~Attention community calendar editors, daybook keepers, and religion and environment reporters~

Contact: Allen Johnson 304-799-4137

WHAT:   “The Earth Is The Lord’s” Conference

Open to public; please pre-register by contacting Allen Johnson at 304-799-4137 or allen@christiansforthemountains.org. $10 for registration.

         

WHEN:      6:30 p.m. Friday Nov. 11 and all day Saturday Nov. 12

       

WHERE:   St. Luke's Episcopal Church

821 Edgewood Drive, Charleston, WV 25302

         

WHO:        Conference organized by Christians for the Mountains, a new network of Christians organizing to protect and restore God’s creation in the Appalachian region.  Deriving their stance from an array of scriptures including Psalm 24’s “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,” the group pledges their efforts to mobilize Christians and their churches to combat serious abuses against God’s earth such as mountaintop removal coal extraction.

                 

WHY:        The conference focuses on informing Christians about mountaintop removal, developing spiritual resources, and tapping into church resources that will lead to responsible earthkeeping with respect to mining and other human activities.

 

Sessions include:

 

"Biblical and Theological Resources" --examining examine scripture, church statements, teachings of acknowledged Christian leaders past and present, and theological concepts, as foundational grounding for the work of Christians For The Mountains and other groups involved in creation responsibility.

 

"Mountaintop Removal Mining and Christian Ethics" –will include a newly developed slide show available for members as a primer on mountaintop removal. 

 

Denise Giardina, acclaimed West Virginia born novelist, will speak Friday night, while Jack Spadaro, former director of the US Mining and Reclamation Academy and whistleblower for integrity, will speak Saturday night.  Each will juxtapose faith and environmental responsibility.  Songwriters Kate Long (Friday evening) and Tonya Adkins (Saturday evening) will lead singing.

 

The conference will include worship, singing, a participant sharing time, and flights over the southern coalfield MTR sites.

 

###