“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” — Hebrews 10:24, NRSVUE
In September 1971, twelve people boarded a small fishing boat in Vancouver, Canada, and set out into the North Pacific. Their boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was not built to face the military might of the United States. The autumn seas near Alaska were known to be dangerous, but they were set on reaching Amchitka Island, where the U.S. government planned to detonate a huge nuclear weapon.
They gave their boat a new name: Greenpeace.
The journey started with an idea from Marie Bohlen, an American peace activist living in Canada. She and her husband Jim were part of a group called the Don’t Make a Wave Committee, which included Quakers, pacifists, journalists, and environmentalists. They worried the nuclear test might harm the island’s delicate environment and add to the growing nuclear arms race.
Marie suggested sending a boat straight to the test site. It was a bold idea. The activists knew they couldn’t actually stop the explosion. Still, they had a fishing boat, a captain named John Cormack who was ready to go, and more and more supporters. They hoped that by being there, they would get enough international attention to make the government think twice.
Their approach was shaped by the Quaker tradition of bearing witness. For centuries, Friends have seen faith as something that should show up in the real world. If you believe in peace, equality, or the value of life, that belief eventually calls you to act. Bearing witness means letting your life show what you believe, even if you can’t control what happens next.
Things didn’t go as they planned. The crew faced disagreements and rough seas. Near Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard stopped their boat for a customs issue and sent them away from their goal. In the end, they went back to Vancouver without reaching Amchitka.
Then, on November 6, 1971, fifty-five years ago today, the United States set off the Cannikin nuclear device under the island. Its blast was almost five million tons of TNT, making it the biggest underground nuclear test in U.S. history. The activists hadn’t been able to stop it.
I wonder how it felt to hear that news after all they had risked. Sometimes we follow our deepest beliefs, but what we try to stop still happens. People get hurt. Wars go on. Institutions break down. The world doesn’t always become fairer just because we show courage.
But something happened on that trip that the crew couldn’t fully see. Their journey got attention around the world. Newspapers wrote about the small fishing boat standing up to the American nuclear program. People started to ask about the environmental effects of nuclear testing. Supporters came together, gave money, and connected with each other.
The Amchitka trip became the first campaign of what would become Greenpeace, a global environmental movement shaped by many people and efforts over the years. The crew didn’t stop the bomb, but their choice to bear witness helped start a movement.
Today is also the United Nations’ International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. It reminds us that military destruction goes beyond the violence we see right away. Water gets polluted, forests are lost, farmland is poisoned, and communities are left with environmental damage that can last for generations. We see these effects in Ukraine and other places where war has hurt the natural systems people rely on.
The activists who sailed to Amchitka knew that peace and caring for the living world go hand in hand.
I think about their story now, as many Americans are seeing again how much ordinary people can do when they work together. Tuesday’s midterm elections have brought new hope. People who spent months organizing, volunteering, talking with neighbors, and encouraging others to join in are seeing what their teamwork has achieved. For many who have worried for years about where the country is headed, the results have brought a real sense of relief.
We should let ourselves celebrate. It’s deeply healing to find out the future is more open than we thought. I also wonder what could happen if we bring this new energy into the work that’s still ahead.
The people on the Phyllis Cormack couldn’t have guessed what would come from their trip. Their actions helped others find their own courage. What started with just a few people became an invitation that spread across countries and generations.
I’ve seen meaningful change start like this. Someone takes a risk, making it easier for someone else to act. People find out that worries they kept to themselves are shared by others. Relationships grow, ideas spread, and new possibilities appear that none of them could have made alone.
Of course, courage doesn’t always lead to success. History is full of honest efforts that didn’t reach their goals. But sometimes what we do matters in ways we can’t predict, especially when it inspires others.
Communities need support, people need protection, ecosystems need healing, and relationships need rebuilding. Doing this work will take patience, creativity, and a willingness to work with people who see things differently than we do.
Fifty-five years ago, twelve people got on a fishing boat and went toward a nuclear test they couldn’t stop. They came back without reaching their first goal, not knowing how far their example would spread.
Maybe we can’t know that about our own lives, either.
Somewhere, someone might be finding the courage to start because we were willing to go first.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Have you ever taken a stand for something you believed was right, only to find that your efforts did not produce the outcome you hoped for? How do you understand that experience now?
Where in your community or the wider world have you begun to feel powerless? What might bearing witness look like in that particular situation?
What conviction about justice, peace, or the sacredness of life is asking to become more visible through the way you live?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Courage to Bear Witness
Holy One, whose presence moves upon the waters, whose breath sustains all living things, Remember those who have set out upon uncertain seas because conscience would not let them remain ashore. Give us courage when the powers before us seem greater than anything we possess. Keep our hearts tender when our efforts appear to fail, and our spirits faithful when the road ahead grows long. Teach us to honor the earth, to defend the vulnerable, and to speak the truth without demanding the assurance of victory. May our lives become vessels of peace, our hands instruments of compassion, and our courage a gift to those who will come after us. Amen.
Spiritual Practice: Find Your Boat
The activists who sailed toward Amchitka had no certainty that their voyage would change anything. They began with what they had: a fishing boat, a group of committed people, and a conviction they could no longer keep to themselves.
Today, take a piece of paper and draw a simple outline of a boat. It doesn’t need to be artistic. Inside the boat, write the names of the resources already available to you: your skills, relationships, knowledge, time, community connections, or particular forms of courage.
Above the boat, name one concern that has been weighing on your heart. Choose something specific enough that you can imagine taking an action in response.
Now consider what you could do with the resources already in your boat. Perhaps you could organize a conversation, accompany someone who is vulnerable, teach others about an overlooked injustice, support an existing effort, or offer a public expression of solidarity.
Choose one action you can realistically undertake in the coming week. It should be meaningful, even if it is modest. And it should be something you would still consider worth doing if it received no recognition and produced no immediate change.
Keep your drawing somewhere you will encounter it again.
The question is not whether your boat is large enough to change the world. It is whether you are willing to use what you have to bear witness to what matters.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
November 10, 2026 - 12:30 - 1:30pm ET - ONLINE BOOK CLUB - I am hosting a book club where we are reading Fr. Gregory Boyle’s “Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times.” Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, has spent decades building community among people whom society has often discarded. In Cherished Belonging, he draws on those relationships and stories to explore what might happen if we stopped sorting people into categories of worthy and unworthy, us and them. Don’t worry if you don’t have time to read the book. We always have incredibly rich conversations. All are welcome. Learn more here.
November 10, 7-8:30pm ET - I’ll be joined by theologian, writer, and professor Dr. Debra Rienstra for a special ONLINE conversation on Refugia Faith. In ecology, refugia are small places where life survives amid disruption, pockets of resilience from which life can eventually regenerate and spread. Debra invites us to consider what this might mean spiritually in an age of climate instability, political turmoil, institutional decline, and profound uncertainty. What if our congregations, communities, relationships, and even our own lives could become refugia, places where courage, compassion, beauty, wisdom, and possibility are protected and cultivated for whatever comes next? I hope you’ll join us for this timely and deeply hopeful conversation. REGISTER HERE!
November 20, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
December 1, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Theologian Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again in a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for a 24-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. Learn more and REGISTER HERE!
December 5, 2026 - A Way in the Wilderness: An Online Advent Silent Retreat, 9:00 a.m.–4 p.m. ET - I’m delighted to be leading a special Advent retreat with my friends at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. A Way in the Wilderness is an invitation to step away from the noise and demands of daily life and enter a spacious day of contemplative prayer, sacred reading, Sabbath rest, and silence. Together, we’ll explore the biblical wilderness as a place where new possibilities emerge and discover the peace that comes from recognizing the Sacred’s presence even in uncertain times. There is nothing to accomplish and no experience to manufacture. Just an opportunity to rest, listen, and remember that we do not travel through the wilderness alone. LEARN MORE.
December 8, 2026, 7-8:00pm ET - The holidays can be especially tender when we are carrying grief. Whether we are mourning someone we love, navigating changes in our health or relationships, or grieving the uncertainty of the world around us, this season can bring losses both old and new to the surface. Join us on The Commons for a special one-hour online gathering led by my friend Joy Gaertner, an Advanced Loss & Grief Recovery Specialist. Together, we will create a welcoming space to acknowledge our losses, honor what we carry through meaningful rituals of remembrance, and discover sources of hope for the season ahead. This will be a gentle evening of connection and care, with room for whatever grief you may be holding. The gathering is donation-based, and all are welcome. LEARN MORE.
December 15, 7-8:30pm ET - FREE WEBINAR - I will be joined by Dr. Charissa Mikoski, Assistant Professor of Research and Hartford Institute for Religion Research for a presentation on “The State of American Congregations: What the Latest Data Tell Us.” This webinar explores findings from the 2025 Faith Communities Today survey, including changes in worship attendance, congregational vitality, finances, volunteering, programming, and leadership. It will also examine what more than 24,000 individual attenders tell us about participation and their experiences of congregational life. Together, these findings offer a picture that is neither simply one of decline nor one of revival, but of significant change and uneven recovery. REGISTER HERE.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Every Monday, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Thank you, Rev. Cameron, for reminding us about the origins of Green Peace. Any effort of virtue, no matter how small or big, even if it fails, has a mystical quality to it that transcends our idea of success or failure. Saint Paul says, "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."