New Book - Riders on the Storm: the Climate Crisis
and the Survival of Being
Link opens to purchase, reviews, events & video
Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey my previous book, now in paperback from
Birlinn
(UK/world) and
Cascade (USA)
"This is the book I've been waiting to read all
my life" - Cameron McNeish, mountaineer & BBC broadcaster
"Fascinating, provocative and,
occasionally, very funny" - Joanna Kavenna, Times Literary Supplement
"I felt I had been led to holy ground" - Brian D
McLaren, Foreword to the Cascade edition
Video clips:
Opus
Earth author interview (5 mins);
BBC TV Adventure Show (12 mins)
Royal
Society Ed TEDx (12 mins)
|

Click picture for hi-res photo downloads
Shortcut links to Key Material
@alastairmci
[Contact information]
[Upcoming Events public
itinerary]
[Booking me &
accountability]
[Published articles -
chronological]
Published articles - classified index:
-
Community
-
Globalisation
-
Nonviolence
-
Sustainability & climate
-
Land Reform
-
Superquarries
-
Epistemology
-
Scottish
constitutional
-
Psychology &
ethnology
-
PNG & South Pacific
-
Theology &
philosophy
-
Consciousness studies
-
Mythology &
poetics
-
Spirituality
Other Key Links
[An Idea
of Speaking Topics]
[Index
of rare third party resources]
[Interviews,
podcasts, videos, TEDx]
[BBC Thoughts for the Day]
[Letters to the Press]
|
New This Past Year:
[Podcast
by Climate Fringe from Riders book launch (Aug 2020)] [Zoom recorded talks: The Revolution will
be Spiritual (Unitarians conference) and
Easter in a Stricken World (Greyfriars
Kirk) (Apr 2020)] [Salted with Fire - Easter
reflection for the Iona Community (March 2020)] [Dark Mountain 10th anniversary
essay: God Carry Me (Jan 2020)] [Papua Visitors
Mussel Feast at Croirgerraidh (Aug 2019)] [Healthy
Community, Healthy Land: Report of West Papua
Province study tour to Hebrides (Jul 2019)] [Doom and
Dharma - politics of climate change & regenerative culture, in The Ecologist
(Jul 2019)] [Towards
Third Millennium Christianity - PCN public lecture (Jun 2019)] ['Spirituality
and Social Activism' - book chapter with Matt Carmichael (May 2019)]
[Land,
Heritage and Freedom - Forager podcast interviewed by Myles Irving
(Apr 2019, 1hr 25 min)]
[GalGael Trust Isle of Iona
visit report (Mar 2019)] ["Keep thinking about the stories I'm telling
you": Obituary for Agnus Maclennan of Kirkibost & Achmore (Feb 2019)] [Data
Set on our solar & heat pump renewable energy system - 64% cut in domestic
carbon emissions (2019)] [Interviews
- press, radio, TV, podcast (to date)] [BBC
Thoughts for the Day (to date)] [Twitter
feed]
Hello, and a warm welcome to the website of Alastair McIntosh. Thank
you for visiting my home page. See below for
contact
details and my public itinerary.
Also, the tabs above for
main themes, and links to the left for a classified index of publications
and some other ports of call.
Since 2004 I've live within the
old parish boundary of Govan in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, where I am a
founding trustee of the GalGael Trust. This works with multiple
facets of urban poverty in seeking to release blocked flows within the human
spirit. Since 1996, my work has been mainly
freelance. I am a Fellow of
the
Centre for Human Ecology
(CHE) of which I was previously director, an
honorary senior research fellow (professor) in the College of
Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, and have held honorary
fellowships or professorships at the
universities of Strathclyde (Department of Geography & Sociology), Ulster
(Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages) and Edinburgh (School of Divinity).
I run this site to
represent myself professionally. Its main purpose is to make my
published work readily available. Forgive it being
an amateur website that is self-maintained, using antique FrontPage software from the
last century.
If you've only landed here to get the retro experience, then make yourself at home.
Nearly all of what I've posted has been previously published
or delivered as an address, usually involving peer review. It includes items from local
newspapers, the national press, academic papers in refereed scholarly
journals, magazine contributions, published letters and poetry, reports, speeches and
some broadcasts. There are also sections with my
interviews,
podcasts and video, and of rare
3rd party resource material. The
latter is where
I've scanned important but hard-to-find documents that are
essential to my work or that of folks with whom I work.
I live with my wife,
Vérène Nicolas
who I met in Ireland in 1996. I was running a study tour and she was
working on a farm, having a background in agriculture, economics and rural
development. These days her work is
mainly with transformative learning and collaborative leadership
in community-based organisations. Both of us are
Quakers.
What I do and stand for (updated
January 2020)
What is found here broadly
represents my work in human ecology -
the study of and participation in relationships between the natural
environment and the social environment. Some define human ecology in terms
of population, environment, resources and development (PRED). My approach
also integrates the psychological and spiritual backdrop to being
a conscious human being in a living world. Much of my work is informed by
the combination of practical action, study and reflection. In this, I am especially influenced by
liberation theology - theology that liberates
theology to do what it should do. In choosing what issues to work on, I therefore ask questions
like:
 | "Does what I do feed the hungry?"
|
 | "Is it relevant to the poor or to
the broken in nature?" |
 | "Does it contribute to
understanding and meaningfulness?" |
 | "Does it give life?" |
In recent years, it has
been the last of these questions that most
binds my work together. To do human ecology, like doing theology, is to pull
on a tangled ball of string. You cannot unravel one loop until you've
understood the network of connections. For me,
such interconnection is the essence of reality and the basis of
consciousness. It is about the spiritual, which is to say, life as love made
manifest. It is the innermost structure that underpins the
outer forms of things, including their psychology, ecology, politics, economics
and forms of collective religious expression. That is why I believe that
what the world most needs today is a deepening of spiritual vision. Science
gives outer sight, but spirituality complements this with insight. Such
understanding is the key to my work and ability to maintain hope, even where
the grounds for optimism might be frayed.
My background, writing and activism
Born in 1955, all of my school education (1960-73)
took place
in the community where I was raised, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer
Hebrides or Western Isles. A traditional Scottish education allows for a
generalist worldview. I hold a BSc in geography from the University of Aberdeen
(1973-77) submajoring in psychology and moral philosophy, a financial MBA from
the University of Edinburgh (1980-81), and a PhD by published works in
liberation theology, land reform and community empowerment from the
Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages, University of Ulster (2008). For
a CV and short bio
see here.
My work is mainly represented through the books and articles linked
from the tabs along the top of this page. The best known are
Soil and Soul: People
versus Corporate Power (2001) and
Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition
(2008).
My books have variously been described as "world-changing" by George
Monbiot, "inspirational" by Rowan Williams while Archbishop of Canterbury,
"careful, sober reasoning" by the philosopher Mary Midgley, and
"truly mental" by the singer Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
My two most recent books draw together
much of my life's work.
Spiritual Activism - Leadership as
Service (Green Books, 2015) is co-authored with Matt Carmichael.
It is a practical guide, based on a quarter century of postgraduate
teaching,
and was named
Book of the Year by Sir Jonathon Porritt,
formerly chair of the UK Government's Sustainable Development Commission.
Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey (Birlinn, 2016; Cascade 2018
in USA) has been
described by the Rev Kathy Galloway of the Iona Community as "a quite
wonderful book - a theology of justice and peace and love re-presented
through human ecology." I use a twelve day walk through remote
and rugged terrain on the island of my childhood to explore the roots of
war and alienation in our times. It breaks through into an ecology of the imagination,
and spiritual insights for the third millennium.
My best-known work includes Scottish
land reform as commenced with the Isle of Eigg (1990 - present), the Harris
superquarry battle (1992 - 2004), the spirituality of community, identity,
belonging and place (1986 - present), nonviolence and understanding war
(1976 - present), the psychospirituality of climate change (2006 to
present), and radical human ecology (1990 - present). For further
information on my current work and campaigns
click here.
Less well-known is my work with South
Pacific education, development and ethnography (1980-91 in Papua New
Guinea and 2012 onwards
in Indonesian West Papua), sustainable tropical forestry (1984-95), micro-hydro
electric and alternative energy (1978-86 and 2012 onwards), the depth
psychology of cigarette advertising (1995-96), corporate social
responsibility in the cement industry with Lafarge (2004-13), NGO marketing, PR,
finance & management (1980-1990), parapsychology and
consciousness research (1973-1980), cultural psychotherapy, conflict and power
analysis (1994 - present), the GalGael Trust, urban poverty and cultural
renewal (1997 - present) and applied
liberation theology (1977 - present).
Availability for Events,
livelihood and travelling
Since 1996 I've made my living on an entirely self
employed basis - writing, broadcasting with the BBC, keynote speaking at
events, workshops, retreats, taught courses and consultancy. For
availability see my
public itinerary, and a rough idea of the kind
of things I talk about at this list.
