[Solidarity] Winter Solstice Circle: Processing Emotions Around Climate Despair and the Metacrisis

At the Winter Solstice, we arrive at a doorway in the year: the longest night, the still point, the moment when darkness reaches its depth, and the first strand of returning light appears. It is a time for pausing, for listening, and for honoring the courage it takes to turn toward what is difficult.

In this 90-minute virtual Solstice Circle, held in collaboration with Interhelp, we welcome activists and change-makers to gather in community. Here we make space for climate grief, anger, gratitude, and the full complexity of our response to the metacrisis. We remember that we were never meant to hold these feelings alone. Through simple prompts and structured sharing from the Work That Reconnects tradition, we will slow down, connect, and listen for what this seasonal turning has to teach us. Together, we honor both the darkness and the promise of light.

Bring whatever you’re carrying. Bring a candle, or another illuminating object, if you wish. Bring your longing for a world made whole.

About the co-facilitators. Both recently completed the 2025 Earth Leadership Cohort. Joanna Mallary (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow in clinical psychology. She is specializing in ecotherapy and climate emotions. Her approach honors all emotions as adaptive responses to an ailing world impacted by generations of collective and individual trauma. She has 2 years of general group therapy experience, is trained in climate café facilitation, and is learning to facilitate Work that Reconnects groups.

Alex Chambers (they/them) is a climate justice organizer who engages in direct action and civil disobedience to mitigate the worst impacts of climate breakdown and ecological collapse. Living outside the gender binary taught them to notice where systems draw hard lines between people from different walks of life, and between humans and the living world. They've been facilitating climate grief circles for the past five years and are currently developing their Work That Reconnects facilitation skills.

The circle will run on Zoom from 7:00 – 8:30 pm ET. All are welcome.