Dear PEC Members and Friends,

Announcing --- our third PEC Update for 2011!!

This Update is partially a reflection of our 2011 Conference at Highlands Conference Center, “Too Big to Fail? A Conversation among Faith, Science, and Culture.” The conference was informative, energizing, and truly transformative. We are grateful to all who participated!

Many thanks as well to all who were a part of producing this Update. We particularly hold up Jenny Holmes, immediate past PEC moderator, who planned the edition and gathered the articles, as well as Will Layton, Eco-Justice Fellow, NCC Eco-Justice Office, who edited and prepared the layout.

The final Update for the year is underway. It will be in a different format, as we are offering an Advent/Christmas Devotional. There will be a weekly devotional reading for each week of Advent plus one for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It will come both through electronic media as well as printed format.

The Earth is greatly in need of our care-giving now, and many advocacy issues ‘out there’ needing our attention. There is much in the way of eco-justice and social justice to do.

Strength and wisdom to you in your journey of Earth care.

In hope and faith,
Diane

Diane Waddell
Moderator
Presbyterians for Earth Care

New PEC Steering Committee

Dear friends in the Presbyterian earth-care community (and beyond),

Greetings from the Steering Committee of PEC. Our 'new' steering committee is on board and working towards offering excellent leadership for the future. I am certainly boosted by the amazing energy and dedication of others in the Executive Committee -- Jane Laping, Vice Moderator and Sue Smith, Treasurer. Jane has served as an at-large member and has certainly served PEC well as chair of the fundraising and membership committees. Sue has been exceptional in her work as treasurer. We officially welcome our new regional representatives, Andrew Plocher (SE Representative) from the Bethesda, Maryland area, Holly Hallman (NW Representative) from the Seattle area, and Ann Owen (SW Representative) from Little Rock, Arkansas. Additionally, Fred Milligan from Traverse City, Michigan has recently joined us as an at-large member of the Steering Committee. To learn more about our Steering Committee members, visit the PEC website.

I am also grateful as well for our very organized and forward-thinking coordinator, Shantha Ready Alonso. You have met William Layton in our last e-blast who is volunteering as a fellow in the NCC Eco-Justice Office until next July. (Hurray for volunteers!!)

Our conference at Highlands Conference Center was excellent, not only through education and information shared about eco-justice in MANY ways but also through beautiful, meaningful worship, excellent field trips, and lots of networking. We are so grateful to everyone who planned, participated, and became a deeper part of our community.

Overall, there is MUCH to do. It is a great feeling to be part of such an organization as this which can make such an impact on both environmental and social justice issues. PLEASE do keep in touch with us, particularly as you note projects, plans, and advocacy needs mentioned on the e-blasts. We DO need your input as we move forward together in this beautiful but fragile world.

From "For the Earth and Her Creatures", a prayer by Marjorie J. Thompson, from Prayers for the New Social Awakening: Inspired by the New Social Creed, edited by Christian Iosso and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty:

Merciful Lord, open our ears to the groaning of creation:
glaciers melting into a rising sea,
polar bears swimming to exhaustion in search of ice,
wetlands drying to parched cracks,
songbirds seeking ancient sanctuaries in vain,
coral reefs bleaching in polluted waters,
whales beaching themselves in despair.

Awaken us, Good Lord, to our responsibility
for this earth over which you made us stewards . . .

In the name of the One through and for whom
all things have been created,
and in whom all things hold together.
Amen.

The Peace and Passion of Christ be with you all,
Diane Waddell
Moderator, Presbyterians for Earth Care

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.

McCormick Seminary Certificate in Environmental Ministry Program Equips Religious Leaders with Tools to Make Their Impact on the Earth More Sustainable and More Just.

Deep personal commitments to environmental ministry and a strong belief that the care of creation must be a vital ministry of the Church led four McCormick faculty members to develop this program that blends the study of Science, Theology, Bible, Ethics and Action as a means of equipping persons of faith who are passionate about ecological concerns. The Certificate is targeted to those who seek to shape policy, who are looking for deeper biblical and theological foundations for their practices, and are interested in pursuing these questions with a group of committed peers and colleagues.

