Meet Our Richmond Trip Leaders!

Greetings Eco-Stewards Community,

We are still accepting applications from young adults (age 20-30) for Eco-Stewards Richmond: Water is Life– Journeying Toward Justice on the James River. Please continue to spread the word! Our second application deadline is April 15, and we are looking for more young adults to enjoy this time of community building, vocational discernment, place-based learning, eco-faith discovery, spiritual reflection and outdoor recreation! We’ve lined up an excellent team to lead this exciting adventure from June 5-10, 2017. Read their bios below.

Meet the Eco-Stewards Richmond Program Leaders

Rev. Rob Mark serves as a Presbyterian pastor at Church of the Covenant in downtown Boston, and has coordinated the Eco-Stewards Program since its inception in 2006, leading programs in California, New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, Florida and Washington. In November 2016, he responded to a call from indigenous leaders to join 500 clergy from around the country in a historic witness of solidarity at Standing Rock. Rob is passionate about grassroots programs like the Eco-Stewards Program that affect lasting change. He also likes coffee, ultimate Frisbee, stringed instruments and the joy of stewarding his 3-year-old son Rowen who is named after a Scottish tree.

Kathleen Murphy is from the great city of Richmond, Virginia where she works for the Center for Healthy Communities at Virginia Poverty Law Center. She currently attends Second Presbyterian Church and has become active with their young adult group. When she’s not working she loves to cook, garden, spend time outside, and go to various festivals and events around Richmond. She is an alum of the Eco-Stewards Seattle Program and the Boston Food Justice YAV Program.

Alex Haney is a graduate of James Madison University and has taught all kinds of nature-related things at camps in Virginia, Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Tennessee.  He loves being able to call the Appalachian region his home for its rich culture and history. He currently works as a solar panel installer with a construction company in Central Virginia and describes himself a rookie guitar player who gets excited about wild edible and medicinal plants. He is an alum of the Eco-Stewards Seattle Program and the Boston Food Justice YAV Program.

Colleen Earp is serves the Presbytery of  The James as the Director of Youth, Environment, and Service Ministries at Camp Hanover, and is an M.Div. student at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is a geographer with interests in natural resource conservation and education.  Colleen lives in Richmond, VA with her spouse and two cats, but will always love her home state, New Jersey, more than anyone else in the world possibly could. She is an alum of Eco-Stewards Gainesville and of the YAV Program in New Orleans.

Vickie Machado is a third generation South Floridian. While pursuing her masters, she lived and worked at the Gainesville Catholic Worker house and later helped to host the EcoStewards Gainesville trip. Upon graduation, she worked as a an environmental organizer, pushing for a ban on fracking. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Florida, studying Religion & Nature. Vickie is still passionate about water issues and loves being in the ocean. She is an alum of the Eco-Stewards Montana, Boston/Vermont and Portland programs and served as a program leader for Eco-Steward Seattle.

Becky W. Evans is a New England Presbyterian with a passion for storytelling. She’s worked as an environmental reporter for The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass., a communications writing professor at Boston University, and an ESL instructor for adult immigrants at the Community Learning Center in Cambridge. Currently, she serves as a food justice educator for the Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer Program. She loves her role as storytelling mentor and communications coordinator for The Eco-Stewards Program.

Seattle Deadline Extended-April 13

Dear Eco-Stewards Community,

We’re happy to share that we’ve received some wonderful applicants for our upcoming Seattle Eco-Stewards Program in June!

We can admit a few more candidates, so please keep spreading the word to young adult leaders in your midst! We’ve extended our application deadline to April 13.

Our focus this year will be on Creativity and Power: Theological Reflection and Action on Climate Change. Please be in touch with Rev. Rob Mark (revrobmark@gmail.com) with any questions.Here is a link to the 2016 application.

Yours,

The Eco-Stewards Leadership Team

Eco-Stewards Seattle: Apply Now!

The April 1st deadline for Eco-Stewards Seattle is quickly approaching and we need your help recruiting some young adult leaders (ages 20-30) to participate in this amazing program that will focus on creativity, climate change and theological reflection on Pope Francis’ encyclical on caring for the environment. Applications are due April 1 and some financial aid is available to help with travel expenses. Better yet, help us by sponsoring a young adult to attend the program! Download the the 2016 application. Email revrobmark@gmail.com with any questions.

Eco-Stewards Program Heads to Seattle in 2016

Dear Eco-Stewards Community,

Help us spread the word about our upcoming 2016 program in Seattle.  We have an awesome new poster that you can download here. Read on to learn more about our exciting program that connects Pope Francis,  climate change and the power of organizing.

