Note: Mitch Roper, our Campus Ministry Intern, has undertaken the following project as his Campus Ministry Intern Project for the year. The following is his explanation of his project.

The Genesis 2:15 Project—A Call to Sustainable Action

As some of you may know, I am undertaking a project here at the PSC to expand our ministry to more fully encompass thoughtful meditation and action on biblically-based principles of ecological stewardship. I’m calling this the Genesis 2:15 Project.  God has placed us in His garden, and God is calling us to use the natural resources we’ve been given wisely, taking care of them as faithful stewards.  I hope to encourage this community to live more faithfully into our ecological responsibilities as stewards of God’s earth, communally and individually, through practices such as recycling, composting, and educating ourselves on other ways to reduce our consumption.  On many sides, I see this ethic already taking hold and growing.  You might say that this community has plenty of fertile soil.  Well, let’s make some more.

By practicing sustainability, I believe that we can be a light to other campus ministries by encouraging them to do likewise.  This gives us the opportunity to forge new bonds of fellowship, and to strengthen those that already exist.  I also believe that as these bonds grow, so will our ability to serve the greater Athens community, as an example of both sustainability and service, by working to build a community garden and using produce from this garden to supplement existing programs that serve food to Athens’ homeless population. I need your help to make this vision a reality, and I would love to know your thoughts as we move forward together.

This past week, some of our students began a new service project of cooking for a local homeless shelter on Wednesdays. They buy the food and cook in our kitchen at the Presbyterian Student Center, then take it over to the shelter and serve. We have a big kitchen, but most meals eaten at the PSC are catered. As such, it can feel like we are not being the best stewards of our kitchen sometimes. If this project continues, then that could change all of that. It’s good to have students coming together to use our space in this way and to have the opportunity to serve others.

On Oct. 18, we hosted the Jerusalem Women Speak tour at the Presbyterian Student Center. The idea behind the tour is that a Palestinian Muslim women, an Israeli Jewish woman, and a Palestinian Christian woman will tour together and tell about their experiences in Israel/Palestine and their work toward a peaceful and just resolution to the ongoing conflict in Israel/Palestine. This was the 16th Jerusalem Women Speak tour and we were one of four stops in Athens.

One of our students covered the event for the Red and Black, the campus newspaper. Click here to learn more.

Pictured here are Mitch, our campus ministry intern, who organized the event for us along with the women from the tour and me. We had about 70 people come out to hear the women and to learn about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The students asked some great questions.  It was a very meaningful evening for our ministry as we struggled with issues of sin and suffering in a world that longs for the peace of God.

We had a great time at the PCM of Georgia Fall Retreat at Calvin Center this past weekend. Students came from UGA, Kennesaw State Univ., Berry College, Georgia State Univ., and Georgia College & State Univ. and spent time together in study, worship, and small groups. We also watched an unfortunate football game on Saturday afternoon (UGA v. Tenn.). The weather was perfect for most of the weekend–we went hiking, went on a hayride, and had a bonfire. All in all, it was wonderful weekend and we’re already talking about next year’s retreat. See you in 2010!