As a youngster growing up in Rosebud, Texas, Pastor Harold Vanicek could often be found with dirty hands working in his grandparents’ large garden. As farmers, grandma and grandpa invited their grandson to join in the work of growing food and caring for the land, which gave Pastor Harold an early introduction to creation care.Read More →

Booker Vance is the Policy Outreach Coordinator for Elevate Energy.  He is a native of Houston, TX. He attended Bethany Lutheran College in Lindsborg, KS where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics with a concentration in Mathematics in 1980. He continued his education as he graduated from the Lutheran School ofRead More →

I’m currently an administrator and professor for the study abroad program of Valparaiso University,  (Praxis Center) located in Costa Rica.  I teach classes about Central American history, politics, religion, ethnicity, environmental issues, sustainable development and also Comparative Healthcare Systems.   In addition, I occasionally lead short term service learning experiences for U.S. universities.  In lightRead More →

Katrina Martich is a deaconess, speaker, and consultant. Through her Living Connected project, she serves congregations and people of faith who want to develop creation care as a spiritual discipline woven through all they do. Her writing is available on her Facebook page and blog. Katrina is a consecrated deaconess by the Lutheran Diaconal AssociationRead More →

I am a life-long Lutheran and have been involved in a variety of ELCA efforts to promote the care of creation since the early 1990’s. Back then, my professional work was as a Medical Technologist [B.S. Univ. of Michigan, 1976], and I worked in a hospital laboratory for 24 yrs. But my increasing passion for,Read More →

Richard J. Perry, Jr., professor of church and society and urban ministry, has been on the faculty of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago since 1996. After his ordination in 1977, Perry served Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, Gary, Ind., for three years. His experience in urban and multi-cultural ministries was honed as director ofRead More →

old white man in blue jeans and a long sleeved white shirt and baseball cap, swinging a scythe at flowering buckwheat

Paul Santmire has been a leader in the field of ecological theology and ethics for more than fifty years. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), he has served as a teaching theologian, churchwide activist, and parish pastor.  He was one of the theological writers of the ELCA’s 1993 social teaching statement on theRead More →

With more than twenty years of experience in stewardship ministry, Keith A. Mundy currently serves as Assistant Director for Stewardship Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  For more than ten years, Keith has served ELCA congregations and synods by engaging leaders in the formation of healthy and missional congregations.  This ministry has included earthkeeping and caring for creation as part ofRead More →

David Rhoads, professor of New Testament, joined the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago faculty in 1988. He previously was professor of religion at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis., where he was named teacher of the year for 1973-74. He has written numerous articles, and is the author of Mark as Story and The Challenge of Diversity, two well-known texts.Read More →

Alycia grew up in a tiny prairie town in southwestern Minnesota, where she fell in love with nature and learned the importance of community engagement and public service. Alycia has made a career out of her greatest passion: empowering and equipping people of faith to be strong advocates for environmental stewardship and policy. She was instrumentalRead More →