The Provincial Coordinators of the Provincial Leadership Conference are sponsoring a series of four webinars to help bishops and deputies prepare for decision making at GC 2018. Each webinar will provide opportunities to explore issues and resolutions coming before the Convention. Presenters were selected because of their work in the topic areas and/or because they have been part of GC resolution development.

This month's presenters will focus on the Stewardship of Creation. Our presenters include: 

Stephanie Johnson, co-chair, Advisory Council, Stewardship of Creation, worked  for governmental agencies and engineering companies as an environmental planner and educator for 20 years prior to her ordination in the Episcopal Church. From 2011 through 2014, Reverend Johnson worked for the Episcopal bishops of  New England providing support  in reducing congregational energy use. In this position, she designed and launched an outreach campaign called  “Turn off the lights, for God’s sake.”  She is on the Leadership Council of Blessed Tomorrow, an interfaith climate change initiative of Eco America based out of Washington DC and the Advisory Board of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Seminary. Stephanie won the 2011 St. Francis Philanthropic Award for Preaching on Creation Care from Earth Ministries in Seattle and was a 2013 Clean Air Ambassador in the 50 States United Campaign sponsored by Earth Justice and the National Council of Churches. She is the Rector at St. Paul’s in Riverside, CT. She’s been married to her husband, Gordon for 28 years, whom she met while at bagpipe camp.  Stephanie and Gordon have two children.  

The Rev. Jerry Cappel is an ordained Episcopal priest currently serving as the Environmental Network Coordinator for Province IV of The Episcopal Church.  Jerry’s vocational interests are in adult education, ecology and faith. Rev. Cappel has a Ph.D. in religious education and over twenty years of experience in corporate training and development. Jerry serves as a member of the Advisory Council on the Stewardship of Creation for The Episcopal Church and is a fellow with the Center for Religion and the Environment at the University of the South and with GreenFaith.  He is a graduate of Harding Graduate School of Religion (M.Div.) in Memphis, TN, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY (Ph.D.).  He has worked as an author and editor of youth and adult education materials for Smyth & Helwys Publishing in Macon, GA and Church Publishing in New York.

Sarah Paulos, Coordinator Iowa Interfaith Power and Light Program and Outreach, is the creator of the Cool Congregations program, which she brought to over 400 congregations in 6 years in Iowa and 15 other states. It is now a program of the national Interfaith Power and Light organization. Among other programs she developed for Iowa IPL are Food, Faith, Climate: Connecting the Dots, and The Good Life Redefined. An inspiring part of her work is writing Success Stories about people who are motivated by their beliefs to take action on climate. In addition to her work for Iowa IPL, Sarah helped design and deliver Cool Neighbors, a neighborhood energy reduction challenge between historic neighborhood associations, and worked with Yards for Kids, a neighborhood toxics reduction program, both based out of the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa.

Ellen Bruckner,  the Province VI Coordinator, will facilitate these presentation.  

In preparation, you may want to look at the 2018 General Convention Blue Book and proposed resolutions.