Coastal Green Team Summit

Saturday, September 21, 2024
9:30 AM 2:30 PM

First Presbyterian Church, Savannah 520 Washington Avenue Savannah, GA, 31405 United States (map)

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Green Team Summits are opportunities for faith leaders, Green Team members, and environmental activists to come together for a day of learning and fellowship. This summit on Sept. 21 at the First Presbyterian Church of Savannah will focus on ways coastal faith communities can foster spiritual and ecological resilience in the face of the climate crisis. At the summit, participants will hear from a panel of local faith leaders, participate in roundtable discussions, and attend workshops on local climate issues, coastal resilience, Green Team organizing, and advocacy. Lunch, coffee, and light snacks will be provided. Registration is closed.

SUMMIT SCHEDULE

9:30 - 10 a.m. | Registration + Refreshments
10 - 10:15 a.m. | Welcome + Announcements
10:15 - 11:00 a.m. | Faith Leader Panel
11 - 11:30 a.m. | Facilitated Roundtable Conversations
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | Lunch
12:25 - 1:15 p.m. | Workshops - Round One
1:20 - 2:10 p.m. | Workshops - Round Two
2:15 - 2:30 p.m. | Closing

PANELISTS

The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda (he/him/él)

Arboleda is the Program Manager for New Church Starts for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He coordinates with Lutheran synods (regional bodies) in the USA and the Caribbean as they plan for and launch new worshiping communities, supports new worshiping communities with grant funding, coaching, and training, and coordinates with other Christian denominations doing similar work. Arboleda previously served as the Rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Savannah, and the Missioner for Racial Justice in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. His local work has included community organizing, political advocacy, training leaders in antiracism, and theological research about criminal justice policy. He has degrees from Messiah University and Duke University Divinity School. A grandchild of Ecuadorian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican immigrants, Arboleda is married to the Rev. Kelly Steele, the Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Savannah.

Cathy Douylliez (she/her)

Douylliez is the M.K. Pentecost Ecology Fund Coordinator at the Savannah Presbytery. She has been a member of First Presbyterian Church in St. Marys since 1995. She was ordained as an Elder in her home church in Green Cove Springs, Florida in 1986. While in Saint Marys, she has served in Presbyterian Women, Stephen Ministry, Christian Education, and the Music Ministry.

Rev. Antwon Nixon (he/him)

Nixon is the lead pastor of Mt Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, serving in that capacity since 2017. He's a community activist and youth empowerment leader. Nixon serves on several boards, including the Okefenokee Protection Alliance, Friends of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and The St. Mary's Riverkeeper.

His passion for God, community development, economic, and cultural empowerment, led him to found Sowing Seeds Outside the Walls, a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, committed to inspiring, encouraging, and enriching the lives of the community through educational and social development by way of mentorship and financial investment.

Through his work outside the walls of the church, he also founded Church Outside the Walls, where every fifth Sunday he leads the church outside into a community park, offering the Word of God to all who would come.

Some of his outreach work with Sowing Seeds includes purchasing his childhood community park from the county of Charlton, providing new equipment and safe spaces for kids, hosting community events, advocating for the Okefenokee Swamp, as well as being featured in several short films, including a PBS documentary. His service within his community has been recognized by his peers and local officials. In 2021, Nixon was awarded the Humanitarian Award along with the mayor and city of Folkston proclaiming May 30, "Antwon (Cheez) Nixon day."

WORKSHOPS

Round One:

Green Team 101
Fellowship Hall
This workshop, designed for new Green Teams or Green Teams who are relaunching, will explore strategies for building your group, organizing and mobilizing members, and engaging your entire congregation. During this workshop, participants will receive access to Green Team resources, learn about GIPL’s practical climate solution programs, and have an opportunity to ask questions of GIPL staff. This workshop is taught by Hannah Shultz, GIPL’s Program Director.
Revisioning Community: Creating a New Story
Room 115
Thomas Berry writes, “It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the new story.”
Environmentalists often tell the story of the consequences of our unsustainable way of life, causing people to shut down or dwell in dystopian scenarios. But what if we redirected that energy and used our moral imagination to tell the story of a peaceful, just, and regenerative future where all can flourish? In this workshop, you will have an opportunity to envision, write, draw, and share a new story of the future you want to create together.
Exploring Coastal Advocacy Issues
Choir Room
Georgia’s 100-mile coast contains some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, including calving grounds for the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whales that migrate to Georgia each December and expansive deep-sea coral reefs offshore along the Blake Plateau. A bit further inland is the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest blackwater swamp in the United States and certified Dark Sky Park. Join this workshop to learn more about these wild places and how we can work together to protect them for future generations!

Round Two:

GIPL Organizing: Moving From Engagement to Advocacy
Fellowship Hall
Join GIPL's Organizing Director, Marqus Cole, for a workshop on how to connect, align, learn, and make meaningful steps towards organizing your Green Team for engagement around pressing Extreme Weather issues. The workshop will include opportunities to put into practice some of the advocacy tools like direct policymaker contacts, visibility, and grassroots petitions that GIPL has refined over the years. You'll have plenty of takeaways to bring meaningful action back to your congregations and communities.
Faith Communities as Resilience Hubs
Room 115
Faith communities can play an important role in helping their congregants and neighbors prepare for and respond to climate disasters by serving as a faith-based Resilience Hub. Join this workshop to learn how your congregation can provide essential resources like food, water, shelter, and spiritual support in the event of an emergency. You can also expect to learn more about building long-term resilience through community engagement, education, and training. This workshop will be led by GIPL staff, Alex Taylor from the Red Cross, and Alicia Brown with Capital Good Fund.
Cultivating Gardens for a Greener Tomorrow
Choir Room
Community gardens contribute to health, wellness, positive social connections, and community resilience. Join Healthy Savannah and local growers to learn about their community garden projects and what is needed to start a community garden on the grounds at your house of worship!