Friday, August 5, 2011

Earth-Honoring Faith Series at Ghost Ranch

By Rev. Janet Parker
Janet Parker is pastor at Rock Spring Congregational Church in Virginia. She is working on her new book: Becoming Human Again: A Pastoral Theology for a Changed Planet. Below is an excerpt from her "Becoming Human Again" blog post about her teaching at the Ghost Ranch, a Presbyterian education and Retreat Center (and working ranch) near Abiquiu, New Mexico.

Teaching at Ghost Ranch was an extraordinary capstone to an extraordinary sabbatical. The very same Ghost Ranch where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted her landscapes. These photos are just a glimpse into the high desert beauty of this place.

I was at Ghost Ranch to serve as one of the faculty members for the course, "This Planet as Paradise: Beauty and Ecological Restoration," the fourth in the "Earth-Honoring Faith" series organized by my former doctoral advisor, Larry Rasmussen. What a privilege it was to teach alongside Larry, Rita Nakashima Brock, Dan Spencer, Barbara Rossing and Marty Haugen!
I hereby invite everyone who reads this blog to join us next year, when the topic will be "Food, Glorious Food!" The course is always held the fourth week in June. See the Ghost Ranch website for the course listing, under the "Earth-Honoring Faith" section of the courses and retreats tab.