The ‘Earthkeeping: Creation Care in Global Mission’ conference at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, April 29-May 1, has a terrific set of plenary speakers in Katharine Jefferts-Schori, Leon Sampson, Rachel Mash and Orlando Gomez.
But equally compelling are the workshops, which bring outstanding creation care leaders to share theological insights about creation care and their practical experience in addressing the planetary crisis of our time during this annual conference organized by the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN). Register for the conference here.
I’m so enthusiastic about the slate of workshops that we’ve been able to assemble that I’m including the current list from the GEMN website (I say current list because more workshops are in process).
As we face the cascading losses of species extinction and a rapidly changing climate, what do we do with our grief, fear, and outrage? Where do we find hope as we struggle to protect God’s Creation? What spiritual perspectives and practices can help us to move past burnout and despair and into the joy of resurrected living? How can protecting Earth become a mission that nourishes rather than depletes our souls? This workshop will explore a theological framework for “holding” our concern for Earth, its creatures and people. Our time together will include presentations, guided meditation, and small- and large-group conversation.

The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas is Missioner for Creation Care in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts and the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ. An Episcopal priest, author, and climate activist, she has been a lead organizer of Christian and interfaith events about care for Earth, and she leads retreats in the U.S.A. and Canada on spiritual resilience and resistance in the midst of a climate emergency. Her new book, Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (2019), is an anthology of essays co-edited with the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade. She has been arrested in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere to protest expanded use of fossil fuels. In 2016 she received the Steward of God’s Creation award from the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care. She served as Chaplain to the House of Bishops, and at Episcopal Divinity School (then in Cambridge, Mass.) she taught courses on prayer and spirituality, addiction, and the environment. She is a graduate of Stanford (BA, Russian Literature), Harvard (PhD., Comparative Literature), and Episcopal Divinity School (M.Div.). Her website, www.RevivingCreation.org, includes blog posts, sermons, and articles.

The Rev. Christopher Beasley serves as Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lebanon, Indiana (twenty miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis). He is a 2014 graduate of Bexley Seabury Seminary.
Mr. Chuck Dailey serves as Senior Beekeeper and Gardener at St. Peter’s with his wife Sandy. He is on the Board of the Beekeepers of Indiana and serves as the Education Chair for Indiana. He gives nearly 30 talks a year to schools, bee clubs, and other gardening groups around the state.
REPAIRING THE EARTH THROUGH A CARBON-OFFSET PARTNERSHIP
The Rev. Jeffrey Gill, Rector, Trinity Parish, Seattle, Washington
In 2012 the bishops of the Dioceses of Olympia and the Southern Philippines discovered they had a common interest in the stewardship of creation and decided to enter into a Covenant establishing the Carbon Offset Cooperative Mission. Carbon offsets from the Diocese of Olympia have funded a tree nursery and reforestation projects throughout the Diocese of the Southern Philippines. The nursery not only is helping with carbon sequestration but is also creating jobs and income. Rubber trees, mahogany, coffee and other tropical varieties are being grown. In the Diocese of Olympia funds are raised through offsets for diocesan travel, and parishes participate through paying offsets on their carbon footprint. Since 2012 over 75,000 trees have been planted by churches in the Southern Philippines. In this workshop Jeff Gill will describe the Carbon Offset Cooperative Mission in detail through pictures and stories from his recent trip to the Philippines.

The Rev. Jeffrey Gill is the Rector of Trinity Parish in downtown Seattle, Washington. He was ordained in the Diocese of Massachusetts and served parishes there for over 25 years. He also chaired the Diocesan Commission on Wider Mission for many years. Jeff is a native of Indiana, a graduate of Indiana University (East Asian Languages and Cultures and Religious Studies) and Harvard Divinity School. He has been engaged in global mission throughout his life in a variety of ways in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. He is currently the Chair of the Global Mission Network of the Diocese of Olympia and a member of the Bishop’s Committee on the Environment, which has enabled him to be engaged in the Carbon Offset Cooperative Mission with the Episcopal Diocese of the Southern Philippines. Jeff and his wife Carolyn love traveling the world and experiencing the beauty and diversity of peoples and cultures, which they intend to do more of after his retirement next August.

