wfn.org | Women's Environmental Training

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Contacts: Carol Fouke, NCC News, New York,  
  212-870-2252
Lynne West, NCC Staff, New York,  
 212-870-2386
In Columbia, Miss., Charlotte Keys, JPAP, 
601-736-0686
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

40NCC4/23/98              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: The prayer breakfast 
(9-11 a.m. Saturday, May 2) is open to news media; 
other sessions are closed.  Participants will be 
available for interviews through the contacts listed 
above.
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WOMEN GATHER FOR UNIQUE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 
TRAINING

COLUMBIA, Miss., April 23 -- Fifty women from a 
variety of faith traditions will participate in an 
historic national environmental event in Columbia, 
Miss., April 30- May 3.  "Environmental Threats to 
Women's Health & Well-Being," sponsored by the Eco-
Justice working group of the National Council of the 
Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), is the first 
event of its kind, explained NCC staff person Lynne 
West. 

"To our knowledge, no one has ever hosted a 
national training bringing together environmental 
justice activists from faith-based groups and 
secular non-profits to focus on developing women's 
leadership and making the connections between faith, 
women's health and the environment," Ms West said.  
"God's intention of health, healing and restoration 
for the earth and its people are central dimensions 
of the faith we profess." 

The training will honor the late Dr. Jean 
Sindab, a former NCC Eco-Justice Director, who was a 
prominent national and international leader in the 
environmental justice movement. 

The event will bring leading environmental 
justice activists from faith-based groups and 
secular non-profits to train women selected for 
their leadership potential from a national pool of 
candidates.  The planning committee chose Columbia, 
Miss., as the site for this one-of-a-kind event 
because the community is emblematic of low-income 
and mostly minority communities across the country 
experiencing severe contamination.  

The US Environmental Protection Agency has 
designated the Reichhold Chemical plant site in 
Columbia for the National Priority List of the 
Superfund cleanup program.  The site is contaminated 
with deadly dioxins and other poisons such as 
benzene and arsenic.

Training participants include those from the 
following Christian communions (denominations): 
American Baptist; African Methodist Episcopal; 
Catholic; Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran Church of 
America; Greek Orthodox; Presbyterian Church USA; 
Progressive National Baptist Convention; Quaker; 
United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church.  

Jesus People Against Pollution is the local 
host for the training.  JPAP organized in 1992 in 
response to concerns about the health of Columbia 
residents living near the Reichhold site. The 
community has a high rate of cancer and premature 
death. Residents suffer from immune system 
disorders, respiratory diseases and skin rashes.  
Women and children of Columbia seem to be the most 
vulnerable part of the population.

The Mississippi Rural Center (MRC), a community 
center affiliated with the United Methodist Church 
as one of its national mission institutions, will be 
the primary site for the training event.  MRC 
Executive Director Joyce Stepney and Lynette 
Hamilton, another staff member, will also 
participate in the training.

Highlights of the conference will include a 
prayer breakfast in the Columbia town square, a 
panel discussion on environmental justice, a tour of 
the contaminated area, theological reflection on 
environmental justice issues, and workshops on such 
topics as leadership skills, understanding the 
economics behind pollution, and the basics of 
community organizing. 

The prayer breakfast, from 9-11 a.m. on 
Saturday, May 2, in the town square is open to all.  
Local residents and representatives from various 
religious groups and churches across the state have 
been invited to attend.  Breakfast speakers will 
discuss the current state of Columbia's clean-up 
process and similar situations in other US 
communities.

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