Eco-Stewards
Mission Statement
Mission Statement
The Eco-Stewards are a Christian community responding to God's call through applied eco-stewardship.
The Eco-Stewards program seeks to train and inspire young adults ages 18-24 in the ways of eco-stewardship within the wider context of our Christian faith. In response to Jesus' call to love our neighbors we are committed to the following principles:
1. Eco-consciousness
2. Being in solidarity with the poor
3. Living as ecological and socially responsible consumers
4. Personal spiritual journeys that are nurtured and supported by the Way of Community
5. Having roots in Presbyterian Reformed tradition
6. Providing education and training that compels action
The Eco-Stewards program, formerly the Presbyterian Conservation Corps, is an exciting and important collaboration between the Presbyterian Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA) and the Presbyterians for Earth Care. The overarching goal of this new initiative is to help inspire PCUSA churches and their members to become better caretakers of planet earth, our God given island home. As Eco-Stewards, young adults will be trained at our camps and sent to other camps and into our churches to inspire deeper commitments to ecological stewardship. The Eco-Stewards program is led by a devoted steering committee comprised of pastors, youth leaders, camp directors, teachers, researchers, and environmental activists.
As we look out from our pews and from our campfire circles, we notice that God's beloved creation is at risk. Global warming, the loss of glaciers and polar ice, massive losses in biodiversity, continued destruction of our forests, the growing scarcity of clean water, and unsustainable erosion rates cause us to awaken. Seeing our current global environmental crisis, the prophetic words of Jeremiah and Hosea have a new poignancy:
"I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void...
How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who live in it
the animals and the birds are swept away..."
(Jeremiah 4:23 & 12:4)
"Therefore, the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing."
(Hosea 4:3)
The earth is in trouble, and as people of faith, we must respond. The book of Genesis clearly calls us to be caretakers and stewards of God's entire created dominion (Genesis 1:26). As Christians, we are called to both greater awareness and greater action as stewards of God's creation. With this in mind, the PCCCA and the PRC have been building a relationship of mutual support and resource sharing since 2002, largely focused on environmental awareness, training, education, inspiration, and action. Out of this partnership and in response to a direct challenge from former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Rick Ufford-Chase, the Presbyterian Conservation Corps (PCC) began and continues to work towards a community commitment to sustainability as the Eco-Stewards program.
How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who live in it
the animals and the birds are swept away..."
(Jeremiah 4:23 & 12:4)
"Therefore, the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing."
(Hosea 4:3)
The earth is in trouble, and as people of faith, we must respond. The book of Genesis clearly calls us to be caretakers and stewards of God's entire created dominion (Genesis 1:26). As Christians, we are called to both greater awareness and greater action as stewards of God's creation. With this in mind, the PCCCA and the PRC have been building a relationship of mutual support and resource sharing since 2002, largely focused on environmental awareness, training, education, inspiration, and action. Out of this partnership and in response to a direct challenge from former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Rick Ufford-Chase, the Presbyterian Conservation Corps (PCC) began and continues to work towards a community commitment to sustainability as the Eco-Stewards program.
