Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Churches are meta-networks, connecting disparate sectors of society (i.e. business, government, academia, et. al.) across socio-economic strata. Additionally, U.S. evangelical churches have significant cultural, social, and political power (i.e. 1 in 4 voters in 2020 was a white evangelical). The purpose of this project is to leverage this power in order to drive society-wide shifts in consumption and to mobilize a nascent constituency toward advocacy for a rapid, economy-wide drawdown of greenhouse gas emissions. We are building a fully-funded training program to educate and equip a national community of evangelicals to lead their communities toward these goals.

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Both YECA and EEN are deeply committed to elevating the leadership of historically marginalized communities, both because justice demands it and because these communities are on the frontlines of climate impacts. Those living in these communities are fighting for their lives in ways that other, more privileged communities are not. 

Out of recognition that the patterns of white supremacy and disenfranchisement can only be reversed when they are intentionally rooted out through concrete policies, YECA has embarked on a journey toward becoming an anti-racist organization. Among many other commitments, this includes seeking out relationships of accountability with organizations that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. In the context of the Fellows program, this means building relationships with institutions of higher education outside of the largely white Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It also means ensuring equitable access to the program for BIPOC students, through both just financial compensation and robust outreach efforts. 

Likewise, EEN is committed to ensuring that the fullness of the evangelical community in the U.S.--a full 24% of which is Black, Indigenous, and people of color--is not only represented in the Thriving Creation, Thriving Congregations program, but is equitably equipped to make positive change in their communities. This includes project funding for participants from historically marginalized communities, the amount of which is partly tied to the existing assets and resources in each participant‚ community. The intent is that leaders in disenfranchised communities would receive funding proportionate to the historic disinvestment experienced by these communities and would provide the opportunity for real, lasting, positive change.

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