wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Eco-justice group celebrates 10th b(earth)day

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8781 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05332
June 22, 2005

Eco-justice group celebrates 10th b(earth)day 

by Evan Silverstein

SILVER BAY, NY -- Presbyterians for Restoring Creation (PRC) celebrated its
10th birthday earlier this month with a banquet and business meeting here.

	The eco-justice group outlined its goals for the next five years,
presented annual awards, announced new officers and viewed pictures taken
during PRC-sponsored events since its founding in 1995.
 
	"I'm proud that this organization really took root -- to keep the old
grassroots metaphor going," said Nancy Corson Carter, whose term as PRC
moderator was ending. "We had some very idealistic and dedicated people who
banded together to form us, and then it became a job to see if we could
exist."

	The June 11 celebration came during PRC's fifth national Eco-Justice
Conference at the Silver Bay YMCA Center on the shore of Lake George in
upstate New York. (See related story, "Earthly wisdom".)

	PRC works for environmental wholeness and justice and speaks with a
prophetic voice on environmental issues and related policies of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

	The organization, which has a membership of 700 and one part-time
staffer, supports networks of Presbyterians who work to restore and preserve
creation, and collaborates with other groups involved in eco-justice issues.

	"Friends, I need to express my own gratitude for the important work
and witness of all of you in our denomination," Rick Ufford-Chase, the
moderator of the PC(USA)'s 216th General Assembly, said during the banquet.
"Not just for the last 10 years, but perhaps -- in my own life -- just for
the past three days."

	The gathering was a swansong as moderator for Carter, an elder from
Chapel Hill, NC, who served three two-year terms starting in 1999.

	She was succeeded as moderator by Jenny Holmes, a longtime PRC member
who worships at First Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. 

	During the banquet, Holmes was given the William E. Gibson Lifetime
Achievement Award for her environmental work with the PRC and the Presbytery
of the Cascades.

	"I think Presbyterians for Restoring Creation is an organization with
a lot of potential and promise," she said. "I think we're in a place where we
can really help the church move forward in its journey of eco-justice. We are
small in numbers, but I think we're growing."

	Susquehanna Valley Presbytery won a Restoring Creation Service Award
for its sponsorship and support of creation-related overtures to the General
Assembly. 

	PRC's goals for the next five years include increasing membership by
1,000; hiring a full-time coordinator; encouraging more regional conferences
and networking efforts; and helping to establish a "point person" or
Stewardship of Creation Enabler in every PC(USA) presbytery.  

	The group also elected a new steering committee, whose members are
Holmes; Bob Remsburg of Locust, NC, treasurer; Renee Rico of San Anselmo, CA,
Pacific regional representative; David Sholin of Phoenix, AZ, Southwest
regional coordinator; and Gwen McKee, Southeast regional representative.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to
pcusanews-subscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org or
pcusanews-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org

To contact the owner of the list, please send an email to
pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org