Northbrae Community Church

Special Guest Preacher: Martin Wagner
Sunday, June 1st, 2025
10:30am Worship in the Chapel
12pm Workshop in the Parlor
Holy Rage, Sacred Grief, Fearless Joy -
Practices for Moving from Survival
to Engagement in Dark Times
The times are dark. We know there is work for us to do, but confronting the pain of the world can take a moral and emotional toll that undermines our well-being and limits our effectiveness. Avoiding our grief and anger out of fear that they will be too painful or will paralyze us requires emotional numbing that saps our joy and can lead to cynicism, despair, burnout, or worse. Join climate justice Lawyer and interfaith chaplain Martin Wagner to experience some simple practices for holding hard emotions and rediscovering joy in hard times.
Martin Wagner developed his understanding of the moral, emotional, and spiritual toll of activism during several decades working as a human rights and climate lawyer, including 28 years as creator and managing attorney of Earthjustice’s International Program. He is currently an interfaith chaplain serving activists and movements for environmental and human justice. Among other influences, Martin’s work draws on his longtime study and friendship with scholar, author, and activist Joanna Macy, Ph.D., whose Work that Reconnects is a powerful resource for transforming anger, despair, and overwhelm into inspired collaborative action.