The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

Student Convener: Debbie Stein

Faculty Advisor: The Rt. Rev. Frederick Houk Borsch

7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119-1794

Tel: 215/248-4616

School Website: www.ltsp.edu

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A glimpse of the LTSP chapter:

The Beatitudes Society chapter at LTSP has combined efforts with the seminary's Environmental Stewardship Commission (ESC) to make environmental justice the primary focus of our chapter. Since the ESC was already established on campus, it provided momentum for the newly established Beatitudes Society.

Students here at LTSP are passionate about issues of the environment. So far, the 2007-2008 academic year has been marked by an exciting "Green Campus Initiative" drafted by both the ESC and the Beatitudes Society. It calls for an official "greening" of our campus, which involves taking action in many areas of campus life, including administration, food services, new construction, transportation, energy conservation, and land use, among others.

In addition to the Green Campus Initiative, the ESC and Be'ats Society members held a "mug drive" in the fall and were successful at replacing paper cups with ceramic mugs for coffee hour. We have also worked on increasing campus-wide recycling.

We meet approximately once a month over the lunch hour at the "chaplain's table" in our refectory. Generally, we open with prayer or a devotion and follow an agenda with plenty of time for open conversation and brainstorming. Approximately 10-15 students usually attend our meetings, although our chapter has 22 "official" members.

We hold a campus-wide convocation twice a year (once in the fall and once in the spring), an event usually centered around environmental justice. In the fall, our event drew a crowd of 40-50 students--a GREAT turnout for our campus! We are always open to new ideas and voices!

Strengthening the progressive Christian network for justice, compassion, & peace