My personal financial accountability, my suggesting scale of charging for
events, and my approach to travel in the face of climate change is given
here.
We now have good broadband so I am able to connect for online talks and
presentations if required. Places at which I have spoken or taught in
recent years include
the universities of
Strathclyde, Edinburgh,
Liverpool, Exeter, Bath, Cape Breton, Saskatchewan and Florida, the
Russian Academy of Sciences (Economics Dept), INSEAD European Management
School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Glasgow School of Art,
the British Council, the Irish School of Ecumenics at the University of
Ireland, the World Council of Churches, Groupe Credit Mutuel, Shell plc,
Nokia Research Centre, Lafarge SA (where I sat until 2013 on their
Sustainability Stakeholders' Panel), the Edinburgh International
Festival, the Schumacher Lectures and Schumacher College, Greenbelt
Festival, the Society for Ecological Regeneration, Friends of the Earth, WWF
International and UK, Australia's Rainforest Information Centre, Transition
Towns, the Diocese of Liverpool, the Iona Community, the Scottish Crofting
Foundation, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Learning
and Skills Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish
Government, the Jakarta Institute of Theology, the Defence Academy's Joint
Services Command & Staff College (JSCSC, on nonviolence), the Royal College
of Defence Studies, École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the Irish
Military College and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
Where now? - Riders on the Storm: the Climate
Crisis and the Survival of Being
I spend about half of most days dealing with
correspondence and seeing visitors. It is a joy to get such feedback, though I
often struggle to cope with it efficiently. I give priority
of time to activists and young scholars (masters and doctorate candidates) working with social, environmental or religious change.
When we can, Vérène and I get out in our canoes and we about once a week we
have a shared meal with our neighbours at the GalGael Trust, a mile down the
road.
One major
area of work this past year that builds on themes opened up in Poacher's
Pilgrimage is exploring a Christian spirituality that might be fit for
purpose for the third millennium, one that rests on principles of
nonviolence rather than authoritarian control. As of the autumn of 2019
through to spring 2020, I am working on a
short book on climate change for Birlinn,
Riders on the
Storm, due August 2020 in time for COP26. Here is the draft publisher's blurb.
Dangerous climate change means that massive social change is essential if
much of the earth can remain habitable. What needs to happen will challenge
our politics, our economics and our technical capacity. But above all these,
it will be a challenge to our humanity. In this succinct and passionate new
book, Alastair McIntosh examines the drivers in the human psyche that have
allowed unfettered consumerism to threaten the planet. He argues for a
radical shift in our consciousness of what it means to be human at this
stage in our evolution. His message is not one of optimism, but of building
on soul and meaning in these troubled times. Of building the capacity for
resilience and regeneration that can make us riders on the storm.
Back
to Top of Page
Contact Information:
Alastair McIntosh
26 Luss Road
Glasgow
G51 3YD
Scotland / Ecosse
Email -
mail@AlastairMcIntosh.com (preferred first point of contact)
Mobile (cellphone):
+44 (0) 7444 580 380 (preferred second point of contact)
Twitter: @alastairmci (I am not on other social
media, I can be DM'd without requiring to follow)
For work issues please
try to avoid phoning outside weekday working hours. Remember time
zones - we're in GMT or BST in summer (i.e. GMT+1). If you need to
discuss something that requires much thought I prefer an email first
if possible to arrange a mutually convenient calling time. I am on
Skype, Facetime and WhattsApp but unless it is a pressing matter
please first arrange any call by email or text.
Directions to our home/office:
Public Transport:
For public transport in
Scotland, it is worthwhile downloading the
Traveline Scotland
app. If coming from central Glasgow, take the subway (underground train)
to either Govan or Ibrox. They're each one mile from our house. From
Govan is a more interesting walk, but Ibrox is a simpler route and
less congested if we're picking you up by car (see below if walking). From
either Govan subway
station or the city centre (Renfield St), you can get a
McGills Route 26
bus to the second stop on Craigton Road, from where we're the next
street up on the right. The fare is £3.60 from town as of the start
of 2018). They're every 10 or 16 minutes during the day, but the
timetable is unreliable. Our house is no.
26, half way along Luss Rd on the right. If coming from city
centre's Queen St or Central stations, the stops for the 26 bus are
on Renfield Street (extending onto Union Street). Taxis up from Govan are about £4,
from city centre about £12, and from the airport about £20.
