By Harriette Cross
Justice leaders from across North Central Jurisdiction gathered for a time of learning and building community recently. About fifty people gathered from the NCJ Creation Justice Movement and the Advocacy group at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church in Oak Park. Both groups received grants from the North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) Mission Council and various annual conferences to host a gathering. The NCJ Creation Justice group also received funds from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Center for Ecological Regeneration.
The State-level Advocacy network was organized by Alice Fleming Townley, from Michigan, Christina Krost from Illinois Great Rivers and Breana Illéné from Wisconsin. They hoped that gathering would build communication channels among advocates in each conference. Alice Fleming Townley said that advocacy for the needs of people, our planet, and our community is a joint effort. She feels that justice is always a collaborative effort.
Audra Hudson Stone and Jacob Stone are the organizers for the NCJ Creation Justice Movement. Grant money allowed them to facilitate communication and collaboration within the movement. Representatives around the jurisdiction have been gathering over Zoom for the past year. This event was intended to be the culmination of their efforts. They will continue to host meetings until the end of the year.
Cathy Velasquez Eberhart, an organizer for the NCJ Creation Justice Movement was thrilled with the gathering. “Zoom calls are great, but the opportunity to come together in one room and network and make contacts makes all the difference in the world.” She said that one of the major goals of the event was to build trust among leaders. All organizers of the event felt that building trust was the most important goal. Audra Hudson Stone said that the best part of the event was the social conversations that allow leaders to really get to know each other.
Creation Justice Movement gathered to share projects from each jurisdiction, to learn about the efforts of the movement as a whole, and to create a vision for the future. Audra Hudson Stone said that it was important for everyone to have a chance to benefit from the wisdom in the room. The Advocacy group also shared their stories and tools to be more effective. Each group came up with a different set of goals for the future. But both groups felt that doing this gathering again in the future was important. Cathy Velasquez Eberhart said that the hope is to get even more involvement since not every annual conference in the jurisdiction was represented.
Church and Society was also a sponsor of the event. Darina Regio is the new Director of Environmental Justice for the General Board of Church and Society. She was very happy to be a part of the event. She said that there are environmental efforts going on in every part of the denomination. But each group exists in a silo. “This was a wonderful chance to meet other people and to collaborate instead of always trying to reinvent the wheel.” Jenn Huff, the NCJ Mission Engagement Liason from the General Board of Global Ministires-Higher Education and Ministry also participated.
At least 18 people from the Northern Illinois Conference participated in the event. That number was divided evenly between creation care and advocacy. Fabiola Grandon-Mayer, the NIC Director of Connectional Ministries said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for collaboration. We can share what is working and learn from each and plan new things. We are all called to be advocates.” She said that she is excited for us to get busy in our own conference and to put this collaboration into practice.
Rev. Harriette Cross is an ordained clergy in the Northern Illinois Conference, serving First United Methodist Church of Wilmington. She is also a certified EarthKeeper and the appointed Caretaker for the conference.