Young Women & the Word Conference

Adventist Women & the Earth:

A Response to Ecofeminism

April 24-26, 2009La Sierra University Church

Riverside, California

Address our responsibility to the environment.Explore connections to gender justice.Actively create and practice solutions.

Provide an opportunity for community outreach and grassroots action.

Sponsored byWOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER

La Sierra University

FRIDAY EVENING SERVICEApril 24, 8:00 pm

Opening Song - Nicholas Zork, Fuller Theological Seminary

Welcome and Announcements - Ciara Talbot and Kyle Dever, La Sierra University

Song Set - Nicholas Zork and Praise Team

Prayer - Nicholas Zork

Introduction of Speaker - Trisha Famisaran, Claremont Graduate University

Homily: Where Does the Accent Go? Jared Wright, La Sierra University

Closing Song - Nicholas Zork

Closing Prayer - Corrine Galván, Columbia Union College

Closing Announcements - Kyle Dever

EARLY CHURCHSabbath, April 25

8:30 am

Preparing

Inviting - Halcyon Wilson Cantor - Kathleen Dunn Praying - Paul Mallery and Congregation

Dedication - Mark Holm

Listening Acts 3:12-19 Felisa Samarin Meier Psalm 4 Halcyon Wilson and Congregation 1 John 3:1-7 Jessica Williams Luke 24:36b-48 Paul MalleryGiving

Considering: Resurrection and the Earth Maritza Durán, Orangewood Adventist Academy Affirming - Paul Mallery and Congregation Blessing - Halcyon Wilson Meditation Commission - Halcyon Wilson

SABBATH SCHOOL9:30 am

Worship in Singing - Somer Penington, Redlands Adventist Academy “For the Beauty of the Earth” “All Creatures of Our God and King” “This Is My Father’s World”

Welcome - Felisa Samarin Meier, La Sierra University Prayer - Corrine Galván, Columbia Union College Worship in Study: I Came for the Wildflowers, and All I Got Was a Snake Somer Penington

Expense Offering - Elizabeth Chan, La Sierra Academy Special Feature: “Environmental Sustainability” Students in Free Enterprise, La Sierra University

Closing Prayer - Britney Swenson, La Sierra Academy

Note: A “Global Experiences” Prayer Labyrinth is provided by Somer Penington in the Sierra Vista Chapel. It is available for use the entire Sabbath day by conference attendees.

WORSHIP EXPERIENCE10:50 am

Prelude - Kimberly Amin, organist

Welcome - Halcyon Wilson, La Sierra University Church Heide Ford, Women’s Resource Center, La Sierra University Candles and Scriptural Call to Worship - Mabel Duncan, La Sierra University Dirma Collette Duncan, La Sierra University Hymn of Praise - Nicholas Zork and Praise Team “Morning Has Broken” (#44)

Invocation - Emily Peterson, La Sierra University

Call for Offering - Heide Ford, “K-12 Scholarship Fund”

Special Music - Melissa Ballesteros “Wonderful Maker” (Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin) Songs of Praise - Nicholas Zork and Praise Team “Indescribable” “Agnus Dei” “God of Wonders”

Morning Prayer - Deirdre Raymond, La Sierra University

Music for Worship - Nicholas Zork and Praise Team “Every Season” Sermon: It’s Not Easy Being Green Chris Oberg, La Sierra University Church Song of Response - Nicholas Zork and Praise Team “The Lord’s Prayer” Benediction - Hanna Norheim, La Sierra University

Postlude - Kimberly Amin, organist

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

2:00 pm Welcome - Jessica Williams and Maritza Durán

Prayer - Felisa Samarin Meier Introduction of Speaker - Trisha Famisaran Keynote Address: Ecofeminism in Comparative Perspective Rosemary Radford Ruether, Claremont Graduate University

3:00 pm Panel: Ecology, Religion, and Gender John B. Cobb, Jr., Sheryll Prinz-McMillan, Rosemary Radford Ruether,

Warren Trenchard, and Ginger Hanks-Harwood (moderator)

4:00 pm Offering Heide Ford, Women’s Resource Center

(break)

4:15 pm* Breakout Sessions I

5:15 pm* Breakout Sessions II

*Please see the next page for a list of breakout sessions. Sessions are repeated.

7:30 pm Film Screening: Earth (Rated: G)

Edwards Corona Crossings Stadium 18 (2650 Tuscany Street, Corona). Tickets are available for purchase at the theater.

OUTREACH PROJECTSSunday, April 26

9:00 am - 12:00 noon

All welcome! Meet at 9:00 am at the La Sierra University Church parking lot to help with cleaning and yard beautification at several locations in Riverside/Corona. If available, bring yard tools and cleaning supplies, or consider donating supplies for others to use. We also need pots, plants, and potted plants for at least one location, the Circle of Hope Homeless Shelter in Corona. Sign up on Sabbath at the registration table for the outreach projects and indicate whether you’re available to carpool, or simply show up at the church parking lot.