If walking from the
subway exit at Ibrox, turn right
onto Copland Road. Up to the lights and turn right. Pass alongside
the Rangers football stadium, go straight on over the first
roundabout, straight over the second roundabout, on to the lights,
turn right down Craigton Road, and Luss Road is the 5th exit on the
left (depending on what you count as an exit).
By Car: If coming
on the M8 from east or west, exit at junction 24 (Helen Street),
signposted for Govan. Head downhill and over the lights to a
roundabout, as if heading to the Clyde Tunnel. Turn left at the
roundabout then right at the lights into a residential area,
Craigton Road (signposted to "Elderpark Workspace"). Luss Road is
the 3rd on the left (or 4th depending on what you count).
If coming by car from the
North via the Clyde Tunnel, as you exit the tunnel prepare to take
the first left just at the tunnel's end. Be careful - it comes on
you very quickly and it's easy to overshoot. This brings you out
onto Govan Road with a very large roundabout. Turn right at this,
onto Drive Road, passing a Elder Park on your left. At the end of
Drive road, keep the park on your left by turning left onto
Langlands Road. Take the 3rd right, just before you lose the park,
onto Arklett Road, then 2nd right is Luss Road.
Avoid the M8 approaches if
you can when there's a football match on at Ibrox. There may also be
parking congestion at such times. Taxi drivers from outwith this
area do not know it well. Tell them that you want Luss Road which is
off Craigton Road, and to take the Helen Street exit if
coming from the M8.
|
|
|
Alastair
McIntosh's Itinerary of Main Events
This
table shows roughly which dates I'm booked up for. It also
shows what sorts of events I take on. For information on
booking me for events please
click here. For an overview of my typical speaking topics
click here. Gaps
in the timetable do not necessarily signify availability,
especially over weekends, as this is not my private diary.
Dates marked for delivery of Thought for the Day mean that I
have to be near a BBC studio early that morning, and have
time on the previous day for preparation - though these
dates can be swapped with another presenter. Events marked
"s.t.c." are "subject to consent/confirmation",
and it is best to confirm events with the organisers'
information before turning up. |
|
2019 (last year) |
This Year - 2020+ |
|
-
Dundee Writers' Read event,
In Conversation with Kirsty Gunn, professor of Writing Practice
& Study, University of Dundee, on the Writing of Poacher's Pilgrimage.
At Tonic, 1500 - 1700, Wed 23 Jan.
-
A Conversation … between Presbyterian Rev David Robertson
(the 'Wee Flea') and Quaker Alastair McIntosh, St
Peter's Free Church of Scotland, St Peter's Street, Dundee,
7pm, Wed 23 Jan.
Video of event online here.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 29 Jan (preparation previous
day).
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 19 Feb (preparation previous
day).
-
Keynote address, Colonisation
and Decolonisation of the Soul, at the
Malvern
Festival of Ideas (on the theme of Crisis), 1415 Sun 3
March.
-
Taking GalGael Trust trainees
to Iona for a weekend of reflection, Fri 8 - Sun 10
Mar.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Mon 18 Mar (preparation previous
day).
-
Public talk on Healing
Nationhood: Brexit, Peace and Identity chaired by my co-author Matt Carmichael (Spiritual
Activism), All Hallows Church, Leeds, 1845, Fri 22 March -
tickets.
-
PCN (Progressive Christian
Network) public lecture in The Future of Faith series,
‘Towards
Third Millennium Christianity: Activism, Nonviolence and
the Mystical Imperative’, day event starting 1100, Sat
23 March, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire.
-
A sharing with staff at Ruskin
Mill, Gloucestershire, on Building Community,
1100-1400, Tue 2 Apr.
-
Research seminar lecture on
Christianity for the Third Millennium, Dept of Religion and
Theology (Jon Balserak), University of Bristol, 1630 -1800, Tue 2 April.
-
Leading a Pilgrimage of Life
week
on the Isle of Skye, 8 - 13 April,
info and bookings.
-
Verene and I leading a community
study tour from West Papua Province, Indonesia, to Lewis &
Harris, approx Sat 20 Apr - Tue 30 Apr.
-
Speaking at a Welsh community
land event, The
Green Valleys, in Cardiff, Wed 1 May.
-
A sharing on spirituality
in our times with the
Brigidine
Sisters and close associates in Kildare, 1900 Monday 6
May.
-
Lecture to
Senior Command & Staff Course, Irish Defence Forces
Military College, Curragh, Co. Kildare, on
The Nonviolent
Challenge to Conflict, Tue 7 May.
