More About Environmental Stewardship

The Environmental Stewardship Task Force (ESTF) at Second Presbyterian Church welcomes the participation of all church members.  Since its inception in January 2009, the ESTF has been evaluating the ways in which we can help make Second Presbyterian and our community more sustainable. The ESTF meets at the church on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7 pm in Room 61.  For more information contact Ann Owen, Task Force Chair, ann.owen@sbcglobal.net.

In 2008 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) called upon congregations and members to address the root causes of global warming. In its resolution, The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, the General Assembly stated, “As our planet grows warmer, our Christian witness must become bolder.  As individuals, families, congregations, and church administrative bodies, we must become the change we want to see in our nation. We must put our own houses in order even as we call on our nation to accept its moral responsibility with regard to energy policy and climate change. Together we must radically reduce our carbon footprint.”

Three main areas of focus have emerged within the Task Force -- Church Facilities, Church and Home Life, and Programs and Outreach, to address some of the issues identified as priority initiatives:  recycling & waste reduction; energy & water consumption; green purchasing practices; transportation; ethical eating; and educational programming.  

The General Assembly resolution lays out a clear path toward sustainability and equity to protect future generations.  "Christian stewardship is expressed in three major areas of responsibility.  Our witness begins at the personal level, it must be reflected in the practices and priorities of all organizations in our church, and it culminates in our advocacy for changes in public policy at all levels of government."  The 202nd General Assembly proclaimed that caring for Creation today means "insisting on sustainability - the ongoing capacity of natural and social systems to thrive together - which requires human beings to practice wise, humble, responsible stewardship, after the model of servanthood that we have in Jesus."  

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