Spirituality and Ecology: Fostering Awareness - Ginger Hanks-Harwood

Location: Junior Room (lower level)

Eco-Dome: Building a Bright Green Future John Razzouk and Students in Free Enterprise

(SIFE)Location: Pathfinder Room

Workshop in Art and Ecology - Ann Isolde, Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein, and France White

Location: Youth Room

Breakout Sessions4:15 pm and 5:15 pm

Conservation - Wendy WaltersLocation: Seminar Room 30

Global Experiences Prayer Labyrinth Provided by Somer Penington

Location: Sierra Vista Chapel

Student Papers - Trisha Famisaran (moderator)

(1) Ana Cristina Lee Escudero, “The Earth is My Mother”

(2) Felisa Samarin Meier, “Differentiating Feminine and Feminist”

Location: Junior High Room (upper level)

PARTICIPANTS

Elizabeth Chan is a senior at La Sierra Academy. She plans to start college as a music education major -- a dream she has had for a long time. Elizabeth loves to participate in anything musical or artistic.

John B. Cobb, Jr. has held many positions including Ingraham Professor of Theology at the Claremont School of Theology, Avery Professor at the Claremont Graduate School, Fulbright Professor at the University of Mainz, Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt, Harvard, and Chicago Divinity Schools. Some of his writings include: Christ in a Pluralistic Age (1975); God and the World (1969); Sustainability: Economics, Ecology, and Justice (1992); Sustaining the Common Good (1995); and co-author with Herman Daly of For the Common Good (1989), which was co-winner of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.

Dirma Collette Duncan graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration from Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Jamaica in July, 1997. She then returned to her native Panama and worked as the treasurer for a Seventh-day Adventist school. Dirma returned to the United States and graduated with a M.B.A. (Marketing) from La Sierra University in 2003.

Mabel Priscilla Duncan was born in the Republic of Panama in Central America. She received her B.A. in Religious Studies from La Sierra University in 2006 and will receive a M.A. in Pastoral Studies in June, 2009. Mabel is an ordained elder at the Altadena Seventh-day Adventist Church and a co-chair with her husband of the Family Life Ministries. Mabel loves Jesus with all her heart, and her desire is to spend the rest of her life introducing people to a Savior who loves them and wants to save them. She and Herman R. Duncan have been married for almost forty-two years and have four adult children.

Maritza Durán teaches history, religion, and Spanish at Orangewood Academy. She is also the high school vice-principal. Maritza holds a B.A. in History and M.A. in Religion from La Sierra University. Maritza is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Women’s Resource Center and worked there as a student when it was first established in 1997. She has a passion for gender, race, and class equality. Maritza loves teaching and spending time with her family and friends.

Ana Cristina Lee Escudero is a senior studying Biological Sciences at La Sierra University. She was born in Montemorelos, Mexico in 1985, but was raised in greater Los Angeles. Lee attributes her passion for nature to her mother, Cristina Margarita Escudero de Lee, who was an artist with a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world. Her mother taught her to see the beauty in the world, instilled the values of environmental protection, and the sacredness and strength of womanhood.

Trisha Famisaran is pursuing a Dual Degree program at Claremont Graduate University for a M.A. in Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Theology. She holds a B.A.

in History and Political Science from La Sierra University and an M.A. in Theology from Claremont School of Theology. Trisha is the Communications Director and the Editor of Process Perspectives at the Center for Process Studies. She is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Women’s Resource Center. She and her spouse, Danny Zelaya, are expecting a baby boy in May, 2009.

Heide Ford, Director of the Women’s Resource Center at La Sierra University, holds a B.S. in Nursing from Southern Adventist University and a M.A. in Counseling from Andrews University. After a decade in nursing, Heide switched fields and became co-founder and associate editor of Women of Spirit magazine. She has also served as a missionary in Japan, a hospital chaplain intern, and a professional counselor. Heide is completing a M.A. in Religion at La Sierra University. She is married to Zell Ford, a pastor and builder.

Corrine Galván is an L.A. native from Hollywood SDA church. She is a senior Religion major at Columbia Union College in Washington, D.C. She founded and leads the environmental ministry at C.U.C. called Pe’ah’s Corner. Corrine works with A.I.M. on affordable housing efforts and volunteers at Eve’s Garden in Camden, NJ. She loves to write and play with kids. She also loves the beach, kite flying, canoeing, art, music, Guitar Hero World Tour and cooking. If she could have a superpower it would be flying.