-
As part of a series of talks and
meetings in the Americas, 15 - 27 May, linked to my
books
Spiritual Activism and
Poacher's Pilgrimage (including
DJT's psychohistory). a sharing with Quakers at New York
15th Street Meeting, evening Thu 16 May.
-
Quaker Institute for the
Future with the New York Open Center, public lecture,
Pilgrimage of Calling Back the Soul,
7.30-9.30pm,
Fri 17 May.
-
Lecture/workshop with the
above joint hosts in NY,
Spiritual Activism: Calling Back Indigenous Soul,
10.00 am - 1 pm, Sat 18 May;
-
Lecture to the
Hawthorne Valley Association, Hudson, upper NYS, A
Pilgrimage into the Heart of Place,
2 pm Sun 19 May, Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School.
-
Keynote speaker at the
Activating a Global Shift peace symposium with Matthew
Fox, Pat McCabe (Ruby Sales, co-worker of Martin Luther
King, had to pull out),, Philip Hellmich & Swami Brahmananda at
the Sivananda Ashram, Nassau, 22 - 26 May. Evening satsang:
The Revolution will be Spiritual. Workshop:
Decolonising Land; Decolonising Mind. Morning satsang:
Engaging the Powers of Nonviolence.
-
A private sharing on the burning
questions of spiritual vocation with the
Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, Dublin, evening
Thu 30 May.
-
Speaking/officiating at a private
event in Ireland, 30 May - 6 June.
-
Leading a weekend course on
Spiritual
Activism with Matt Carmichael at Woodbrooke Quaker
Centre, Birmingham, Fri 7 - Sun 9 June.
-
Speaking and workshop at
Extinction Rebellion Scotland camp, on Spiritual
Activism: Is the Climate Crisis a Spiritual Crisis?
1500, Mon 13 June, Hollyrood, Edinburgh.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 19 Jun (preparation previous
day).
-
Panel discussion with
Shane Claiborne
for Red Letter Christians,
Augustine Church, Edinburgh, 1030, Fri 21 June. Tickets
here.
-
Speaking at
Solas Festival, Sat 21 -
Sun 23 June, Perthshire, Scotland. On Saturday 1130: Donald Trump
and the Highland Clearances. On Sunday 1100: Nonviolence
and an Activist Christianity.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 3 Jul (preparation previous
day).
-
Main stage speaker at
Edinburgh
Climate Festival, The Meadows, Sat 6 July.
-
Guest lecture on
The Nonviolent Challenge to Violence
in
The Realities
of Conflict module of the Advanced Command & Staff
Course, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham, Thu 11 - Fri 12
July.
-
"Elder in residence" with 2
talks at the Fiesta weekend event of
Earlsfield Friary, Fri 12 Jul - Sun 14 Jul..
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 26 Jul (preparation previous
day).
-
Keynote address at The Art of
Mentoring, Falkland, afternoon Thu 1 Aug, s.t.c..
-
Public talk at Findhorn
Foundation, Universal Hall, Grounding in the Godspace,
evening Fri 2 Aug 2019.
-
Week long course on Spiritual
Activism: Leadership as Service at the Findhorn
Foundation, Sat 3 Aug - Fri 9 Aug 2019,
info and bookings here.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 13 Aug (preparation previous
day).
-
Edinburgh International Book
Festival - speaking on panel on Land Reform, 1000,
Fri 23 Aug, s.t.c..
-
On holiday in France, Wed 28 Aug
to Wed 11 Sept.
-
Speaking at
Community
Dialogue, on land, community and roots of peace, St
Columb's Park House, City of
Derry/Londonderry, 18-19 Sept.
-
Public talk
on War, Peace and Community in our Times organised by
the Theravāda Buddhist nuns of the Milntuim
Hermitage, Comrie, Perthshire, 1930 Fri 27 Sept, White
Church Community Centre.
-
Keynote address at Love
Ecology event, Midland Hotel, Morecambe, Wed 2 Oct,
details t.b.a..
-
Keynote address, The
Religious Education of the Future of at the Annual
Hampshire & Wessex Secondary Religious Education Conference,
Hampshire County Council, Winchester, Fri 18 Oct,
travel down Thu 17.
-
Speaking on our work with
community groups in
Papua & West Papua Provinces, Indonesia, at the Centre
for Human Ecology, Pearce Institute, Govan, Glasgow, 6 pm Wed 23
Oct,
details here.
