wfn.org | PCUSA - Social Justice Committee focuses on aid for wetlands education center

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Social Justice Committee focuses on aid for wetlands education center

'Nothing is being done in Louisiana,' was plea of one attendee

> July 6, 2010

> GA219 Communication Center

> by Bob Sloan

> MINNEAPOLIS

A recommendation for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to establish 
financial support for a coastal wetlands education center in south 
Louisiana was one of several items approved Monday by the 219th 
General Assembly Committee on Social Justice Issues: the Exhibition 
of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World.

The measure, sponsored by South Louisiana Presbytery, passed 
unanimously after a lengthy discussion on the exact amount of funding 
being requested. A figure of $111,700 was included in the recommendation.

During open hearings, the Rev. Kris Peterson of Bayou Blue 
Presbyterian Church of the South Louisiana Presbytery, made a tearful 
plea in support of the recommendation and on behalf of the people of 
South Louisiana.

"Indigenous populations in the wetlands of south Louisiana are 
disappearing by the day," Peterson said. "Many cultures will vanish 
if we do not take action now. Restoration efforts in areas of the 
Chesapeake Bay and the Everglades are given high priorities, but 
nothing is being done in Louisiana. We are losing communities and 
nobody is paying attention. We need your help."

Along with a request for funding for the education center, the 
measure also asks the General Assembly to work with the Presbytery of 
South Louisiana to develop and make available resources on the 
implications of coastal wetlands loss for God's creation and God's 
community, to examine the role of corporations and institutions in 
the destruction of the wetlands, and to advocate with members of the 
U.S. Congress to take measures to restore land lost due to coastal 
erosion in delta regions of Louisiana.

Other items approved to be sent to the full Assembly:

* By a unanimous vote, a recommendation to endorse the Charter 
For Compassion;

* By a vote of 50-2-2, a recommendation to review efforts 
regarding cultural proficiency and creating a climate for change in PC(USA);

* By a unanimous vote, a recommendation to lift up "Call to 
Restore the Creation," originally adopted as part of Restoring 
Creation for Ecology and Justice by the 202nd General Assembly (1990).

* By a unanimous vote, a recommendation that GA bring to the 
attention of the church significant trends and developments in human 
rights, particularly in the areas of trafficking, detention of 
immigrants, and the continuing problem of torture.