Ginger Hanks-Harwood is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at La Sierra University, where she teaches courses in New Testament studies, Ethics, and Adventist History. She has also taught at Pacific Union College and Walla Walla University, and served as a chaplain and supervisor of clinical ministry experience at Porter Memorial Hospital in Denver, Colorado, while she completed her degree at University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology. She continues to research cultural contexts of Scripture and church practice.

Ann Isolde is a visual artist who has been involved in the feminist art movement since 1975. She earned a B.A. from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois in 1966 and a M.F.A. from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1969. Her studies continued in the mid-1970s at the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Los Angeles Women’s Building and led to the facilitation of the heritage floor research for “The Dinner Party” project by Judy Chicago. Since 1986 Isolde has maintained her connection to the feminist art movement through participation in the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art. Through that organization, she has become actively involved with EcoArtLA, a collaborative group of women artists who make work about environmental problems and solutions.

Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein was raised in Colombia, South America, and later lived in Germany, Mexico and the United States. She studied art and music in Colombia, and received her M.F.A. from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has taught and exhibited extensively since the mid-1970s. Mejia-Krumbein is the Art Department Chair and the Director of the Brandstater Gallery at La Sierra University. Her work addresses a range of social concerns, and uses diverse media to speak about multicultural and cross-cultural issues. These concerns include violence against women and children, and the cultural displacement and fragmentation experienced by persons torn from their community or country.

Chris Oberg serves as the Senior Pastor of the La Sierra University Church. Chris describes her work in parish ministry as one of life’s grandest blessings, “to take the role of the church seriously and to be with people seeking to follow Jesus in a complex world, well, it doesn’t get more rewarding.” Chris is a double-alumnus of La Sierra University, School of Religion, completing both a B.A. and a M.A. in Religion, with an emphasis in New Testament Studies. Chris is married to Kerby Oberg, a Pediatric Pathologist, who also teaches and does research at Loma Linda University in the areas of molecular biology and embryology. The Oberg’s have two daughters, Amanda and Alisa, both students at La Sierra University.

Hanna Norheim is pursuing a M.A. in Religion at La Sierra University. Her field is ethics, with a specific focus in Gender and Christianity. Hanna is an academy teacher from Norway.

Somer Penington has been the High School Religion Teacher and Campus Ministries Director at Redlands Adventist Academy for the past seven years. She is twice a graduate of La Sierra University, first with a B.A. degree in English Literature and completion of the Pre-Seminary Program in 2002, then with a M.A. in Teaching degree in 2007, and is currently a Masters of Divinity student. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family, nature photography, writing, traveling, and working with her students to develop creative worship and ministry opportunities.

Emily Peterson is a senior at La Sierra University, double majoring in Religious Studies and Psychology with a minor in Biblical Languages. She hopes to study in a CPE program and work as a hospital chaplain after graduation. Emily currently works in the Spiritual Life Office at La Sierra University and loves taking pictures, spending quality time with friends, and listening to NPR (thank you Dr. Teel).

Sheryll Prinz-McMillan is the Executive Director of the Christian Counseling Center in Redlands, CA. She holds a M.S. in Marriage and Family Counseling from Loma Linda University and a M.Div. from Andrews University. She also has a background in Philosophy of Religion and Theology and was one of the first Adventist women to write about ecofeminism in the 1990s. She was ordained to the ministry in 1995 at the Victoria SDA Church in Loma Linda.

Deirdre Raymond is a Religious Studies and Pre-Seminary major at La Sierra University. She looks forward to entering pastoral ministry. Deirdre tries to spread God’s love in whatever way she can and in her relationships with others. She loves to write songs about God, especially about God’s love.

John Razzouk graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from La Sierra University in 2007. John spent two years as President of the La Sierra University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team and led Team USA to a SIFE World Cup Competition victory in 2007. While completing a MBA degree in Marketing, he currently works as the Assistant Director of Service-Learning at La Sierra University. John is a strong believer in innovation, sustainability, and human-centered design as a core of the bright green thinking needed to solve real-world problems.

Rosemary Radford Ruether is the Carpenter Emerita Professor of Feminist Theology at Pacific School of Religion and the GTU, as well as the Georgia Harkness Emerita Professor of Applied Theology at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. She has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a scholar, teacher, and activist in the Catholic Church, and is well known as a groundbreaking figure in Christian feminist theology. Ruether has published numerous books, including Sexism and God-Talk, and In Our Own Voices: Four Centuries of American Women’s Religious Writing (ed. with Rosemary Skinner Keller).

