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The Green Awakening Campus Tour: In early 2009, Renewal’s SLT commissioned its’ coordinators to organize the “Green Awakening Campus Tour.” This tour’s mission was simple: mobilize our generation to care for creation. To do this, Renewal had three specific goals: 1. Find out what is happening on campuses and who is leading it, 2. Identify the opportunities ahead for the student creation care movement, 3. Spread the word about creation care in general and Renewal in particular. During the eight-week tour, Renewal held class visits, open talks, informal discussions, strategy meetings, and service projects at thirty-two campus stops across thirteen states and two Canadian provinces. Renewal also held a Midwest leadership training retreat at Goshen College, with the successfully reached goal of training, equipping and connecting 20 student leaders from the Midwest region. The tour coincided with the release of Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation (Intervarsity Press 2009), written by Renewal’s Co-Coordinator, Ben Lowe. Green Revolution calls the student/youth generation to join together in caring for the earth by sharing real-life stories of community organizing across the nation, many of which take place on Christian campuses. Renewal partnered with InterVarsity Press in promoting this strategic new resource. White House Advocacy Project: In conjunction with the tour, Renewal also launched a postcard petition to the White House. The postcard petitions advocated for the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to make the good stewardship of all of God’s creation a national priority- and called on this important office to engage national religious leaders in addressing environmental crises such as climate change. During this hugely successful advocacy drive, Christian students sent over 1,200 postcards to this important national office. The postcard drive resulted in a meeting with this office and Renewal’s coordinators and student leaders, and a commitment to collaborate on future initiatives to engage the faith community. First Day of Service: On April 22nd 2009, Renewal’s student leaders sponsored Renewal’s first-ever National Day of Service for God’s Creation. Sixteen Christian campuses across North America participated in this exciting initiative, actively demonstrating the unity of the student creation care movement and commitment of Christian students to caring for God’s creation. The theme was “Serving Hands for a Fallen Creation,” and Christian students from around North America answered the call and planned service activities on their campuses. Participating schools included: Asbury College (KY), Bethel University (MN), Eastern University (PA), Wheaton College (IL), Spring Arbor University (MI), Redeemer University College (ON), Calvin College (MI), Hope College (MI), Westmont College (CA), Montreat College (NC), Dordt College (IA), Trinity International University (IL), Moody Bible Institute (IL), Gordon College (MA), John Brown University (AR), & Azusa Pacific University (CA). Launching our Senior Advisory Council: A growing Senior Advisory Council (SAC) has also been established to provide nonbinding input into the network. This group is made up of faculty members, emerging leaders, pastors, organizational representatives, and senior leaders in the creation care movement. Its inaugural membership includes: Matthew Anderson-Stembridge (Creation Care Fund), Jonathan Merritt (Creation Care Author/Speaker), Kira Langendoen (recent graduate and former SLT member), Alexei Laushkin (Evangelical Environmental Network), Kendra Juskus (Flourish), Dr. Luke Gascho (Goshen College), Prof. Dodd Galbreth (Lipscomb University), Christina Yagjian (Sierra Club), Dr. Ed Brown (Care of Creation), Melanie Griffin (Sierra Club), Dr. Dave Mahan (Au Sable Institute), and Grant Kjos (Restoring Eden). 2nd Day of Prayer: In the fall of 2009, Renewal hosted its 2nd Annual Day of Prayer for God’s Creation, which built on our last years’ success and engaged new campuses in the call to prayer, repentance, and celebration around issues of energy consumption and conservation. Expanding Partnerships for Greater Effectiveness: Right before Christmas, 2009, Renewal’s leadership announced an exciting new partnership with Restoring Eden and the Creation Care Study Program (CCSP) under the banner of Christians for Environmental Stewardship (CES). This important step helped formalize the already-close working relationship between the three organizations so that Renewal became “a third complementary and synergistic program” alongside CCSP and Restoring Eden. Joining together as part of “Team CES” enhances Renewal’s capacities to pursue our mission to “inspire, connect, and equip” the student generation to care for God’s creation. This also enables Renewal to collaborate on its campus work with CCSP and their plans to launch a Center for Environmental Leadership in the United States. After successfully guiding Renewal into this new partnership, Anna Jane Joyner transitioned out as a coordinator for Renewal and came on staff with Restoring Eden to spearhead its new campaign against mountain top removal coal mining. |