Kathy, thanks for that note. What I was getting at was that the person they're looking for does not even need to know anything about religion to do the job, ie, just flip open the phone book and start dialing churches and synagogues. Leaders in the faith community get weary of secular folks doing outreach to them when it's coming from such a place, I'm told. <br>
<br>Certainly a lot of good intention and action comes from the faith community on the issue of climate change and many others. I just think that it's usually better and more powerful when such things are initiated from within the faith community itself.<br>
<br>Great holiday,<br><br>Erik<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 11:09 PM, Kathleen Garness <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kmgfinearts@comcast.net">kmgfinearts@comcast.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">I have a few thoughts - I don't think it's actually that surprising such a large group might identify the need for someone to connect with faith-based groups. I do natural areas restoration work and some of my best volunteers have come from church groups, or faith-based youth groups. The No Child Left Inside initiative has been taken up in many areas of the US, and Virginia especially has an active constituency there. This summer I gave a presentation to a teacher conference and was very pleasantly surprised on how many people were familiar with this.<br>
<br>
The little bit I do know about these issues seems to indicate that addressing global warming thru grassroots activities might be a different set of actions than those taken to help wildlife survive global warming, but perhaps I'm being simplistic? The incoming administration is huge on networking, so perhaps they see an entry there to both raise money and, hopefully, raise awareness of conservation issues. As for being opportunistic, well.... perhaps they are, or perhaps they're just identifying the next helpful step. Politically a possibly savvy move?<br>
<br>
I will pass on the notice of the job opportunity to my contacts!<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Kathy Marie<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:10:55 -0500<br>
From: "Erik Hoffner, Orion Grassroots Network"<br>
Here's a creation care job announcement - a rare thing, though<br>
becoming less rare - but I don't know how I feel about it. NWF's<br>
outreach to the faithful on this single issue of climate change (and<br>
I don't know why they use the term global warming below, as that's<br>
agreed to be something of a misnomer these days) seems to me like a<br>
rather narrow and opportunistic one, like hunting among the faithful<br>
for votes when November is coming and then ending the conversation<br>
once the election is over. How does it strike you?<br>
<br>
Anyhow, here it is in case you know someone looking for such a<br>
position in VA:<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>
Faith Community Outreach Manager, Posted Nov 03 <br>
National Wildlife Federation, Reston, VA<br>
<br>
Find a job you're wild about at the National Wildlife Federation<br>
(NWF), the nation's largest member-supported conservation<br>
organization, which is at the forefront of global warming issues,<br>
reconnecting our children with nature, and protecting America's<br>
wildlife and habitat.<br>
<br>
We seek a Faith Community Outreach Manager in our Washington, DC<br>
office. This position works to strengthen our grassroots capacity<br>
and mobilize grassroots participation in NWF advocacy campaigns,<br>
focusing particularly on the initiative to promote global warming<br>
solutions and help wildlife survive the impacts of global warming<br>
by helping to coordinate the mobilization of members of the faith<br>
communities. The Faith Community Outreach Manager will coordinate<br>
across NWF's departments and regions to develop an effective<br>
program to engage faith community members in the effort to solve<br>
global warming and protect wildlife for our children's future.<br>
<br>
Must have a Bachelors degree and five years of advocacy or campaign<br>
experience, or equivalent. Must have possess excellent<br>
organizational, verbal, written, and interpersonal skills; the<br>
ability to work well with others as a team and independently follow<br>
through on assigned tasks; knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel;<br>
and a willingness to master NWF's activist and Congressional<br>
database software and systems. HTML or web content management<br>
experience a plus. Commitment to conservation required.<br>
<br>
<br>
Do you hear the call of the wild? Apply at <a href="http://www.nwf.org/" target="_blank">www.nwf.org/</a><br>
careergateway and join us in mobilizing Americans to protect our<br>
country's wildlife.<br>
<br>
</blockquote></blockquote>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><br>Erik Hoffner<br>Orion Grassroots Network<br>888-909-6568<br><br><a href="http://www.oriongrassroots.org">http://www.oriongrassroots.org</a><br><br>The Orion Grassroots Network provides services and support to grassroots organizations engaged in ecological, social, and cultural change. <br>