In peace,

The Eco-Stewards Leadership Team

Eco-Stewards 2016: Seattle, Washington: June 13-18, 2016 “Creativity and Power: Theological Reflection and Action on Climate Change”

Join us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest as we gather and delve into the climate justice movement through the lens of faith. This unique part of our country stands at the current nexus of energy debates and hopes for a more sustainable tomorrow—battling powers of coal, oil and gas with the new alternative powers of wind, sun and water. We will dive into these issues to contemplate our call to address climate change as people of faith newly inspired by Pope Francis’ clarion invitation to care for Our Common Home. We will spend this placed-based learning week listening to local faith-based communities who are responding to the challenges of energy in creative, inspiring and powerful ways. A good portion of our time together will also focus on daily theologically reflection of the Pope’s encyclical and sharing our own Eco-Faith Journeys with one another. Applications are forthcoming. For more info, email revrobmark@gmail.com

Glimpses of Creative Resistance

by Rev. Rob Mark

(Excerpted from Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice)

Some­times, upon wak­ing, the weight of a wounded planet is pal­pa­ble. We are beset by extreme weather events that con­tinue to raise high the warn­ing flags of the new nor­mal that is cli­mate chaos—and by a shame­fully decreased polit­i­cal will to be the least bit prophetic (or at least respon­sive). It is enough to stymie even the most hope­ful per­son who claims faith in the Author of Hope. And often, even the best efforts from for­ward think­ing churches, who reg­u­larly weave in all-things eco, don’t seem to be enough to curb the tides of depressed inactivity.

We are over­whelmed into inertia.

This is why I wear an Eco-Stewards bracelet year-round.This sim­ple shock cord, given to each par­tic­i­pant in the pro­gram, reminds me there are peo­ple engaged in moments (if not move­ments) of cre­ative resis­tance. It reminds me that the anti­dote to this iner­tia is reg­u­lar expo­sure to sto­ries of cre­ative, alter­na­tive, grace-laced com­mu­nity resis­tance to the broadly accepted myth of con­sump­tion par­adise and fos­sil fuel inevitabil­ity. These sto­ries point to sim­ple moments of local­ized change we can believe in—and begin to embody. Shar­ing such sto­ries should become a val­ued spir­i­tual discipline.

Since its hum­ble yet ener­gized incep­tion in 2006, the Eco-Stewards Pro­gram has been striv­ing to cre­ate such forums for a grow­ing com­mu­nity of shock-chord bracelet-ed souls. And it remains a true anti­dote against cyn­i­cal stag­na­tion for me: a fluid, con­structed the­ol­ogy of grace that encour­ages engagement.

Here are the basics: the Eco-Stewards Pro­gram is a Chris­t­ian com­mu­nity respond­ing to God’s call through applied eco-stewardship. It seeks to edu­cate, train, and inspire young adults (ages 20–30) in the ways of eco-stewardship within the wider con­text of Chris­t­ian faith. The pro­gram shares roots in and draws par­tial sup­port from the Pres­by­ter­ian Church (U.S.A.) Envi­ron­men­tal Min­istries, Pres­by­te­ri­ans for Earth Care, and the Pres­by­ter­ian Camp and Con­fer­ence Asso­ci­a­tion (PCCCA). The over­ar­ch­ing goal of this grass-roots ini­tia­tive is to help young adults con­nect and share their pas­sions for faith and envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship through par­tic­i­pa­tion in place-based learn­ing pro­grams that explore how faith com­mu­ni­ties are respond­ing to chal­lenges from cli­mate change to moun­tain­top coal removal. Dur­ing these week-long pro­grams, eco-stewards spend time reflect­ing upon and shar­ing per­sonal eco-faith jour­neys, tak­ing part in a hands on eco-project, explor­ing the out­doors, play­ing music, and expe­ri­enc­ing wor­ship together. Paid sum­mer intern­ships are also offered. Com­post­ing toi­lets and used tire earth-ships have been built; urban gar­dens have been vis­ited; and numer­ous con­ver­sa­tions with eco-faith-practitioners have been enjoyed…

Click here to read more about why Rev. Rob Mark is involved in The Eco-Stewards Program.

Click here to apply for our 2013 Eco-Stewards Portland, Oregon Program: June 1-8, 2013

Eco-Stewards bracelet power!

Paid Summer Internships!

Interested in applying your eco-stewardship skills this summer? We are offering four paid internships hosted by faith-based organizations throughout West Virginia. (We are also offering a week-long, hands-on program from May 16-23, see earlier post.) Those interested in becoming Eco-Stewards interns are encouraged to apply now for internships, which begin May 24 and last for 8-10 weeks depending on the site. There will be ongoing supervision and community building opportunities for each Eco-Steward intern. Interns will receive a stipend of $200 per week and housing will be provided by the host location. The deadline to apply is April 25.