In 2015 the Episcopal Diocese of Costa Rica celebrated its 150th anniversary of Anglican presence in the country, prompting a new challenge: to reinterpret our identity and how we present ourselves to the Costa Rican society and to the rest of the world in the 21st century. We reaffirm our identity as Christians in the efforts of the nation as a whole and in line with the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion. Following resolutions agreed at the Anglican Consultative Council in 2016, the Diocese of Costa Rica celebrated its first Green Diocesan Council and approved a resolution to launch the Campaign “Vive tu fe naturalmente” (Live your faith naturally). In this session, we will share our journey into exploring ways of walking in newness of life while caring for the creation with which God blessed us.

The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, oceanographer and former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, has been vocal about mission priorities, including the United Nations Development Goals (MDGs and SDGs), domestic poverty, climate change and care for the earth, and international issues of peace and justice. In August 2019 the bishop accompanied a group of fifteen young pilgrims from the Diocese of Olympia on a one-week Youth Creation Care Pilgrimage, departing from St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle and trekking to the beach near Forks-La Push on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

From the hills of East Tennessee to the Rift Valley in Kenya, Adam Mosley has spent time as a corporate recruiter, marketing director for a record label, executive director of a coworking space, and multiple roles at churches large and small, including his pioneering work as Lead Pastor of Trinity Vineyard Church in Nakuru, Kenya. In his current role as Director of Global Business Development for Uzima Water Filters, he spends his days working with people around the world who are helping bring clean water to the global poor, one family at a time. He has a passion for seeing others live the life they are created to live, and for shining a light on the opportunities and challenges of living compassionately. His book, Missions Unmasked, chronicles his learnings as a pastor and friend of missionaries and challenges others in their approach to mission.

The Rev. Donnel and Janet O’Flynn moved to Haiti with the Episcopal Volunteers in Mission program in 2015. They were instrumental in starting the first academic program for Occupational and Physical Therapists in Haiti, with the Episcopal University of Haiti.
They have lived in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, and now live in Kalispell, Montana. Donnel is an Episcopal priest and Janet is an occupational therapist.
BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR CHANGING GLOBAL CLIMATES
The Rev. Judy Quick, Deacon, Diocese of Alabama/Episcopal Relief & Development Speaker’s Bureau
Global climates are changing, and the number of climate-influenced disasters has doubled in the past 20 years. Floods, hurricanes, and other events can devastate communities. Episcopal Relief & Development works with the local church and ecumenical partners to help communities prepare for these disasters and recover as quickly as possible, focusing on five key areas: Improving Food and Nutrition; Creating Economic Stability; Providing Access to Clean Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation; Reducing the Impact of Disasters; and Managing Environmental Preparedness. This workshop will challenge participants to consider how communities around the world confront the reality of changing global climates and how the church and the community work together to mitigate the impact of climate-influenced disasters. The workshop will invite participants to discover how families and communities can thrive in the face of climate challenges.

The Rev. Judy Quick discovered years ago that she was called to live a life of learning, share wisdom with others, and bring those of differing worldviews and cultures together on common ground. After a rewarding career with BellSouth and the Centennial Olympic Games, her gifts led her to teach International Business and lead international projects for Georgia State University and for IAE, University of Paris. Her diaconal ministries in the Diocese of Alabama have included serving as Diocesan Coordinator for Episcopal Relief & Development, Chair of the Companion Diocese Commission, Chair of the Department of Mission and Outreach, member of the Department of Development, convener of the Global Mission Roundtable, and Called to Transformation facilitator. She currently serves as Chaplain for the Standing Commission on World Mission and is a member of the Episcopal Relief & Development Speaker’s Bureau.
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