Following the summer of Pastor Jane Wigger's sabbatical in which we heard music, teaching, and preaching on Appalachia, adults and youth from Crescent Hill participated in two environmental education tours of Eastern Kentucky. We met local residents such as Sam Gilbert who told us about his battle to preserve his land from the encroachment of mountaintop removal mining. We viewed a film about the sludge pond disaster that contaminated all the water in the Big Sandy river basin and learned of advocacy efforts by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. During the day, we hiked in pristine areas such as Lilley Cornett Woods which contains old growth forest and some of the greatest species diversity in the United States. At night, we joined residents for a bluegrass concert and square dance. On Sunday, we worshipped with folk at Isom Presbyterian Church.
Not long after our trip, some of us formed an environmental justice group to study ways in which we could be more environmentally responsible with our use of energy and natural resources. The energy we consume derives from coal, and thus, has a direct bearing on the lives of those we met in Appalachia whose wells have been contaminated and house foundations have cracked due to blasting from mountaintop removal.
As a church, we'd like to continue our dialogue about how we might partner with people in Appalachia--what we might learn and receive from people like Sam Gilbert, and what we might have to offer.
-- Leslie Townsend
No comments:
Post a Comment