Spring 2004 Conference
Cosponsored by NACCE and TCPC
BRINGING THE CHURCH BACK DOWN TO EARTH:
 HOW PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS EMBRACE ECOLOGY

Topics   |   Schedule   |   Speakers   |   Registration   |   About the sponsors

Friday morning, June 25 – Sunday Noon, June 27, 2004
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul

Co-sponsored by:
The Center for Progressive Christianity and North American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology

Mission Statement

This conference assumes the presence of God in all things and the existence of all things in God. The preservation of God's earth is an issue of faith. As stewards of the earth, we recognize the importance of acting thoughtfully, responsibly, and justly as we wrestle with environmental issues and search for ways to cherish and protect our world. We believe that as faithful people, we must build faith communities that care for the earth. Because we believe that the earth has finite resources, we must replace the current cultural myth of unlimited growth with a socially and ecologically sustainable system.

Forum topic themes:

Conference Highlights:

Friday, June 25: 9am-8:30pm
Registration, Keynote and Discussion — Dr. John Cobb
Two sets of concurrent workshops
Keynote and discussion — Dr. Sallie McFague
Conversational Concert — Larry Long
(Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included)

Saturday, June 26: 7:30am-8:30pm
Keynote and Discussion — Dr. Christine Smith
Three sets of concurrent workshops
Keynote and Discussion — Dr. John Cobb
Earth Vespers (outside, weather permitting)
(Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included)

Sunday, June 27: 7:30am-noon
Keynote and Discussion — Dr. Sallie McFague
Celebration Worship — Dr. Christine Smith, with music by Donna Peña and Sones Del Alma
(Breakfast included)

"All human institutions, professions, programs and activities must now be judged by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, or foster a mutually-enhancing human-earth relationship."

Thomas Berry

Workshop Topics And Leaders:

Letting In The Earth — Listening To The Landscape
  Rev. Beth Benson, Peace UCC
Working Toward The World Garden
  Christopher Childs, Former Greenpeace Activist And Author
Voluntary Simplicity
  Joe Esker, Simplicity Coach
To Be Announced
  Dr. John Cobb, Center For Process Theology
Environmental Racism
  Dr. Carlos J. Correa, Minister For Environmental Justice, UCC
The "Natural Step" For Sustainability
  Terry Gips, Alliance For Sustainability
The Universe Story
  Sister Rosanne Giguere
Creating Your Clean Energy Future
  J. Drake Hamilton, Minnesotans For An Energy-Efficient Economy
Eating Is A Moral Act
  Timothy J. Kautza, National Catholic Rural Life Conference
Exploring Natural Terrain As Metaphoric Tool
  Rev. George Packard
To Be Announced
  Larry Long, Folk Artist
To Be Announced
  Dr. Sallie McFague, Vancouver School of Theology
Peace For God's Creation (a video exploration)
  Rev. Keith Olstad, Augsburg College for Global Education
How A Church Can Care For The Earth
  Rev. Dennis Ormseth, Lutheran Church of the Reformation
Spiritual Roots And The Local Landscape
  Dr. Virginia Pharr, Author
Earthkeeping Circles
  Rev. Finlay Schaef, President, NACCE
To Be Announced
  Robert Shimek, Indigenous Environmental Network
Geography, Landscape and Spirituality
  Dr. Christine Smith, United Theological Seminary
Creating Creation Liturgies
  Rev. Margaret Thomas, St. Edward the Confessor Episcopal Church
Globalization, Justice, and the Environment
  Ginny Yingling, Sierra Club

Dr. Sallie McFagueDr. Sallie McFague is Distinguished Theologian in Residence, Vancouver School of Theology, British Columbia. She is a prolific author. Her books include: Metaphorical Theology, Models of God, The Body of God, and Super, Natural Christians. Dr. McFague's most recent book is Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril.

Dr. John CobbDr. John Cobb is the Founding Co-Director of the Center for Process Theology and Emeritus Professor at the Claremont School of Theology and Graduate School. His many writings include: Christ in a Pluralistic Age, God and the World, For the Common Good, and Reclaiming the Church. Co-winner of Grawemeyer Award of Ideas Improving World Order.

Dr. Christine SmithDr. Christine Smith is the Professor of Preaching and Worship at United Theological Seminary, New Brighton, MN. Her writings include Risking the Terror/Resurrection In This Life, Preaching as Weeping, Confessions, and Resistance. She also serves as editor of Preaching Justice.

Larry LongLarry Long is called a "true American troubadour" by author Studs Terkel. The nationally known folk artist holds the prestigious Bush Artists Fellowship, plus the Pope John XXIII and In The Spirit of Crazy Horse awards for work in forgotten communities. Long's music celebrates American people and places, building on themes of justice, community, and peace. Pete Seeger says Long ". . . is doing what singers and songwriters should be doing: using music to help people learn to work together, and bring a world of peace."

Donna PeñaDonna Peña, a nationally acclaimed recording artist, directs Sones del Alma choir in our worship service. While primarily Hispanic and bilingual, the volunteer choir shares its love of global culture through the music of places such as Africa, Sweden, and Palestine. Sones del Alma's roots are founded in Christ and the desire to create peace and understanding through the diversity of their music.

Conference Registration

Online registration is available via TCPC's registration page.

To register by mail, download the brochure (PDF, 392 KB) and fill in the sign-up form.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Dyson at 651-698-0349 or email eudyson@worldnet.att.net.

TCPC
The Center for Progressive Christianity

The Eight Points
By calling ourselves progressive, we mean that we are Christians who:

  1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus;
  2. Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us;
  3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus's name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples;
  4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
    † believers and agnostics,
    † conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
    † women and men,
    † those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
    † those of all races and cultures,
    † those of all classes and abilities,
    † those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope;
  5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe;
  6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty — more value in questioning than in absolutes;
  7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers; and
  8. Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.

For more information go to www.TCPC.org

NACCE

The North American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology (NACCE) is an ecumenical, voluntary, tax-exempt organization. It was established in 1986 to encourage the many strands of Christian tradition in the work of healing the damaged earth, out of a common concern and love for God's creation.

NACCE's Mission
The continuing devastation of Earth is a crisis of the human spirit. To address this crisis:

  1. We will invite people into a loving relationship with Earth through the formation of local earthkeeping circles.
  2. We will teach reverence for God's creation, with the understanding that humans are embedded in the natural world.
  3. We will cooperate with other organizations concerned with ecology and social justice.
  4. We will promote the study of ecological issues in the context of biblical theology and contemporary science.

For more information go to www.nacce.org