Felisa Samarin Meier is a graduate student at La Sierra University and will receive her M.A. in Religion, with emphases in Christian Ethics, Theology and Biblical studies, in June. She is also currently serving as an on-call chaplain at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. She has recently begun blogging for both Adventist Today and Reinventing the Adventist Wheel on gender issues in the church. She has also worked previously as an associate pastor and currently preaches at the East LA Bilingual Church. She greatly enjoys the expansion of her yoga practice and listening to NPR.

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is an international organization made up of college students from around the world. SIFE students develop and implement projects in their local communities and abroad that create economic opportunity for others through teaching market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, environmental sustainability, and business ethics. La Sierra University SIFE creates value and makes a difference through social entrepreneurship by educating and investing in others for long-term, sustainable results. Because God gave us the privilege to care for the Earth, we believe it is the responsibility of both consumers and businesses to constantly seek innovative solutions that allow us to make environmentally sustainable choices. SIFE helps others see that each individual, community and business has a responsibility to become part of the solution.

Britney Swenson is a senior at The Grove School. She will attend Pacific Union College in Fall, 2009 and major in Theology. She aspires to be a pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Britney looks forward to her future in the Church and all that God has in store for her.

Warren Trenchard came to La Sierra University in 1995 from Canadian Union College (now Canadian University College) in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. He had served there since 1975 as a member of the faculty of Religious Studies and later as Vice President for Academic Administration. His first assignment at LSU was in the Office of the President, where he was Senior Assistant to the President until 1997. At that time the School of Religion invited him to take the position of Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and to serve as the Director of Graduate Programs. In July 2004 Dr. Trenchard accepted the position of Provost for La Sierra University.

Wendy Walters is a Senior Biologist at LSA Associates, Inc., an environmental and land use planning consulting firm, in Riverside County. As a wildlife biologist, she conducts focused research studies on threatened/endangered species and prepares habitat mitigation plans for creation and restoration of sensitive habitats. Wendy works with both public and private sectors throughout Southern California. She coordinates with natural resource agencies in

order to receive permits/approvals for various development projects (including residential, commercial, transportation, and public utility projects). Wendy graduated from La Sierra University with a B.A. in Biology in 1999. She enjoys hiking and gardening in her free time.

France White, SHCJ was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She is a Roman Catholic nun and began formal art education, earning a B.F.A., after 15 years in religious and academic studies and teaching. She moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a graphic artist, peace educator and administrative assistant while pursuing her development as an artist. At a time when her work made it necessary to forgo painting she turned to drawing and marketing prints and cards of her art. She has been involved in social justice issues concerned with creating a culture of peace and sustainability, with women, their rights in society and church, with homeless people, with refugees and with the impact of imperialism and multinational corporations. Her art has been influenced by these and various intercultural and international experiences.

Jessica Williams teaches high school religion at Loma Linda Academy. She graduated from Southern Adventist University with a double major in Theology and Religious Education. Her passion for Jesus and ministry began when she was a sophomore at Hawaiian Mission Academy. She knew then that there was nothing else she’d rather do than serve Him. While her job at LLA keeps her very busy, in her spare time she enjoys traveling, good books, the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

Jared Wright is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity degree at La Sierra University. He blogs at Adventist Environmental Advocacy and is the movie reviews editor for Spectrum Magazine. Jared is deeply concerned about issues of social, economic and ecological justice and works to foster dialogue and action among Adventists in those areas.

Nicholas Zork is a worship leader, songwriter, recording artist, and the director of the Andrews University Music and Worship Conference. He also leads worship and conducts worship training seminars for La Sierra University. Nicholas is currently pursuing an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Theology and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Young Women & the Word CoordinatorsMaritza Durán, Trisha Famisaran, Heide Ford, Felisa Samarin Meier, and Jessica Williams

WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTERLa Sierra University

4500 Riverwalk ParkwayRiverside, California 92515

(951) 785-2470 wrc@lasierra.eduwww.AdventistWomensCenter.org

www.AdventistWomenEarth.wordpress.com

“Adventist Women and the Earth: A Response to Ecofeminism” is the theme of the 2nd Annual Young Women & the Word conference, hosted by the Women’s Resource Center and co-sponsored by La Sierra University. This theme was chosen to better understand the points of intersection between ecology, religion, and gender.

The aim is to address our responsibility to the earth, explore connections with gender justice, and examine religious beliefs as they underpin individual and collective stewardship. We hope to lead out and show how young Adventist women care about the earth and gender issues; and challenge others not only to recognize these concerns but to actively create and practice solutions that respect the dignity and value of God’s creations.

The Young Women & the Word organizers would like to thank all the participants for their personal and intellectual contributions to the conference. We are grateful to La Sierra University and the La Sierra University Church for their support and involvement while planning this event. Finally, we thank all the conference attendees, in advance, for considering the questions posed this weekend and being involved with the various activities.