. Rev. Blackmon is the proud mother of three adult children: Kortni Devon; Harold, II; and Tyler Wayne Blackmon.