The Michigan Conference has launched a new Environmental Justice Task Force, and its lay leaders are seeking passionate Michiganders to join them.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
Michigan is abundant with natural beauty and resources, especially water. We’re at the center of the Great Lakes basin, which contains the largest supply of fresh water on earth, and we have over three thousand miles of shoreline. Water shapes our lifestyle and economy in Michigan.
However, climate change is real, and we can do our part to slow its impact, especially locally. It’s imperative. Our children and grandchildren depend upon us to act now.
United Methodists in Michigan are answering that clarion call as people of faith who are called to care for and steward God’s good creation. A brand-new Michigan Conference Environmental Justice Task Force, sponsored by the Board of Justice, was launched recently, and the leaders of this grassroots movement invite you to join them.
Are you passionate about protecting our natural resources? Do you want to learn how to equip your congregation better to become advocates for environmental justice in your community? Does the topic overwhelm you, but you desire support from others on where to begin?
Join the Michigan Conference’s Environmental Justice Task Force at their next online meeting on Thursday, September 12, at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central. To receive the Zoom link, email the task force at [email protected] or click the button below.
The task force is mobilizing and beginning to resource churches and take action, and the leaders welcome your presence on September 12, even if it’s out of curiosity or a desire to learn more.
Audra Hudson Stone and Jacob Stone, her husband, organized the Environmental Justice Task Force in early 2024, following their participation in the World Council of Churches (WCC) Eco-School in Greece in November 2023. There, they explored water, food, and climate justice with fifteen young adults from ten countries across Europe and North America.
This ecumenical gathering brought faith leaders from various Christian traditions together to share experiences from their countries and strategize projects for their home contexts. The Stones were the only class members from The United Methodist Church and from the United States.
After several Eco-Schools in the global south, this was the first time the school had met in the global north, where the United States and the European Union are responsible for about 34% of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions globally.
The WCC Eco-School taught Audra and Jacob the power of ecumenism, the value of learning from other traditions and contexts, and the invaluable role of collaboration as people of faith continue to work together on important issues like environmental justice globally.
“I felt a deeper sense of connection across the ecumenical church,” said Audra, “to other young people who care deeply about justice for people and planet and were taking action in their own communities. It was nice to know that we weren’t alone in this and that we had other colleagues doing this work across the ocean and in our own communities, too.”
Practically speaking, the Environmental Justice Task Force was the capstone project the Stones birthed while at the WCC Eco-School and brought home to Michigan. However, the seed for this idea was sown months before at the 2023 Michigan Annual Conference.
Audra and Jacob had conversations with friends and conference leaders about how to be better stewards of the earth. These discussions confirmed that there was a gap in our conference on this topic, and the Stones had the ability to fill that gap and potentially have the Michigan Conference become a leader in the necessary environmental justice work that is to come.
Even though there wasn’t an organized effort in the Michigan Conference, the Stones admired the commitment to our planet that people in Michigan have. “We sit on the largest freshwater system in the world,” Jacob noted, “so we understand there’s a yearning for knowledge about what we can do to help here. We have challenges here, but climate change is a global issue.”
Both active lay leaders within the Michigan Conference, Audra is the pastor and director of Wesley at Central Michigan University, the United Methodist campus ministry, and Jacob is a lay member of the Michigan Conference.
Audra and Jacob credit the formation they received in the Michigan Conference and The United Methodist Church with their drive to form the task force and advocate for environmental justice. It’s been a lifelong commitment.
Their faith and how they have lived it out were shaped by their involvement in United Methodist connectional ministries, especially camping ministries. Audra explained, “Camping is a place where I felt a spiritual connection to earth, to God’s creatures that were non-human, especially in wilderness camping experiences uniquely offered by the Michigan Conference.”
Audra served as a young adult Global Mission Fellow, US-2 track, with the General Board of Global Ministries, serving in justice-oriented ministries that helped her develop skills for this new work. She is also a Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS) graduate and coordinated the ecological resiliency student group at the seminary with weekly spiritual practice and monthly workshops. She was also instrumental in helping G-ETS become a “Green Seminary,” a school that infuses care of the earth into all aspects of theological education.
Jacob, the son of a United Methodist pastor, is grateful for his dad bringing him along to peace marches and rallies as an elementary schooler and getting him involved in social justice at a young age. He also values attending the Michigan Annual Conference, something he has done since he was a middle schooler, and “having the unpopular opinion” of loving the legislation and United Methodist polity.
The Stones are leading the Environmental Justice Task Force and invite all Michigan United Methodists interested in learning more to their next meeting on September 12, at 7 pm Eastern. To receive the Zoom link, email them at [email protected].
Another way Michigan United Methodists can join this growing movement is by inviting Audra and Jacob to present to their group about the task force and how they can help faith communities do more in their local contexts. This will look different for a rural church than a downtown urban church. The Stones are glad to help congregations discern simple next steps they can take to advocate for improvements in their communities.
As the task force grows, more presenters will be available, but Audra and Jacob are open to speaking engagements now. You can contact them at [email protected].
Rev. Haley Hansen, co-chair of the Michigan Conference Board of Justice, is excited to see how the Holy Spirit moves this task force under Audra and Jacob’s leadership and prepares the Michigan Conference, which has had a long-standing commitment to addressing justice concerns, to be a leader in environmental justice in The United Methodist Church.
“The creation of this task force is an important act of faith,” said Hansen. “Environmental degradation is one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time, and we, as Christians, are called to be good stewards of God’s creation. We hope that this group will allow Michigan Methodists to understand better and respond to environmental justice issues locally and abroad.”
Audra and Jacob believe there’s tremendous potential for the Michigan Conference to be a leader among peers as this task force takes off.
“Our hope is to learn from our other colleagues in The United Methodist Church who are doing great things,” says Audra, “and also harness the unique gifts we have in our conference among people and the unique resources we have in this part of our earth home. We already have so many people who care about this and have the skills to build a more just future. And we are hopeful we can organize that through this task force.”
Last Updated on August 21, 2024