Creation Care & Environmental JusticeAbout The Conference
To gather all those who seek to honor our role as stewards of Creation and live as servants to one another. This community will share stories from key players in the Church’s creation care and environmental justice work, offer resources from groups intimately involved, and develop intentional plans for bringing this work to life in communities across the Church and the world.
Presenters
Melanie Mullen
Rev. Melanie Mullen serves as Episcopal Church’s Director of Reconciliation, Justice & Creation Care – charged with brining the Jesus Movement to the concerns of the world. Prior to joining the Presiding Bishop’s staff she was the Downtown Missioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, leading a historic southern congregation’s missional, civic, and reconciliation ministries.
Before the ministry, Melanie worked in campaign fundraising and development, raising more than $10 million for leadership PACs, the Congressional Black Caucus, and US Congressional and gubernatorial races from Louisiana to Connecticut; and she served as Development Associate for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, with a focus on poverty advocacy.
She is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity; and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, with a Bachelors in History.
Michele L. Roberts
For over 20 years, Ms. Roberts has provided capacity support and technical assistance on the connections between the chemicals management, oil and gas extraction and energy systems. All, which now have a monumental legacy impact on the global climate crisis. She supports communities in their efforts to make connections regarding the impacts of toxins on human health and the environment. She also is a spoken word artist, who created Arts Slam @ SsAMS, a community-based arts program created to advance social justice. Roberts is also an environmental justice and environmental producer on Washington, DC’s Pacifica radio 89.3fm. The of the On the Ground Show: Voices Resistance. She proclaims herself as being a proud graduate of the Historically Black College and University family.
Prior to advocacy, Michele worked as an environmental scientist in the government. She currently serves as the national Co-Coordinator of a National collaborative known as the Environmental Justice and Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA).
Her advocacy work has been featured in television, print news, and magazines. She’s co-authored many environmental justice rooted demographic analysis. She participated in the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women 63 (UNCSW-63) as a delegate member representing Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the National Episcopal Church. She played a leadership role on behalf of the works of the EJHA in the drafting of the historic Equitable and Justice National Climate Platform. Roberts proclaims she does it all for the love of the PEOPLE as a 3rd generation Episcopalian!
Bp. Marc Andrus
The Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus is the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. He was installed as bishop in 2006 — a position of oversight for a diocese comprised of 24,000 communicants in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties, and the cities of Los Altos and part of Palo Alto. Prior to his election as Bishop of California, Andrus served as Bishop Suffragan in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.
Marc Handley Andrus was born on October 20, 1956, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Mary Frances and Francis Andrus, and was raised in Kingston, Tennessee. He received his Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1979, and a Masters in Social Sciences from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg in 1982. After receiving his master’s degree, Andrus went to work as a regional planner for the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission on Virginia’s Delmarva Peninsula.
In 1987, Andrus was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. After being ordained deacon on June 20, 1987, Andrus became senior associate at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. While at Church of the Redeemer, Andrus was ordained priest on April 25, 1988. In 1990, Andrus became Chaplain at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, until 1997 when he became Rector of Emmanuel Church in Middleburg, Virginia. He remained rector of Emmanuel until his consecration as Bishop Suffragan for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama on February 7, 2002.
His leadership has focused on key issues related to peace and justice, including immigration reform, civil rights for LBGTQ+ persons, health care, and climate change. Since 2015, Andrus has lead, on behalf of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, the annual Episcopal Church delegation to the United Nations climate conference (COP). He is also a member of the We Are Still In Leaders’ Circle, a diverse group of ambassadors for American climate action, and he is a frequent speaker and panelist at climate conferences worldwide.
In California, Andrus serves on the boards of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, California Pacific Medical Center, the Episcopal Impact Fund, the Episcopal School for Deacons, Episcopal Community Services, and the American Bach Soloists, among other foundations.
Andrus is married to Sheila Andrus, Ph.D., former director of the Sparkman Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Public Health, and they have two adult daughters: Chloé and Pilar.
Dr. Andrew Thompson
Dr. Andrew Thompson is the assistant professor of theological ethics, director of the Sewanee Ministry Collaborative, and director of the Alternative Clergy Training at Sewanee (ACTS) Program. Thompson’s research focuses on environmental theology and environmental justice as they intersect with questions of social justice and public theology.
His first book, All My Holy Mountain: A Christian Ethical Response to Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, was published in the fall of 2015 by University Press of Kentucky. He serves on the Episcopal Church’s Task Force for Creation Care and Environmental Racism. His wife, the Rev. Leigh Preston, teaches Pastoral Spanish and Latino/Hispanic Theology at the School of Theology.
In collaboration with
Accommodations
Lodging options at Kanuga
- Double occupancy (Shared Bedroom): $440
- Single occupancy (Private Bedroom): $550
- Commuter (Non-Resident): $215
- No lodging on Kanuga property. The commuter rate includes a facility day-use fee and lunch. Additional meals available at the reception desk during your stay.
- Non participating Guest (Double occupancy – Shared bedroom): $305
For payment and cancellation policy information click here.
*This conference is made possible by an endowment established by Natalie Lee honoring the memory of Lansing B. Lee Jr. of Augusta, GA and with major support from the Buford L. Bowen Endowment.
Check-In/Check-Out
Check-in is at 4 p.m. Check-Out is at 10 a.m.
Discounts
For financial assistance, download the printable application below.
For more information, please contact Director of Formation Programs and Resident Chaplain Richmond Jones at rjones@kanuga.org or 828-692-9136 Ext. 2745.