Earth – Faith – Peace: An Interreligious Youth Teach-in 2015
Dr. Susan Kopp
“Care for creation and the urgent need for peace are ideals shared by the world’s religious traditions. Bringing together young leaders from the sciences and peace-building fields, there is (or “we have”) hope of creating needed space for dialogue, shared learning, and collaboration that strengthens personal commitments and serves as a catalyst for collaboration and advocacy. ”
Calling all youth leaders!
Religions for Peace USA and its partners are proud to host Earth – Faith – Peace: An Interreligious Teach-in, the first gathering of its kind, focused on environmental advocacy through multi-religious cooperation.
Who we are looking for: Young people, ages 19-35, who are committed to interfaith peacebuilding, climate justice, and environmental science
To do what: Come together for a three-day retreat to learn from fellow youth, religious leaders, and climate experts, to learn best practices of advocating for environmental justice in their local faith and/or academic communities. A select group of participants will get the opportunity to attend the Conference of Parties meeting in Paris this December, where an international climate treaty will be debated
When and Where: July 23-26, 2015, at the Mariapolis Luminosa Conference Center, Hyde Park, NY
Why: To mobilize, inspire, and cultivate the next generation of changemakers and leaders in the fields of interfaith cooperation, peacebuilding, and environmentalism.
How: Sign up here!
Click below to begin the registration process
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The Earth – Faith – Peace Blog: Getting to know our staff and participants
April Leese: Why am I attending the Teach-in? Why not?
April Leese is a resident of the Community of Living Traditions in Stony Point, New York. A recent seminary graduate, she has had a lifelong connection to the outdoors, and to environmental stewardship. Why would I want to attend an interreligious teach-in...
Aude Isimbi: Coming Back to My Roots
Aude Isimbi is a resident at the Community of Living Traditions in Stony Point, New York. For the past year, she has taken an active role in social, economic, and environmental advocacy. She is the current Advocacy and Solidarity Coordinator for the World Student...
The Possible Dream of an International Carbon Fee
Ethan Bodnaruk is a PhD. student in Ecological Engineering at SUNY-ESF. This is his second blog post.Environmental advocacy can often feel daunting and overwhelming because the fate of the environment seems so far out of our hands. We can change lightbulbs, compost,...
Why I Stand for Climate Justice: A Unitarian Universalist Perspective
Hello! My name is Aly Tharp and I am from the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. I serve as a part-time network coordinator for a small group of committed and spiritually-grounded activists called the Unitarian Universalist Young Adults for Climate Justice. Before taking this...
Unearthing War: One Conscientious Objector’s Account
Maggie Krueger is a second-year Masters of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard Divinity School, research associate at The Pluralism Project at Harvard University as well as aspiring food justice activist. Death is an ever-present feature of farming – even without...
Food as Faith: How Veggies Fulfill Our Call to Stewardship
Katie Furrow works in the Church of the Brethren's Office of Public Witness, where she focuses on the intersections of faith and policy regarding creation care and food security. I am a member of the Church of the Brethren—a small, Christian denomination known for...
Community, Compassion, and Understanding: The Importance of Loving all of Creation
Maria Balcazar is pursuing her Master's in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University. She is a member of the Focolare movement and has a passion for yoga and philosophy. There are many reasons I could mention as my motivation to attend...
Liya Rechtman: Why I am attending the Teach-in
Liya Rechtman, a legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, explains why she is attending Earth - Faith - Peace. In the second line of the most sacred Jewish text, the Torah, God commands humankind in the Garden of Eden to act as...
Why I am attending the Teach-in: A Zoroastrian’s perspective
Meher Sidhwa, a participant at the Teach-in, explains her motivation for attending the program. Why am I attending the Earth – Faith – Peace Teach-in? To answer it in one sentence, “I am attending the teach-in simply because it integrates two of my areas of...
Interrelatedness and the Emerging ‘One Health’ Paradigm: Humans, Animals & Ecosystems
In this post, Dr. Susan Kopp explains the "One Health" model, and how this theory calls on all of us to commit to a life of environmental stewardship. In recent years, the “One Health” (OH) model has emerged as an important and comprehensive approach to global...
Meet the organizers and participants
Sue Kopp
Sue Kopp is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and is both a Professor of Health Sciences at LaGuardia Community College and a Center Scholar at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Sue is a member of the Focolare Movement, and believes deeply in the power of faith as a force for peace.
John Mundell
John Mundell is an environmental engineer, and the President and founder of Mundell & Associates, an environmental consulting company that provides services to government agencies, municipalities, and industries all over the world. John and his company provide expertise in environmental crises that plague towns, industrial areas, and entire nations, all while keeping in mind the Economy of Communion, an idea espoused by Focolare founder Chiara Lubich that businesses can and should operate as much for the benefit of their companies as for the good of society.
Ethan Bodnaruk
Ethan Bodnaruk is a Ph.D. Student in Ecological Engineering at SUNY-ESF focusing on urban forest ecosystem services and the transformation of wastes into resources. He holds an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and worked for four years as an engineer and project manager at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Broadly interested in subjects of science, spirituality, and ethics he has also spent nine months living at contemplative monasteries practicing meditation. His combination of rational analytic thinking and drive for broad understanding, meaning, and spirituality make him an ideal communicator and bridge between science and spirituality.
Aaron Stauffer
Aaron Stauffer is the Executive Director of Religions for Peace USA where he oversees all projects and initiatives, while working with over 50 member communities to inspire and advance common actions for peace. With nearly a decade of experience in the interfaith movement, he brings a passion and insight into his work. Aaron is a graduate from St. Olaf College and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, where he received the Charles August Briggs award for scholarship and conscience at Union for his MDiv. His experience in the U.S. interfaith movement includes communities such as San Antonio, Tx., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mn, and New York, NY. He most recently worked as an institutional organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation, working to build public power within disenfranchised communities. Aaron’s work in the interfaith movement has led him to hold previous positions with the World Student Christian Federation, The World Communion of Reformed Churches, The Coexist Foundation, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Itang Young
Itang H. Young currently serves as the Grant Administrator for Religions for Peace USA. In this consultant capacity, she is charged with the responsibility of grant writing, fundraising, and organizational development.
Young has a deep and sincere commitment to the community. She has dedication to service through her work with: The Children’s Defense Fund; the World Student Christian Federation; the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; The National Council of Churches. She graduated from Union Theological Seminary with a Master’s of Divinity, and Texas A&M University – College Station with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
Suzy Lamoreaux
Suzy is the Project Coordinator for RfPUSA, where her work is concentrated around the Our Voicesclimate change campaign, as well as the Our Muslim Neighbor initiative. She is a recent graduate of Rutgers University, and became interested in religion, interfaith dialogue, and the role religions play in societies through her studies of history and French culture. Her undergraduate honors thesis researched the history of North African immigration in 1970s and 80s France, the effects of which have contributed to contemporary French Islamophobia. She gained first-hand knowledge of the issue as a mentor of Maghrebi youth in Paris. In her spare time, Suzy enjoys baking, playing and watching hockey, solving crossword puzzles, and running.