-
Speaking on Soil and Soul -
the Play with Alan Bissett at the Nicolson Institute
school, Isle of Lewis, 1230, Wed 30 Oct..
-
Trial performance and discussion of Alan Bissett's play based on my book
Soil and Soul, Faclan
book festival, An Lanntair, Stornoway, Wed 30 Oct -
tickets here.
-
Speaking on Soil and Soul -
the Play at Sir E Scott School, Isle of Harris, 1200 Fri
1 Nov..
-
Speaking on a panel at the AGM
of the John Muir Trust, Augustine Church, Edinburgh,
2pm - 5pm, Sat 9 Nov.
-
GalGael Trust veterans of Iona
trips Christmas dinner, Fri 27 Dec, our house.
|
NOTICE: Many events this spring
and early summer have been postponed or cancelled by the
organisers due to Coronavirus. I remain open to bookings later
in the year and by internet conferencing, and have access to
hosting Zoom with capacity for up to 500 participants.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 3 Jan, (preparation previous
day).
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 12 Mar, (preparation previous
day).
-
Leading Iona weekend for GalGael
participants, Fri 20 Mar - Sun 22 Mar
Postponed to 2021.
-
Seminar
with MSc Global Environment, Politics and Society
class at Edinburgh University on themes raised in class
reading of Soil and Soul, afternoon Tue 24
Mar. Moved
online.
-
Leading a week at the Findhorn
Foundation, commencing 28th March.
Cancelled and
but hope to rearrange 2021 - will probably be on theme of Pilgrimage of Life,
dates not set yet.
-
Learning from
the COVID-19 Crisis: a Sharing with Alastair McIntosh,
Zoom, view
recording here.
-
A public conversation chaired by
John Surrock QC between me and international mediator Ken
Cloke, Core Solutions & Collaborative Scotland, Grassmarket
Community Project, 7 pm Wed 25 Mar, free but tickets
here. Postponed to Nov 4
and meanwhile, a Zoom version on 6 May (see below).
-
Keynote lecture to the
Unitarians' General Assembly, The Revolution will be
Spiritual and workshops for clergy on Spiritual
Activism, Birmingham, Wed 8 Apr 1900-2015.
Cancelled, but moved
to Zoom -
view recording here.
-
Leading the Good
Friday worship at Greyfriars Kirk Church of Scotland,
Edinburgh, Fri 10 April. Cancelled,
but moved to
Zoom -
view recording here.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 16 Apr, (preparation previous
day).
-
Where Now, Climate Science
and Activism? A dialogue between Rupert Read and Alastair
McIntosh, Sat 18 Apr, 1700,
Zoom - view
recording here.
-
Talk on The Spiritual
Challenges of Climate Change, Wed 22nd April, 7.30pm
St Stephen’s Church, Exeter. Postponed.
-
Guest lecture on
Nonviolence
in
The Realities of Conflict module of the Advanced Command
& Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, 23-24 Apr..
Cancelled.
-
About Spirituality - a
sharing open to all, chaired by Professor Laura Hope-Gill of
Lenoir-Rhyne University with me giving a talk, conversation
& open floor, no password but Zoombomb disposal in action,
sign in 4.15-4.30 pm Sat 2 May then doors lock,
Zoom -
view recording here.
-
Climate Change and the
Pandemic: A Call to Consciousness and Collaboration, a
conversation with the mediator Ken Cloke and me, organised
and chaired by John Sturrock QC, Wed 6 May, 1700-1900,
Zoom -
view recording here.
-
Speaking in the Southside Fringe
Festival, Glasgow, on The Spiritual Basis of Community,
17 May, 1800.
Cancelled.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 19 May, (preparation previous
day).
-
Reimagine: Highlands &
Islands - a 2020 Vision, guest with Ariane Burgess
(Scottish Green Party lead candidate),
1500-1600, Wed 20 May, Zoom
- view
recording here.
-
Guest speaker on Land Reform
at Community Land Scotland annual conference, Glasgow,
22 - 23 May. Postponed.
-
A
sharing between Laura Hope-Gill, Jen Stout and me with open
discussion of experience around Conspiracy Theories and
Community Trust, 1600 UK BST time, Wed 10 June.
Zoom - view recording
here.
-
Public talk, In our Doom is
our Dharma: climate change and consciousness, Augustine
Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, 7pm Wed 17 June.
Postponed.
-
Speaking at
Solas
Festival on Climate Change and the Human Condition,
Perthshire, 19-21 June.
