27 March: Event Update

Consider getting involved in one of the following events.

Worker Justice

10th Annual National Student Labor Week of Action to "Resist and Reclaim our Future"
We are living in a historic moment; that is what everyone around us keeps saying. But this moment’s role in history is defined by what we do within it. Many of us participated in the recent election for change but are now faced with the reality that we need further action. Budget cuts in our universities, home loss and unemployment in our families and lack of good jobs for our future after college all threaten our quality of life.

The 10th annual National Student Labor Week of Action, hosted by the Student Labor Action Project, is an opportunity to reclaim our future by mobilizing our communities. From March 27 th to April 4 th , in honor of the lives of Martin Luther King Jr and Cesar Chavez, students and workers will unite and demand:

* The passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and living wages for all campus employees
* University codes of conduct that support workers’ rights both on campus and overseas
* Development of “green jobs” that support workers in our communities and promote a healthy environment
* Access to higher education for all and the passage of the DREAM Act
* Fair wages & working conditions for the people who grow our food and harvest our crops

Check out this website for organizing materials and a grid of local actions.


Interfaith Worker Justice 2009 Leadership Summit: June 13-15 @ Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana
The summit will bring together leaders from throughout the country with an opportunity to reflect on our success, share our struggles and build our movement. IWJ has extended invitations to Ms. Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor, and to Rev. Joshua Dubois, Director of the Office of Faith Based Initiatives and Neighborhood Partnerships, to share their vision of new opportunities for partnership. There will be a joint meeting with the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON) and IWJ workers centers, along with the regular IWJ Worker Center Network meeting. Religious leaders, students and allies will join in an action to support low-wage workers in the New Orleans Area. There will also be opportunities to tour New Orleans and visit communities nearly four years since Hurricane Katrina struck.

For more information and to register click here!



Environmental Justice

"Greening Our Spirits, Greening Our World": June 15-21, 2009 @ Ghost Ranch Retreat Center in Abiquiu, NM
This course offers an in-depth week of group study and reflection on answering God’s call to care for the Earth, and a chance to re-fill your spiritual well in the mystical surroundings of Ghost Ranch. The sessions will incorporate scriptural study and eco-theology, eco-spirituality, times for contemplative and short written reflections, ideas for creation-honoring worship, and group prayer and discussion. Participants should leave feeling empowered and more equipped to help lead earthkeeping efforts in their home congregations.


Presbyterian Conservation Core Young Adult Stewards Program:
The Presbyterian Conservation Corps is looking for Eco-Steward applicants from ages 18-24 years old who demonstrate interest in church, camp, and environmental concerns. Each program, Midwest and West, will comprise of two components at different sites: 1. Eco-Stewards Training (3-4 days) and 2. Eco-Stewards Program (3-4 days). More information and the application for either of the following events can be found here.


Eco-Stewards West (July 5th-12th) will be held in collaboration between Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center in Allenspark, Colorado and Greenwood Farm in Hardin, Montana.

Join the Presbyterian Conservation Core in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains to explore the intersections of ecology, theology, and justice during an intensive hands-on seminar at Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center. From all around the country, participants will come together in intentional community to explore how various threads Christian thought have influenced modern American lifestyles. Furthermore, participants will work together as eco-stewards to design and build a solar project to benefit the ministry of Highlands, while being equipped with personal tools to live and share a more faithful personal lifestyle. Surrounded by the mighty majesty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, come and be transformed by the landscape and intriguing discussion, learning to live together as a community of faith.

Venturing north from Highlands, the team will travel to Greenwood Farm in Montana. Located in a rural setting adjacent to the Crow Indian Reservation, Greenwood Farm is an experiment in simple living, sustainable building and intentional community. Building on the experience at Highlands, participants will learn and apply practical skills of sustainable building and organic gardening in the daily life of the farm. Through talking circles with community members and tribal elders, the team will explore the unique and often turbulent confluence of ecology, theology, poverty and culture that exists in the area. You're invited on this exciting journey of discovery and transformation!


Eco-Stewards Midwest (August 2nd-9th) will be held in collaboration between Stronghold Conference Center in Illinois and the Lakeview Presbyterian Church in the Chicago community.

Come explore the woodlands, meadows, and prairie of Illinois at Stronghold Retreat Center with the Presbyterian Conservation Corps, building a community of Eco-Stewards and examining eco-theology, environmental and social justice, systemic change, spirituality, lifestyle simplification, local watershed issues and consumption. The team will complete a high ropes course, explore spirituality through the labyrinth, and tour a cooperative organic farm. We will combine this team-building with classes, hands-on workshops, film discussions, and guided self-reflection as we focus on the foundations of environmental stewardship. Join us as we collaborate on a response to the environmental crisis as part of a local and global community.

The hands-on portion of the program will be held in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, IL where the team will design and implement an eco-project that responds to environmental justice issues facing an urban community. The group will collaborate with the Eco-Justice Task Force of Lake View Presbyterian Church and meet with local green community activists and leaders to learn about how urban neighborhoods are affected by environmental injustice and the ways that city churches can respond. Tour neighborhoods affected by urban pollution as well as the Chicago Center for Green Technology, the Lake View Action Coalition, and the Eco-Justice Collaborative. The program will conclude with a community education workshop led by the Eco-Stewards promoting awareness and collective action.