<p>
	Duke Divinity School&rsquo;s Center for Reconciliation hosted its 6th annual Reconciler&rsquo;s Weekend in September, partnering with the Center for Environmental Leadership to explore what it means to reconcile with all of Creation, from soil and water to the plants and animals that depend on them. Theologians, activists, pastors, farmers, and students gathered for a weekend of sharing insights. For fellow Au Sable Graduate Fellow Samantha Miller and I, this weekend presented an opportunity to get away from a busy start to the semester to learn from people who are on the ground doing the good work of reconciliation. And the long drive back to Michigan through the almost-autumn Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains was a perfect backdrop for processing what we learned before jumping back into the classes!</p>
<p>
	One of the most striking sessions for me was a presentation by&nbsp;<a href="">Bill Kearney</a>, a North Carolina pastor and resident of the famed Warren County. If, like me, you weren&rsquo;t around or can&rsquo;t seem to remember what happened to push Warren County, NC into the national spotlight in 1982, here&rsquo;s what you should know:</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}NO_30594_Fr251.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 226px; float: right;" />In 1982, a small, predominantly African-American and low-income community in Warren County, NC was chosen to host a landfill. This in itself is not such a big deal, but this landfill was to house soil contaminated with PCBs from the illegal roadside dumping of toxic wastes around the state. This decision, which put the health of the land, water, plants, animals, and people in danger, led to massive protests and community organizing that gained national attention. While these protests did not actually stop the siting of the landfill all together, they served as the initial fodder to ignite the environmental justice movement that has now spread around the globe.</p>
