Mission, Social Justice Committee
Meets the Fourth Tuesday of the Month 7:00 PM via Zoom
The work of the
Mission/Social Justice Committee of Ocean
Heights Presbyterian Church is to express the love of God in a ministry of
justice and compassion for our neighbors and in caring for the natural
environment, God’s good creation. This
will be done through education, direct action and advocacy.
Members of Committee
Sharon Eaton, Chair
Brenda Brown
John Nurnberger
Art Farnum
Myrna Keklak
Diane Falk (Earth Care Team)
Sharon Cresse (Earth Care
Team)
Wendy Walsh (Earth Care Team)
Action
Monthly Community Food Bank
of New Jersey food distribution for the community of Pleasantville
Feminine Hygiene Product
Donation Drive for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey
Baby Product Donation Drive
for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey
Participated in the 42nd Annual Lenni-Lanape Pow-Wow
Participation in Atlantic
County Pride in the Park, Mays Landing
Egg Harbor Township School
Back Pack Drive
Holiday Gift Drive for the NJ
Division of Child Protection and Permanency
Gift Card drive for families
in need in the Egg Harbor Township High School
Support of Afghan with asylum
status in US
Monthly monetary donations to
organizations serving people in need
Education Programs
Wind Energy: Ryan Tookes from Atlanta Shores
What is Book Banning about?: Martha Hickson, Librarian North Hunterdon
High School
What You Can Do to Prevent
Gun Violence: Christine Piper, Moms
Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Tred Lightly for Lent
Environmental daily reflection-action calendar:
Earth Care Taskforce
OHPC ENews social
justice/environmental articles
Advocacy
Earth Care Guidelines
Developed Energy Innovation Carbon Dividend Act
Comments sent to the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management concerning Ocean Wind, LLC’s Proposed Ocean Wind 1
Offshore Wind Farm Project Offshore New Jersey
Legislation to update the
Electoral Count Act
Adopted the Land Acknowledgement Statement: “We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape people, the
traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting today. We acknowledge that they have occupied and
cared for this land over countless generations and we celebrate their
continuing contributions to the life of this region.”
All information provided by Sharon Eaton.
Earth Care Pledge
Peace and justice is God's plan for all creation. The earth and all creation are God's. God calls us to be careful, humble stewards of this earth, and to protect and restore it for its own sake, and for the future use and enjoyment of the human family. As God offers all people the special gift of peace through Jesus Christ, and through Christ reconciles all to God, we are called to deal justly with one another and the earth.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE FOR THE EARTH? Our faith urges us to strive for eco-justice: defending and healing creation while working to assure justice for all of creation and the human beings who live in it. This call is rooted in the human vocation of “tilling and keeping” the garden from Genesis 2:15, as well as Christ’s charge to work with and for the most vulnerable. Because of their love for Christ who is firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), churches are challenged to live in a manner consistent with God’s call to not only care for creation, but commune with creation.
1. Our worship and discipleship will celebrate God's grace and glory in creation and declare that God calls us to cherish, protect and restore this earth.
2. In education, we will seek learning and teaching opportunities to know and understand the threats to God's creation and the damage already inflicted. We will encourage and support each other in finding ways of keeping and healing the creation in response to God's call to earth keeping, justice and community.
3. Our facilities will be managed, maintained and upgraded in a manner that respects and cherishes all creation, human and non-human, while meeting equitably the needs of all people. In our buildings and on our grounds we will use energy efficiently, conserve resources, and share what we have in abundance so that God's holy creation will be sustainable for all life and future generations.
4. Our outreach will encourage public policy and community involvement that protects and restores the vulnerable and degraded earth as well as oppressed and neglected people. We will be mindful that our personal and collective actions can positively or negatively affect our neighborhood, region, nation and world. We will seek to achieve environmental justice through coalition and ecumenical partnerships.