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"Blessing of the Fields"

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: Wendy McDowell, NCC News, 212-870-2152
  at North Park College, 773-244-5743
Email: news@ncccusa.org  Web: www.ncccusa.org

60NCC5/12/99FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARMENIAN ORTHODOX "BLESSING OF THE FIELDS" SERVICE ON A
LANDFILL WILL HIGHLIGHT "ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTRIES IN THE
CHURCH" CONFERENCE
NCC Event to be Held May 13-16, North Park College, Chicago,
Ill.
Worship Service on Land O'lakes Landfill, 122nd & Stony
Island: May 15, 5 p.m.

WHAT:
"Christ Is In Our Midst," an ecumenical conference
on environmental justice ministries in the church
in the 21st century, sponsored by the National
Council of Churches (NCC).  The four-day event
will explore the way the church can work on behalf
of creation through: Tours of environmental
degradation and responses to it in the Chicago
area; worship services from different Christian
traditions; presentations such as "Environmental
Degradation in Racial/Ethnic and Poor
Communities," and workshops on a broad range of
issues, including eco-justice and the Bible,
working with children on environmental justice
issues, practical ideas for energy conservation in
the church and using the Internet for organizing
congregations on environmental issues.

WHO:
270 environmental justice leaders from mainline
Protestant, historic African American and Orthodox
communions throughout the country.

WHEN:
May 13, 3 -8 p.m.
May 14, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
May 15, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. (INCLUDES TOURS, LANDFILL
SERVICE)
May 16, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WHERE:
Most of the event will take place at North Park
College, Foster and Kedzie Avenues (5200 north and
3200 west).  On Saturday, May 15, starting at 1
p.m., participants will split into two groups for
two different tours, one to the West Side of
Chicago and the other to the Southeast Side, to
view environmental degradation and responses to
it.  Both tours will meet at the Land O'Lakes
landfill, 122nd and Stony Island (Southside
Chicago) at 5 p.m. on Saturday for an Orthodox
Worship Service and the ancient Armenian Orthodox
"Blessing of the Fields" rite.

WHY:
"This is a gathering of people who know that
caring for the environment and all of creation is
a religious issue," said the Rev. Richard Killmer,
NCC Environmental Justice Director.  "We're going
to celebrate a very ancient Armenian tradition on
top of a landfill to say in a visual way that the
church is responding to this major concern in our
nation and in our world."

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