How Did the Conference Come to Be?
Over 50 years ago, the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) formed as a voice for justice in the mountains. The Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) did historic, ground-breaking work to organize faith leadership.
Many of us who continue to echo its message feel that NOW is an especially meaningful and critically important time to come together once again to examine the economic, environmental and spiritual conditions of our region, to problem solve, and to organize.
Today, in the spirit of CORA, the State of Appalachia conference examines the spiritual, economic, and ecological situation of our home. 2018 marks the second State of Appalachia conference. Together, we will chart a path forward.
Many of us who continue to echo its message feel that NOW is an especially meaningful and critically important time to come together once again to examine the economic, environmental and spiritual conditions of our region, to problem solve, and to organize.
Today, in the spirit of CORA, the State of Appalachia conference examines the spiritual, economic, and ecological situation of our home. 2018 marks the second State of Appalachia conference. Together, we will chart a path forward.
2018 Agenda
(accelerated to account for Saturday afternoon snow)
Friday, March 23:
1:00pm Welcome and Opening Prayer
1:15pm Keynote Panel: The State of the Soul of Appalachia
Moderator: Bishop Matthew Riegel
Panel: Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Ms. Jessica Lilly, Pastor Harold "Jake" Jacobson
2:20 p.m. Break
2:30 pm Plenary Session 1: The State of the Local Church in Appalachia
Moderator: Bishop Matthew Riegel
Panel: Judicatory Leader, Local Pastor, Rev. Dr.
Gilson Waldkoenig, and Ms. Loretta Young
3:35 pm Break
3:45 pm Plenary Session 2: Just Transitioning in Appalachia
Moderator: Rev. Rebecca Tollefson
Panel: Mr. Nick Mullins, Mr. Lyndon Harris, Dr. Todd Nesbitt
4:45pm Greeting from Islamic Society of North America & Prayer
5:00 pm Projects Fair
5:30pm (State Caucuses) Conference Rooms A, B, C, D
6:00pm Dinner
7:00pm Issue Caucuses/Free Time
8:00pm Entertainment – Mr. Lyndon Harris, Ms. Kate Long
Saturday, March 24:
7:00am Water Spirituality Hike with Creation Justice Ministries. Please dress warmly and in shoes that can handle a bit of mud. Meet in the Lobby.
8:00 am Breakfast
8:45am Plenary Gathering
9:00am Concurrent Workshops 2
a. Dismantling Racism in Appalachia
b. Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions
c. Working Towards a Constructive Appalachian Theology
d. Water Justice
e. Opioid Epidemic – WVCC SUDI VISTA Initiative
10:00am A Love Letter to Appalachia
11:00am Final Session: Where do we go from here?
11:45am Benediction
12 pm Lunch / Adjourn
(accelerated to account for Saturday afternoon snow)
Friday, March 23:
1:00pm Welcome and Opening Prayer
1:15pm Keynote Panel: The State of the Soul of Appalachia
Moderator: Bishop Matthew Riegel
Panel: Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Ms. Jessica Lilly, Pastor Harold "Jake" Jacobson
2:20 p.m. Break
2:30 pm Plenary Session 1: The State of the Local Church in Appalachia
Moderator: Bishop Matthew Riegel
Panel: Judicatory Leader, Local Pastor, Rev. Dr.
Gilson Waldkoenig, and Ms. Loretta Young
3:35 pm Break
3:45 pm Plenary Session 2: Just Transitioning in Appalachia
Moderator: Rev. Rebecca Tollefson
Panel: Mr. Nick Mullins, Mr. Lyndon Harris, Dr. Todd Nesbitt
4:45pm Greeting from Islamic Society of North America & Prayer
5:00 pm Projects Fair
5:30pm (State Caucuses) Conference Rooms A, B, C, D
6:00pm Dinner
7:00pm Issue Caucuses/Free Time
8:00pm Entertainment – Mr. Lyndon Harris, Ms. Kate Long
Saturday, March 24:
7:00am Water Spirituality Hike with Creation Justice Ministries. Please dress warmly and in shoes that can handle a bit of mud. Meet in the Lobby.
