Radical Abundance
Radical Abundance
Last month, I attended the conference, Radical Abundance: A Theology of Sustainability, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Through webcasts, we were able to participate in the Boston Trinity Institute’s conference held in New York City, and listen to the three presentations given by Timothy Gorringe, David Korten and Majora Carter.The common theme among all the speakers was their excitement in the inauguration of President Obama and his urgency in attending to the environmental issues faced by both the United States and the World.
Timothy Gorringe, a Professor of Theological Studies at the University of Exeter, said that the cities right now are unsustainable and that they should be instead simple and beautiful. Furthermore, he believes that the common good should be the end goal of sustaining the environment.
David Korten has written several books including When Corporations Rule the World , and his most recent , Agenda for a New Economy. He insists that our current economic system benefits corporations and certain individuals and that we need to translate individual intelligence into collective intelligence in order to have sustainable social and environmental systems.
Majora Carter has a more personal and practical story. Returning to her native South Brox after college, she was horrified to come to the realization that her community was dirty and messy not because of the people living in it, but because it was designed to be that way. As a result, her work now encourages everyone to aspire beyond sustainability. In an effort to claim the social and financial benefits of a healthy horticulture infrastructure, she started green roofing and placed layers of soil and plants on the roofs of South Bronx. This gave residents cost savings on heating and air conditioning bills during winter and summer. Her for-profit consulting company, the Majora Carter Group, employs and teaches underserved and poverty stricken poulations in an effort to create green jobs – employment that improves the health of the environment.
Promise the Children, with our Green Sanctuary Workshops for youth, promotes a greater awareness about environmental issues and global warming. If you are interseted in presenting this workshop in your church, organization, or school, you can download the workshop guide from our website or contact us so that we can help facilitate the workshop with your group. http://www.promisethechildrenuu.org/news/item/206/
You can also watch the webcasts of the above mentioned presentations from the Trinity Wall Street Website. http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/education/?institute-2009&p=watch
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