Note #9236 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06199 March 5, 2006
Earth Day resources available
Materials for April 23 focus on damage hurricanes wrought along Gulf Coast
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE - The Environmental Justice Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has released Earth Day materials for use by Presbyterian congregations.
These resources available on the PC(USA) Web site - www.pcusa.org/environment/earthday - for congregations wishing to take part in this year's observance of Earth Day Sunday, April 23.
The official date of Earth Day this year is April 22.
The materials for 2006 - collectively titled "Rebuilding Communities that Protect the Powerless and God's Creation" - focus on the devastating environmental impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf Coast in 2005, and how people of faith can respond.
"The devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which so graphically entered the national consciousness, involves tremendous human suffering compounded by a legacy of environmental degradation," said the Rev. Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, the PC(USA)'s associate for Environmental Justice. "The church is always concerned about the vulnerability of the human community and the fragility of the Earth's ecosystems."
The resources include background information and reflections on related issues, sermon notes, liturgical aids, photos and links to resources at other Web sites.
The Environmental Justice Office was created in 1987, shortly before the PC(USA) moved into its new national offices in Louisville.
The office was formed to study the environmental policies of the United Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) in anticipation of a major policy document from the Committee on Social Witness Policy updating and integrating previous policies of the denominations.
The PC(USA)'s 202nd General Assembly in 1990 passed a policy called "Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice," which stands as the foundation for the work of the Environmental Justice Office along with the policies "Hazardous Waste, Race and the Environment" (1995) and "Toward a Just and Sustainable Human Development" (1996).
To obtain copies of the Earth Day resources, call Allyn Schadt of the Environmental Justice Office at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5807.
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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 100 Witherspoon Street Louisville, KY 40202 (888) 728-7228