Cancelled.
-
Address to the Nordic Gathering
of Yearly Meetings of Quakers, near
Gothenburg, Sweden,
25-28
June. Cancelled.
-
Event on spirituality and
activism with Dougald Hine in Stockholm afterwards, t.b.c.
Cancelled.
-
BBC Radio Scotland Thought for
the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 1 Jul, (preparation previous
day).
-
Speaking in New Networks for
Nature, University of East Anglia, 10-12 Jul.
Cancelled.
-
Talk to Lausanne Business
School, Switzerland, Implementing Sustainability
Strategy: Being and Doing, 1000, Sat 13 June, private
event by Zoom.
-
Talk to the Fintry Trust on
forthcoming book, Riders on the Storm, Thu 16 July,
1000, private event by Zoom.
-
BBC Alba screening of interview
about climate change and Riders on the Storm, 8pm, Mon 3
Aug, preview clip
here.
-
Address to Pax Christi
Scotland in online vigil to mark the 75th anniversary of
the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, by Zoom, 1900
Thu 6 Aug, by Zoom.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 7 Aug, (preparation previous
day).
-
Closing speaker at Canadian
Quakers' Yearly Meeting on theme:
Quaker Leadings and our Calling in these Times, 5.30 pm EST
(2230 BST), Wed 12 Aug, Zoom link to video of event probably
to be posted here in Sept.
-
Launch of
Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and
the Survival of Being, online by Birlinn Books in
partnership with Climate Fringe & The Centre for Human
Ecology, chaired by Prof Alison Phipps of Glasgow
University, 7 pm Thu 13
Aug,. Zoom -
view recording here. Also, new here, 1 hour
podcast edited from the very rich discussion by Climate
Fringe (COP26 clearing house)
here.
-
Speaking in Edinburgh
International Book Festival on
Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of
Being, The New York Times Main Theatre, Mon 24 Aug,
1000, Cancelled.
-
In France (wife's family) 26 Aug - 9 Sep - if inquiring
about new book please contact
Birlinn
directly, and I will be pretty much unavailable between 29
Aug and 4 Sept.
-
Book event with Jonathon Porritt,
1800 Wed 16 Sep. (his book, not mine, but with some
overlap), chaired by the CEO of the Scottish Environmental
Protection Agency, by
Zoom
webinar, register here.
-
Speaking at Mainstreet Trading
Bookshop, on Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and
the Survival of Being, St Boswells, Melrose, 1930, Wed 16
Sep. Cancelled.
-
Speaking in National Library of
Scotland online event, on Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and
the Survival of Being, 1700 Tue 22 Sep,
Zoom -
view
recording here
(45 mins).
-
Reading group online Q&A for Riders on
the Storm with the Centre for Human Ecology, 1900 Thu 24 Sep.
-
Reading group Q & A session
1 for creative
writing class on The Writing of Alastair McIntosh
held by Prof Laura Hope-Gill at Lenoir-Rhyne University,
North Carolina (private event), 2200 Thu 24 Sep.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 29 Sep, (preparation
previous day).
-
Speaking on Riders on the
Storm online at the Wigtown Book Festival, 1100, Fri 2
Oct, Zoom -
view
recording here.
-
Irish Hedge School in dialogue
with fellow guest the musician Luke Concannon (Nizlopi),
1900 Mon 5 Oct, open only to course participants, details of
full course at
The
Trailblazery.
-
Speaking
in The Embodiment Conference on Embodying Community:
Climate change, consciousness and cultural
trauma",
2200 UK time (5 pm Eastern Time) Sat 24
Oct,
watch live at this event link
and free view for 48 hours after.
-
Speaking in a New York Open
Center "Virtual Quest" event, on Reclaiming Celtic
Spirituality, 3 pm Eastern time, 7 pm UK time (GMT), for 90 mins,
Sun 11 Oct. Note time change and only 4 hrs US-UK time
difference this week.
Online conference sign-up here (not free).
-
Integral Human Development
a sharing about development, climate change and "the
survival of being" with the staff and supporters
of the Scottish Catholic International
Aid Fund, 1230 Wed 28 Oct.,
Zoom registration, free, here.
-
Interview by Fulbright scholar
(University of Toronto) Alec Ruth, on theology, 2
Nov,
watch the 50 min video on YouTube.
-
Reading group Q & A session
2 for creative
writing class on The Writing of Alastair McIntosh
held by Prof Laura Hope-Gill at Lenoir-Rhyne University,
North Carolina (private event), 2100 Thu 5 Nov.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 11 Nov, (preparation
previous day).
