CONFERENCE 2011 – GOD’S EARTH: TOO BIG TO FAIL?

PEC ‘s 2011 National Faith & Environment Conference: “God’s Earth: Too Big to Fail?  An Eco-Justice Conversation Among Faith, Science and Culture” was August 31 – September 3, 2011 at Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center in the mountains of Colorado.

Speakers included: 
Dr. William Brown, author of The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science and the Ecology of Wonder
Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist and director of sustainable foods at the Pesticide Action Network
Carol Raffenspurger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network
Dr. Tyrone Hayes, Professor with expertise in amphibian biology at the University of California Berkley
Dr. Holmes Rolston III, environmental ethics scholar
Dr. John E. Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri Columbia.

At the conference, two awards were presented:
* The William Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Bill Soplansky-Jarman for his excellent work coordinating social witness ministries with the Presbyterian Church (USA). He has been a persistent voice for environmental justice.
* The Restoring Creation Award went to Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Boulder, Colorado. Since 2006, the church has had an active green team that has created a comprehensive recycling system, “turn off the lights” reminder signs, and planted trees all over its grounds.

Special thanks to our conference sponsors, including PC(USA) Environmental Ministries, the Presbytery of Olympia, the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest, the Presbytery of Charlotte, the Presbytery of Monmouth, the Synod of Alaska Northwest, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, Second Presbyterian of Little Rock, and Second Presbyterian Church Indianapolis.

Click here to view the conference photo album on Facebook.