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American Baptist News Service_____________________
Office of Communication / American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Richard W. Schramm, Director (E-mail:
RICH_SCHRAMM.PARTI@ECUNET.ORG)

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UPDATE: MAY 5, 1997
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o  Word has been received of the death May 4 of the Rev.
James E. McJunkin Sr., pastor of Affinity
Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and a
former American Baptist Churches General Board member. 
McJunkin served two terms, from 1986-1993, on the General
Board and the Board of National Ministries, where
he was a member of  the Executive Committee for six
years.  He served on the Board Ecology Task Force that
shaped the Policy Statement on Ecology for the General
Board.  Following the Ecology Task Force visit to Love
Canal, N.Y., and his experience with other American
Baptists at The (1992) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, McJunkin became one of the first African-American
pastors to urge church involvement in environmental
issues.  Committed to evangelism, McJunkin was appointed
to represent the Cleveland Baptist Association on the
American Baptist Evangelism Team (ABET).  As ABET's
representative he attended several design meetings for
Mission America, an interdenominational evangelistic
celebration planned for the year 2000.  McJunkin also
served as chairperson of the Eco-Justice Working Group of
the National Council of Churches in Christ and
attended the United Nations International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994.
McJunkin is survived by his wife, Margaret, and six
children.  Condolences may be sent to them at 3170 Van
Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120.  Funeral
arrangements are pending.

o  PP&L Resources, Inc., an electric utility with
headquarters in Allentown, Pa., has joined more than 60
other
companies across the U.S. in adopting the CERES
Environmental Principles, which are actively promoted by
American Baptist National Ministries.  A founding member
of the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible
Economies (CERES), National Ministries worked with other
environmental, religious and public interest groups
to establish the CERES Principles, a 10-point code for
corporate environmental conduct.  The Principles deal
with issues such as waste reduction, energy conservation
and environmental restoration.  "Caring for God's
creation is a primary responsibility of Christian
stewardship," noted Dr. Andy Smith, director of Social
and
Ethical Responsibility in Investments (SER) for National
Ministries.  "Church shareholders have been the most
active members of CERES in encouraging more companies to
adopt these environmental principles."  According
to Smith, National Ministries presently is involved in
active dialog with three other companies and has
presented
shareholder proposals to an additional three
corporations.  The effort "exemplifies the way Christian
shareholders,
environmentalists and industry can work together," he
said.  PP&L chose the day before Earth Day to publicly
announce its decision, becoming only the third electric
utility in the U.S. to endorse the CERES Principles.
Noting the role of the church in bringing about
responsible corporate policy, the Rev. Thelma Mitchell,
National
Ministries' associate executive director for Biblical
Justice and Issue Development, said that "as a people of
faith,
we have a calling to live in and through a society where
we proclaim the Good News and practice a lifestyle that
values others and ourselves through the eyes of Christ." 
In 1993 the Sun Company, Inc., became the first
Fortune 500 company to adopt the Principles.  Sun was
followed by other major corporations, including Polaroid,
Bethlehem Steel Corp. and General Motors.  The other
electric utility members are Arizona Public Service Co.
and Green Mountain Power Corp. in Vermont.

97U55
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