Read what the faculty that developed this program has to say about its importance to the church and its leaders and their contributions to it:

"Many pastors and congregational leaders feel some sense of urgency about responding to our current ecological context. But where to begin? The scientific, theological, and practical aspects of the issues can be intricate and complex, and we may quickly feel overwhelmed. I hope that participants in this program will be able to engage the ecological context (and lead others in doing so) in an integrated way, with practices that have real effects on the ground, theological depth, and spiritual significance. I also hope that the certificate will contribute to the building of a dispersed community of energized, informed, and committed religious leaders who can shape the next phase of the religious ecological movement!" -- Jennifer R. Ayres, Assistant Professor of Religious Education and Director of the Program in Religious Education, Candler School of Theology Atlanta, GA and former McCormick Faculty member.

Clare Butterfield, Faith in Place

"I think the course is important because it helps religious leaders be where their laity is already. People come to church with concerns about the planet. This certification program is designed to help their clergy help them to integrate those concerns, and practical responses to them, into the life of the church. My contribution is in the realm of practical and impactful things that congregations can do." -- Clare Butterfield, Executive Director, Faith in Place

“Our current ecological crisis makes it imperative that we find new ways of living within the world of nature. There are some very practical steps we know we should take, yet finding sufficient courage and motivation to make the needed changes is sometimes difficult. There are spiritual and theological dimensions to the challenge before us. What we believe about God and the world and about the place of the human being within nature affects how we live--theology matters. This course will resource religious leaders in both the practical and the theological work we need to do.” Anna Case Winters, Professor of Theology.

Ted Hiebert, Professor of Old Testament

“I think the course is important because it helps religious leaders rediscover the importance of the entire creation in their Scriptures. We've forgotten about this because of such a strong spiritualizing tendency in our tradition. My contribution is to help us retrieve the ways in which the world of nature is foundational for our faith and to help us connect biblical values with contemporary challenges." Ted Hiebert, Francis A. McGaw Professor of Old Testament.

Registration is open until August 15th; a $100.00 discount applies to all applications received by July 31st. For more information, contact Martha Brown. Application forms and detailed information may be found on the McCormick Web Site

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Presbyterians for Earth Care Video for "We are PCUSA" Initiative

PEC is participating in Bruce Reyes-Chow's "We are PCUSA" video project. Videos will stream all day on June 22. Vice Moderator Diane Waddell has submitted a video on our behalf. Check it out!
To see more information about the "We are PCUSAProject" go to http://www.patheos.com/community/breyeschow/we-are-pcusa/

Shades of Green Energy discussed how the faith community is addressing issues associated with green energy and the environment.

It is great to see Presbyterians taking a lead in their communities to care for God's Earth. Tune in to this radio show to hear Lou Snead of Faith Presbyterian Church in Austin and Colin Rowan of First Presbyterian Church in Austin discusss several Earth Care initiatives they are undertaking in the Austin area. Colin organized a showing of the movie “A Carbon Nation” at his church and Lou Snead is part of the Interfaith Environmental Network in Austin. (See a photo of the Interfaith Environmental Network's leadership here.) Austin is in Presbyterians for Earth Care's Southwest region. The coordinator for that region is Bee Moorehead, the Executive Director of Texas Impact and Texas Interfaith Power and Light.

Listen to the radio show at: http://shadesofgreenenergy.org/2011/06/435/

Preview Excerpt from Upcoming PEC Update: A review of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder

Dear Presbyterians for Earth Care members,

I hope your summers are off to a great start! Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to register for our 2011 Faith and Environment Conference August 31-September 3 at Highlands Conference Center in Colorado. Registration costs $150.00. You can find more information about the conference here.

We are in the process of putting the next PEC Update together. I invite you to take a sneak preview of our next update. Earth Covenant Ministry founder Rev. Allen Jenkins submitted a book review of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder. Author Bill Brown will be a plenary moderator and worship leader at the conference.

