Sunday, April 22, 2012 10:10 AM
Earth Day Forum
Wendell Berry
“Wendell Berry is an American treasure whose prose and poetry have—with subtlety, intelligence, and conviction—helped open our eyes to the importance of respecting and living with nature.”
—Jim Leach, chair, National Endowment for the Humanities
Internationally acclaimed man of letters and creation-care activist Wendell Berry speaks with special guest and fellow Kentuckian Dr. Matthew Sleeth about the importance of caring for the natural world. Berry was named the 2012 Jefferson Lecturer, the federal government’s most distinguished recognition of intellectual achievement in the humanities.
About Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry was born in Henry County, Kentucky, in 1934. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1956 and continued on to complete a master’s degree in 1957. In 1958, he received a Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University.
Recent Cathedral Appearances
About Matthew Sleeth
A former emergency room physician, Dr. Matthew Sleeth felt like he was straightening deck chairs on the Titanic saving one patient at a time while the whole ship (Earth) was going down. Together with his wife and two teenaged children, he began to bring his lifestyle in line with his values, cutting back on their fossil fuel by two thirds and electricity use by nine tenths. Following a new calling, Dr. Sleeth resigned from his position as chief of the medical staff and director of the ER to teach, preach, and write about faith and the environment throughout the country.
Sleeth is a leader of the global creation care movement and executive director of Blessed Earth. He is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine and has two post doctoral fellowships. He is the author of Serve God and Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action (Zondervan, April 2007), the introduction to the Green Bible (HarperOne, 2008), The Gospel According to the Earth: Why the Good Book is a Green Book (HarperOne, 2010), and 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life (Tyndale, 2012).
Recent Cathedral Appearances