8:00 am Breakfast
8:45am Plenary Gathering
9:00am Concurrent Workshops 2
a. Dismantling Racism in Appalachia
b. Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions
c. Working Towards a Constructive Appalachian Theology
d. Water Justice
e. Opioid Epidemic – WVCC SUDI VISTA Initiative
10:00am A Love Letter to Appalachia
11:00am Final Session: Where do we go from here?
11:45am Benediction
12 pm Lunch / Adjourn
Our 2018 Speakers
The State of the Soul of Appalachia
Moderator, Bishop Matthew Riegel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America West Virginia/Western Maryland Synod
Riegel has served as chaplain of Lutheran Campus Ministry at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He was pastor of Trinity-Mount Calvary Lutheran, a shared ministry in Westernport, Md., and Keyser, W.Va., from 1994 to 2000. “Wittenberg University was midwife to the birth of the Lutheran Reformation. Leaving campus ministry, I hope to share that university ethos beyond the campus in continuance of the work begun 500 years ago,” Riegel said. Riegel earned a bachelor’s degree in history from ELCA-related Gettysburg (Pa.) College in 1987. From the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.), Riegel earned a master of divinity degree in 1994 and a master of sacred theology degree in 2011. He has served as the Bishop for the West Virginian ELCA Synod since 2015.
Panelist, Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland
The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland is Executive Director of the NC Council of Churches. Jennifer is a native of South Carolina and an ordained minister in The United Methodist Church. She loves South Carolina, but has managed to spend all but ten years of her adult life in North Carolina. Those ten years were spent pastoring United Methodist churches across the Upstate. She attended Duke University several times and in the process earned a BA, double majoring in English and Religion, a Master of Divinity, a PhD in religion, and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Prior to coming to the Council, she spent 16 years as the United Methodist Chaplain at Duke University, where she also taught undergraduate and divinity school classes, served on committees and task forces, and attended lots of basketball games. Jennifer has two children, Nathan, a software developer who lives in Durham, and Hannah, a student at the University of Tampa.
Panelist, Ms. Jessica Lilly
Jessica Lilly covers southern West Virginia for West Virginia Public Broadcasting and is the host and co-producer of Inside Appalachia. The show airs Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and is also available as a podcast. Jessica can also be heard weekdays on West Virginia Morning, the station’s daily radio news program. Jessica joined West Virginia Public Broadcasting in 2008 as the Southern West Virginia Bureau Chief. She’s committed to reporting stories of the people in her region and across Appalachia. She's passionate about following issues and developments in worker safety, community tap water, and more. Inside Appalachia won a Regional Murrow in 2016 for the Inside Appalachia show called, "What Happens When Strangers with Cameras Travel Inside Appalachia?" Jessica was named "Best Radio News Anchor" two years in a row by the Virginias Associated Press beginning in 2016. Concord University chose Jessica as, "Alumnus of the Year" in 2015. Jessica was instrumental in launching Concord University's first FM station, WVCU-LP FM in 2015. Jessica was chosen by the West Virginia Associated Press in 2013 as the winner of the Significant Impact Award for her influence on broadcasting in the state. She was also the winner of the 2013 Associated Press Best Reporter, Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Feature Runner-Up among other awards throughout her career. While studying broadcasting and journalism, public relations and business administration at Concord University, Jessica worked as the weekend producer and fill in reporter for WVNS-TV in Raleigh County, West Virginia. She went on to work as a full time reporter for WVNS-TV for about a year. Jessica graduated from Concord University in 2007, where she was named Concord University’s Reporter of the Year and Producer of the Year. Born in Bluefield, W.Va., Jessica grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia and Wyoming County. She was always busy with activities such as cheerleading, or theatre. When she’s not reporting, Jessica is the faculty advisor at Concord University's radio station, WVCU LP-FM "Mt. Lion Radio". She recently took on the role of Concord University cheerleading coach. In her spare time, she enjoys attending sporting events and theatre productions, singing, antiquing, skiing, riding ATV’s, and traveling with family.