About the Four Internship Sites:

1. The West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps (WVMAW) and Montgomery Presbyterian Church are located Montgomery, West Virginia. WVMAW is a Christian ministry supported in part by the Presbyterian Church (USA) that offers the opportunity for discipleship by partnering with those in need whose lives have been devastated by natural disasters or by the disaster of poverty in areas of West Virginia. This Eco-Stewards intern will serve both WVMAW and Montgomery Presbyterian and their related missions. For WVMAW, the intern be involved with many aspects of the workcamp ministry – from greeting volunteer groups, introducing them to the home owners, helping with construction and teaching, making sure the work site is cleaned daily, keeping materials onsite, and volunteers busy, etc. At Montgomery Presbyterian Church (where the workcamp groups stay), the intern will be the “responsible adult,” making sure lights are out, water is not wasted, care is given for facility, work with adult leaders to keep youth in specified areas, lead debriefings as directed. The Eco-Stewards intern will have the opportunity to lead worship as desired, and participate in worship activities. In addition, this intern will dedicate time to Montgomery Presbyterian’s community ministry working with youth in the direction of life skills, alternatives to at risk behavior, stewardship of resources, responsible citizenship. The community ministry is a partnership with other Churches in the Montgomery area and the building a program to serve area youth is a passion of Pastor Joan Stewart and others in the area.

2. Fayetteville Presbyterian Church and the Town of Fayetteville are situated on the rim of the New River Gorge National River where tens of thousands of visitors and staff come each summer for whitewater rafting, rock climbing, bird watching, and other outdoor pursuits. Under the supervision of the outreach ministry team from Fayetteville Presbyterian, the Eco-Stewards intern will minister and outreach to the outdoor community through eco-stewardship and community building projects including extending a community garden onsite. In addition, the intern will sit with local youth each Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market as they sell produce and be responsible for organizing other community outreach events at the Church (possibilities include an earth stewardship Bible study, community dinners with produce from the garden, etc.). The Eco-Stewards intern will also work with the Presbytery of West Virginia Stewardship of Creation Ministry Team as a “Roving Reporter” traveling to visit faith-based organizations throughout WV currently engaged in projects to preserve, protect, and restore the Earth’s resources. This will include other intern projects and congregations in the Presbytery of WV. The reporter will interview people involved, take photographs, and gather data for newsletter articles and blog posts that will recognize the accomplishments of congregations and encourage other congregations to take action.

3. The McGraws/Ravencliff Food Bank Garden is a project of the Church of God Prophecy in Ravencliff, the Eco-Stewards Program, the Friends of Milam Creek, and the Rural Appalachian Improvement League, which seeks to provide fresh produce in season for the McGraws/Ravencliff Food Bank and engage community volunteers in helping their neighbors. The project will consist of a vegetable garden tentatively planned for the Milam Creek Park which will be cared for by volunteers and whose produce will be donated directly to the McGraws/Ravencliff Food Bank. The Eco-Steward will be responsible for organizing volunteers to put in a community garden which will provide fresh produce for the McGraws/Ravencliff food bank. The Eco-Stewards intern should have excellent interpersonal skills and flexibility. Knowledge of gardening is a plus, but is not required. However, the Eco-Steward should be ready to work in the garden side by side with volunteers. The Eco-Steward will need recruit and organize the volunteers to plant, tend, and harvest the garden during the growing season.

4. The Bluestone Camp & Retreat internship will be comprised of two experiences. The first half will be spent on location at Bluestone Camp & Retreat, serving during the time Summer Camp is in session. As a part of the staff, the intern will work in three areas. (1) Food Service — researching options for supplying Bluestone’s food Service with foods grown and raised locally and report a cost/benefit analysis to management. (2) Program — develop and implement an eco-education strategy that can be worked into the camp experience. (3) Facility Improvement — work with maintenance staff and volunteers to help Bluestone progress toward becoming a more eco-friendly facility.Bluestone Camp & Retreat will provide room, board, and the appropriate designated portion of the stipend. At the conclusion of the Bluestone Summer Camp, the intern will spend four weeks at the First Presbyterian Church in Hinton, WV under the supervision of Pastor Barbara Romfo. The focus in Hinton will be addressing ways that the Presbyterian Church can implement plans to be more environmentally sensitive in their day-to-day operations. Tasks will include researching “greener” options throughout the church (such as: cleaning and paper supplies, recycling options, and energy audit/upgrades). The intern would take responsibility for presenting his/her findings to the Session and the congregation. He/she will be available to meet with other interested churches in the area to share her/his findings and encourage good eco-stewardship. The intern will be interfacing with the community program run by the 4-H/ Extension Service; he/she will help with area projects the Extension Service/ 4-H has in place.

For more information about Internships, read here: Iternship Site Descriptions

To download an application form, click here: 2010 Eco-Stewards Program Application