wfn.org | Presbyterians for Restoring Creation to Host Conference

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

1-April-1998 
98112 
 
    Presbyterians for Restoring Creation 
    to Host Montreat Conference 
 
    by Julian Shipp 
 
MONTREAT, N.C.-"Strands in the Web of Life: Exploring Our Roles in Ecology, 
Peace and Justice" is the theme of the Presbyterians for Restoring Creation 
(PRC) conference here Aug. 8-12. 
 
    Conference participants will consider issues of sustainable lifestyles 
and sustainable development - key components of "eco-justice" - and how 
those issues are interconnected in the work of such church-related 
organizations as PRC, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the 
Presbyterian Hunger Program and Mission Responsibility Through Investment. 
 
    Plenary speakers include Ron Sider, professor of theology and culture 
at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and president of Evangelicals for 
Social Action; Joan-Martin Brown, adviser for sustainable development to 
the World Bank; Larry Rasmussen, professor of social ethics at Union 
Theological Seminary in New York and co-moderator of the World Council of 
Churches Commission for Peace, Justice and the Integrity of Creation; and 
U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton (D-N.C.), a  member of the Eco-Justice Task Force 
that developed "Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice," a policy paper 
adopted by the 1990 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 
 
    Scheduled workshops include "Your Health and the Environment," "Issues 
in Sustainable Development," "The Heat Is On, the Storm Is Coming: Climate 
Change and You," "Sustainable Agriculture and Human Community," "From the 
Ground Up: Building an Effective Eco-Justice Program," "Think Globally, 
Locally and Politically," "Living the Good Life: Seeking a Lifestyle of 
Integrity," "Helping Congregations Restore and Protect God's Creation 
through the Environmental Justice Covenant Congregation Program," 
"Environmental Ethics: Taking Creation Values Seriously," "Resacrilizing 
Our Lives: Reclaiming a Sense of Awe," "Hunger and Environmental 
Destruction," "Ecology 101: Basic Scientific Facts and Perspectives," 
"Fierce Landscapes and the Spiritual Life," "Whatever It Takes Against 
Toxic Waste," "Eco-feminism," "Can Christian Environmentalism Be an 
Opportunity for Evangelism?" "Restoring Local Streams: Learning from Twenty 
Years' Experience," "Coping with Technological Disasters," "Energy 
Efficiency: Win-Win Solution for the Global Warming Threat" and "Native 
Americans and the Sacred Earth." 
 
    Worship leaders will include Belden Lane, a religion professor at St. 
Louis University; the Rev. Jerold Shetler, pastor of First Presbyterian 
Church in Greensboro, N.C.; Richard Clements, organist/choir director, All 
Souls Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Va.; and the Rev. Mary Westfall, 
campus minister, University of New Hampshire. 
 
    Leadership training for eco-justice coordinators and restoring creation 
enablers - who resource congregations and presbyteries - will be led by 
members of the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Working Group. 
Restoring creation enablers who have been appointed by their presbytery and 
who have not received training should contact the Rev. Bill 
Somplatsky-Jarman, associate for environmental justice in the National 
Ministries Division, at (502) 569-5809 regarding enrollment, funding and 
arrangements. 
 
    Registration for the conference will be handled by the Montreat 
Conference Center, P.O. Box 969, Montreat, N.C. 28757; telephone: 
1-800-572-2257.  Program fees are $150 on or before July 7; $165 after July 
7. For more information, contact Bill Knox, secretary, at (704) 262-3881 or 
via e-mail at bill.knox@pcusa.org 

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