INTERFAITH WORKSHOP ON EARTH CARE: PUBLIC EVENT OF THE COMMUNITY RELIGIOUS
LITERACY PROJECT – A WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND
RESEARCH INITIATIVE
Friday Location: Mass Media Technology Hall (MMTH) Visitors parking available on the Chestnut
Street South Lot and (2) Presbyterian Church, 1003 State Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky 40101.
Date: Friday and Saturday, February 20-21, 2015
FRIDAY
6:00-7:00pm
Location: The Mass Media Technology Hall at Western Kentucky University
Registration fees due for the Saturday Workshop
7:00-9:00 pm
Mass Media Technology Hall, Western Kentucky University
Chairperson: Dr. Grace Hunt, Philosophy and Religion Department
Keynote Speech Planetary Ethics: An Intergenerational, Unpredictable and
‘Wicked’ Problem by Whitney Bauman (Florida International University).
Open discussion led by Dr. Bruce Schulte (Biology), Dr. Ian Schnee (Philosophy), and
Rev. Markus Von Steinfort (Grace Church) and Dr. John All.
SATURDAY
7:30– 8:00 am
Location: Presbyterian Church, 1003 State Street, Bowling Green, KY
On-site Registration if there is room available: Cash Only
8:00-9:00 am
Breakfast and Brainstorm Session with Host Rev. Dr. Matthew Covington
Chairs: Professor Eric Bain-Selbo (Director of the WKU Community Religious
Literacy Project and Keynote speaker Whitney Bauman (Florida International
University). This session is meant for co-sponsors and community leaders or appointed
representatives to share ideas about current approaches to Earth care.
9:00am
Voices from the City of Bowling Green Panel
Sacred Ground: Soil and Civilization by Timothy Kercheville (Local Farmer); A
summary of the History and Future of the Office of Sustainability by Christian Ryan
(WKU); Keynote: Stormwater in the City of Bowling Green by Josh Hankins,
Environmental Compliance Coordinator of the Department of Public Works.
Chairperson: Eleanor Bower (Sierra Club)
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10:00-10:15am Coffee Break
10:15-12:30am Keynote: Building of a Future of Compassion in Earth Care by Timothy
Darst (Interfaith Power & Light); Global Christianity in an era of Climate Change by
Bella Mukonyora (Religious Studies); Buddhist No-Self and Earth Care by Jeffrey
Samuels. Chairperson: Judy Rohrer (WKU Institute for Citizenship & Social
Responsibility).
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Interfaith Workshop on Earth Care, February 20-21, 2015 continued
12:30-1.30 pm ***Lunch provided by Home Café with Upstairs Music by Willie Huston
1:30-2:30pm
Biology, Geology, Geography and Medical Lessons on Climate Change (WKU Faculty)
Local to Global Impact on what we each do on Planet Earth by Dr. John All
Climate Change, Poverty and Health by Dr. Nancy Rice
Global Problem of Emerging, Re-emerging and Infectious Diseases by Dr. Cheryl Davis
Open Discussion led by Dr. Nagy Morsi, Medical Doctor, Islamic Center
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1:30-3:15pm
Next Generation Guardians of Earth Care (WKU Student Panel)
Ecofeminism: Women and Nature as Commodities by Nation Mackenzie
(WKU December 2014 graduate); Slow Food as an alternative to corporate agriculture
Laura Goodwin (Student and representative of Christ Episcopal Church); The
Emergence of Gaia Culture in the West: A Response to the Reality of Global Warming
by Tiffani Walton (Student); Chair: Selena Sanderfer (Assistant Professor in
History).
3:15-4:00pm
Group Discussions on Local Best Practices
Interfaith Power and Light (Timothy Darst), all the local religious community-based
Green Teams and interest groups represented; e.g. The Sierra Club (Eleanor Bower),
WKU Office of Sustainability (Christian Ryan), The Ecology Club, Unitarian
Universalist (Meagan Harris) and other communities. Rapporteur for the Religious
Literacy Project will be Matthew Sheffield (Masters Student and member of the
Philosophy and Religion Department).
3:45-4:00pm
CONCLUSION: Prof. Eric Bain-Selbo: Director of the WKU Community Religious
Literacy Project
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