-
Speaking at
Maryport Arts & Literature Festival, Senhouse
Roman Museum, Cumbria, 12 Nov. Postponed to 2021.
-
Keynote speaker for Interfaith Responses to the Environmental Crisis, a UK
Interfaith Week event hosted by the Green Party Northern
Ireland and the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum, 1100 -
1300 Sat 14 Nov.
View recording here.
-
A sharing at the conference of
Inclusive
Gathering Birmingham (non-denominational church), on Riders on the Storm,
1600 Sun 15 Nov,
Zoom Link here
(free).
-
GalGael Trust board meeting,
1700 through evening, Tue 17 Nov.
-
Giving a talk for Scottish Book
Week, Edinburgh Central Library, on Climate Change and
the Survival of Being (focus on the psychology &
spirituality) 1930, Wed 18 Nov, chaired by
Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing Laura Hope-Gill
of Lenoir-Rhyne University, North Carolina.
Zoom registration link here (free).
-
Address to the AGM of
Urras
Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh
(the Carloway Trust Estate community land trust on the Isle
of Lewis) - Land, Climate Change and Weaving the Basket
of Community, 1930 Wed 25 Nov, non-members can request a
Zoom link by emailing
here.
-
Keynote address on The
Climate Emergency and Over-consumption, online
conference of the Scottish Government's
Climate Challenge Fund
convened by Keep Scotland
Beautiful, Thu 26 Nov,
book free ticket for online event here.
-
Online guest for Dougald Hine's
Homeward Bound
conversations on "the
deep territory of the climate crisis, the end of the world
as we knew it and the survival of being", 1900 Sun 29 Nov
(use the above link to sign up for series).
-
A sharing with the Green
Recovery Book Group about Riders on the Storm, 2000, Thu 3 Dec..
-
A talk to Irish Quakers YM Peace
Committee - Atomic Theology - 1800, Thu 10 Dec, Zoom
link t.b.a..
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Mon 14 Dec, (preparation
previous day).
-
The Parable of Jesus - an
impromptu Christmas Day Zoom reflection and sharing, 1400 25
Dec,
view Zoom video here.
-
Into Life's Last Days: the
Spirituality of Care & Dying - a Zoom sharing of Wed 30
Dec 2020, held by Laura Hope-Gill and Alastair McIntosh:
View video here:
http://bit.ly/LastDaysVideo
-
Talk on The Practice of Pilgrimage
to retreat of Red Letter Christians, 0945,
Thu 7 Jan
2021, Zoom details t.b.a. (not sure if public).
-
Panel discussion in the Red
Letter Christians retreat on the theme: Borders and
Space: Our Relationship with The Land. 1400, Fri 8 Jan
2021, Zoom details t.b.a.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 12 Jan
2021, (preparation
previous day).
-
Talk on climate change and
spirituality to Westport (Ireland) Ecocongregation, 1900 or
1930, Thu 16
Feb
2021, Zoom details t.b.a..
-
Speaking in the
Paisley Book Festival
on Riders on the Storm: Climate Change and the Survival
of Being, interviewed by Roxani Krystalli, 1800, Sat 27
Feb 2021, details t.b.a..
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 12 Mar
2021, (preparation
previous day).
-
Leading the GalGael Trust
weekend to the Isle of Iona exploring what "spirituality"
may or may not mean, subject to Covid regulations,
Fri 26 - Sun 28 March 2021.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 13 Apr
2021, (preparation
previous day).
-
A sharing on "Reimagining
Activisms" in online course
A Journey Home,
put on by
Christabel Reed of Advaya, Tue 1 June
2021.
-
Guest lecture on
Nonviolence
in
The Realities of Conflict
module of the Advanced Command
& Staff Course, UK Defence
Academy, possibly 14-16 Jul 2021,
s.t.c.
-
BBC Radio Scotland
Thought for the
Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 2 Jul
2021, (preparation
previous day).
-
An Evening with Alastair
McIntosh chaired by psychotherapist Jim Griffin on the
theme, In our doom is our dharma: Climate change and
consciousness. Hosted by the Edinburgh International
Centre for Spirituality & Peace at the Augustine United
Church, Edinburgh, Wed 29 Sept
2021,
tickets £6/£4 here.
-
COP 26 UN climate change
conference, 1-12 November 2021,
Govan, Glasgow (I will be based locally for this period, a
mile away from where we live).
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31-Dec-2020
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