Yours in Stewardship of Creation,
Jenny Holmes, PEC Moderator

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Preview Excerpt from Upcoming PEC Update
A review of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder

390 ppm of CO2, oceans’ Ph levels, Darwinian evolution, toxicity rates of the world’s aquifers, soil depletion, biological diversity, EPA air quality standards...Those of us called to eco-justice ministry know that such scientific concerns are essential to comprehending the signs of the times. They inform our response to the urgent calling of eco-justice ministry. Awareness of such issues as ecological tipping points and thresholds of the land’s carrying capacity provide foundation for our living and spreading the Good News for all God’s created order.

Yet from here we stumble upon a key question :

Given the sciences’ importance for informed eco-justice ministry, how, then, do we faithfully straddle these two worlds of science and Bible, worlds so perilously at odds in the modern era?

In The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder, biblical theologian William P. Brown takes on this monumental question in a disarming, invitational form that provides an empowering foundation for a serious integration of science into the life of faith. To say Brown qualifies for the task understates his credentials. He is an ordained minister and Old Testament professor of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia who is not only a ‘scholar’s scholar’ sought out to present at institutions across the country and the globe but his is also a leader in the greening of campus life and an accessible Sunday School teacher.

On a further note of personal privilege, I am most thankful for his active leadership on Earth Covenant Ministry’s steering committee, for whom he graciously presents to congregations of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.
Fortuitously, Bill Brown is this year’s plenary moderator and worship leader for our PEC conference (August 31st – September 3rd). Are you registered?

- The Rev. Allen Jenkins, Founder of Earth Covenant Ministry

Register for the PEC Faith and Environment Conference by June 1 for the Early Bird Rate!

Sign-Up Now for PEC's 2011 National Faith & Environment Conference: "God's Earth: Too Big to Fail? An Eco-Justice Conversation Among Faith, Science and Culture"

August 31 - September 3, 2011, at Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center in the mountains of Colorado.

Keynote speakers include Dr. William Brown, author of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science and the Ecology of Wonder; Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist and director of sustainable foods at the Pesticide Action Network; Carol Raffenspurger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network; Dr. Tryone Hayes, Professor at UC Berkeley with expertise in amphibian biology who fought a major pesticide company and won; Dr. Holmes Rolston III, environmental ethics scholar; Dr. John E. Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri Columbia.

Special thanks to our conference sponsors, including PC(USA) Environmental Ministries, the Presbytery of Olympia, the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest, the Presbytery of Monmouth, the Presbytery of Charlotte, Second Presbyterian of Little Rock, and Second Presbyterian Church Indianapolis.

Registration is now open at price of $125.00 until June 1, $150 after, and can be completed online here.

Get all the latest info on the conference on the "Too Big to Fail" blog here.

Thanks to All New and Renewing PEC Members

A big thanks to all who have renewed their membership or became a new member around our new renewal date, Earth Day, April 22nd. The response has been good and it will save us a lot of work. Your participation in PEC is very important to us. Please share news and stories with the PEC network! Send an e-mail to presbyearthcare@gmail.com. Blessings, PEC Moderator

God's Earth: Too Big to Fail? An Eco-Justice Conversation between Faith, Science, and Culture

PEC's 2011 National Faith & Environment Conference is open for registration!
August 31 - September 3, 2011, at Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center in the mountains of Colorado. Keynote speakers include Dr. William Brown, author of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science and the Ecology of Wonder; Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist and director of sustainable foods at the Pesticide Action Network; Carol Raffenspurger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network; Dr. Hayes, Professor with expertise in amphibian biology at the University of California Berkley; Dr. Holmes Rolston III, environmental ethics scholar; Dr. John E. Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri Columbia. Special thanks to our conference sponsors, including Environmental Ministries, the Presbytery of Olympia, the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest, Second Presbyterian of Little Rock, and Second Presbyterian Church Indianapolis. Registration is now open at $125.00. Click here to go to the registration page.