PEC's Conference: A Personal Perspective

 

by Rick Randolph, MD

This September, my wife and I attended the 2023 Presbyterians for Earth Care (PEC) biennial conference at the PC(USA) Conference Center in Massenetta Springs, VA. This was a wonderful event featuring inspired preaching from the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, enlightening teaching from Rev. Dr. Patricia Tull, the Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and an enlightening offering of classes. Everyone was collegial and the setting in Massenetta Springs enhanced our sense of reverence.

This conference was an ambitious undertaking by PEC. It was held in a hybrid in-person/online format with presentations originating from several different sites. It spanned five days and had 28 presentations. These presentations included advocacy opportunities, learning more about the effects of climate change, the Inflation Reduction Act, personal financial choices, congregational funding, and personal wellness.

We heard about the Doctrine of Discovery, environmental communications, home energy conservation, and how to become an Earth Care Congregation. In order to have so many offerings, several were presented simultaneously, presenting us with the challenge of choosing only one course at a time!

Thankfully, all the breakouts, the plenary presentations by Rev Dr. Diane Givens Moffett and Rev Dr. Patricia Tull, and the times of worship were recorded and all are on the PEC website. Visit and see the full breadth of the areas presented.

As with most conferences, the ability to visit with the other participants who were attending in person ended up being one of the most enduring fruits of the conference. Thanks must be given for the incredible hard work of the organizing committee. My wife Jo was part of that group and didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy the conference as much as the rest of the 237 attendees. I can only express my profound appreciation for the results of their labors. PEC puts on a conference every two years. Plan now to attend. You will not be disappointed.

Richard Randolph, MD, recently retired as the Senior Chief Medical Officer of Heart to Heart International, based in Lenexa, KS, having had responsibility for the development of medical, disaster, and public health programs in the developing world and the US. He and his wife Jo have worked actively with PEC for many years and belong to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas.