GreenFaith’s National Fellowship Program Seeks New Applications
Nationally Recognized Initiative to Train Ordained, Lay Leaders for
Environmental Leadership

          GreenFaith announced today that its GreenFaith Fellowship Program is seeking applications for its second class of Fellows. The Fellowship Program is the first comprehensive education and training program in the US to prepare lay and ordained leaders from interfaith religious traditions for religiously based environmental leadership.

           The Fellowship Program consists of three three-day residential sessions in ecologically varied settings (one urban, one rural, and one suburban). The themes of the retreats are: eco-spirituality, environmental justice, and stewardship and consumption. There will also be monthly conference calls, mentoring sessions, an e-mail list serve, networking both within the program and at each fellow’s local/regional level and reading/writing assignments before and after each retreat.  The second class of Fellows will consist of at least 25 people and will run from the fall of 2008 through the end of 2009.  Fellows will be selected through a competitive application process. GreenFaith is interested in attracting applications across a broad religious, geographic and ethnically diverse spectrum. African-American, Asian-American, Latino and Jewish applications for this year’s class are particularly welcome.

          

Our English as a Second Language ministry to the Karen Burmese refugees who have settled in Elizabeth, NJ has begun with a bang!  We are meeting in the fellowship hall and Sunday School classrooms of First Baptist Church of Elizabeth/Cranford. 

Senior Pastor Rev. Diana Brown, Minister Malachy Williams and all the church volunteers, and teacher volunteers have been so helpful in getting this ministry up and running.  We have a wonderful team of workers whose can-do attitude is inspiring! We met for the first planning session in December and then again in January. 

On February 2, we met with students for the first time to conduct a placement test to see how many levels of ESL we would need to offer.  We had a good turnout of students who desperately want to study English and we believe that we will attract even more students in the weeks to come.  The classes will actually begin on February 9 and will be open admission. 

First Baptist Church of Elizabeth/Cranford is also beginning a children’s ministry that is meeting at the church at the same time the adults are studying, so the children are welcome to come with their parents and will also be learning useful skills.   

You are welcome to come and see what the spirit is doing any Saturday from 1-3 PM.  We have begun a wonderful ministry that we know God is being glorified.  Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming!  

The ABCNJ Public Mission Committee has again awarded grants to help churches start or expand a ministry to people in poverty.  The recipients of this year’s grants are the following:

• Christ Resurrection Missionary Baptist Church of East Orange, Rev. Leora Liggins, Pastor – for their Youth Ministry which is in dire need of transportation to get their youth to worship services, activities, and educational programs;
• First Baptist Church of Cranford/Elizabeth, Rev. Diana L. Brown, Senior Pastor – to help them expand their food ministry to include nutritional information, a food preparation workshop, and other materials; 
• The Board of Missions of the First Baptist Church of Woodstown, Rev. Daryle G. Cook, Pastor – to help with expenses of an after-school program for girls who are at high risk;
• The Missionary Ministry of First Baptist Church of Bridgeton – to help them with equipment and supplies for a soup kitchen which can offer hot foods.