<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}loren_wilkinson-cropped.jpg" style="width: 135px; height: 181px; float: right;" />Twenty-eight Au Sable graduate fellows traversed the country to gather at the Great Lakes Campus for their annual conference from January 18-21. The graduate fellows conference provides an opportunity for fellows that hail from chapters across the country -- Cornell University, University of California Berkley, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purdue University, and Michigan State University -- to meet for a time of personal, professional, and spiritual growth.&nbsp;The conference blends group breakout sessions led by a prominent ecotheologian, times to connect with other fellows, recreation and&nbsp;enjoyment of God&#39;s creation, and personal reflection.</p>
<p>
	This year, the Graduate Fellows hosted Dr. Loren Wilkinson, adjunct professor of Interdisciplinary Studies &amp; Philosophy at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, for its conference sessions. Dr. Wilkinson was no stranger to the Au Sable Great Lakes Campus. A frequent contributor to the Au Sable fora in the early 1980s, Dr. Wilkinson played a critical role in reintroducing evangelical Christians to the biblical vision for creation care. The book he edited,&nbsp;<em>Earthkeeping in the Nineties: Stewardship for Creation</em>, drew heavily from his experience at Au Sable fora and was one of the first theological resources available for evangelical Christians on creation care.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Drawing from a new book he is authoring, Dr. Wilkinson led three sessions at the graduate fellows conference on the topic&nbsp;<em>Creation and the Cross,</em>&nbsp;entitled:</p>
<ol>
	<li>
		Biblical and Theological Foundations for thinking about the Cross at the centre of Creation</li>
	<li>
		Evolution, Pain, and Suffering: How the Cross helps us understand the Integrity of the Creature</li>
	<li>
		The Cross and &quot;Dark Green Religion&quot;: How an understanding of the Cross in Creation opens doors of communication with the religious dimension of the environmental movement</li>
</ol>
<p>
	Wilkinson explained, &quot;Christians believe that the character of God is most clearly seen in Jesus&#39; death on the cross. But that insight has seldom been used to illuminate our understanding of creation. In these lectures, [we] explor[ed] three areas in which the cross is relevant for creation.&quot;</p>
<p>
	Says Au Sable Graduate Fellows Coordinator Rolf Bouma, &quot;It was a pleasure to welcome Loren and all of our graduate fellows to the Great Lakes Campus for a weekend of renewing our hearts and minds for purposeful academic work and a life-long commitment to caring for God&#39;s creation. As every year, this proved to be a wonderful time together.&quot;</p>
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<p>
	Read about last year&#39;s graduate fellows conference, which featured Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, author of <em>For the Beauty of the Earth</em>, discussing &quot;<a href="/news_and_resources/news/steven_bouma_prediger_leads_talks_on_earthkeeping_as_homemaking#.UNIFwoNX1EI">Earthkeeping as Homemaking</a>.&quot;</p>