Panelist, Pastor Harold "Jake" Jacobson
Harold “Jake’ Jacobson is an ordained Lutheran (ELCA) pastor who has served for the past 35 years at Grace Lutheran Church in Clarion, PA. For the past 9 years he has also served as Assistant to the Bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod and as Director of Evangelical Mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Pastor Jacobson holds degrees from Jamestown Community College (Chemistry), Gettysburg College (Religion/Biblical Studies) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He is also a practicing certified Spiritual Director. He is the author of Front Porchin’, a guide to faith sharing in the Appalachian Context, Building Missional Tables, a guide to creating congregational mission strategies, and most recently Holy Talk: An Introduction to Scripture for the Occasionally Biblically Embarrassed (Publication in Fall 2018). Jake also is a professional wood carver. He is the owner of Tre Kronor Studio and together with his son they carry out a variety of artistic offerings in various media.
The State of the Local Church in Appalachia
Moderator, Bishop Matthew Riegel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America West Virginia/Western Maryland Synod
Riegel has served as chaplain of Lutheran Campus Ministry at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He was pastor of Trinity-Mount Calvary Lutheran, a shared ministry in Westernport, Md., and Keyser, W.Va., from 1994 to 2000. “Wittenberg University was midwife to the birth of the Lutheran Reformation. Leaving campus ministry, I hope to share that university ethos beyond the campus in continuance of the work begun 500 years ago,” Riegel said. Riegel earned a bachelor’s degree in history from ELCA-related Gettysburg (Pa.) College in 1987. From the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.), Riegel earned a master of divinity degree in 1994 and a master of sacred theology degree in 2011. He has served as the Bishop for the West Virginian ELCA Synod since 2015.
Panelist, Rev. Dr. Gilson Waldkoenig
Gil Waldkoenig grew up in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. His home church had one site in an old coal town and one in the mountains. After college and seminary in Gettysburg, Gil went to the University of Chicago Divinity School for his PhD in the history of Christianity. His dissertation was on rural churches facing dramatic economic and social change in the 20th century. He co-authored a book about cooperative parishes (that is, mission clusters of congregations). For 23 years he has been a seminary professor and the director of the Town and Country Church Institute (TCCI), first at Gettysburg Seminary and now at United Lutheran Seminary which is a consolidation of Gettysburg and Philadelphia Lutheran seminaries. He is also the Director for Evangelical Mission in the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod. In addition to the gospel of Jesus Christ, Clawhammer banjo, old-time guitar, family and an Aussie Shepherd keep him within a reasonable approximation of sanity.
Just Transitioning in Appalachia
Moderator, Rev. Rebecca Tollefson
The Rev. Rebecca J. Tollefson, a native of Iowa, became the Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches in April, 1997. She has held ministerial standing in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1981. She is a graduate of Buena Vista University (1974) and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1981). Rebecca served for 10 years in parish ministry in Iowa and Minnesota, as the Director of the Commission on Faith and Order for the Minnesota Council of Churches, and then joined the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1991. While there she served as Associate, Women Employed by the Church, and as Associate for Call Referral Services. In the fall of 1998, the Ohio Council of Churches held their first forum on environmental concerns. They had been requested to do so by the National Council of Christian Churches in the USA. From that spun the Ohio Interfaith Power and Light program.
Panelist, Mr. Nick Mullins
Nick Mullins is a writer, lecturer, and communications specialist whose work focuses upon the need for a just and sustainable economic transition. As a 9th generation Appalachian and the 5th generation of his family to work in underground coal mines, Nick uses his unique perspectives to bridge the intense divides found between today’s environmental advocates and rural working-class communities. When not working within his media and communications organization Breaking Clean (www.breakclean.com), he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family as well as contributing to his blog thethoughtfulcoalminer.com.
Panelist, Mr. Lyndon Harris
Lyndon Harris is a forgiveness teacher. His journey to forgiveness began at the foot of the WTC’s South Tower on September 11, 2001, as the second terrorist-hijacked airplane exploded on contact. Surviving the rain of debris, he would go on to organize his church, Saint Paul’s Chapel (directly across the street from the former WTC), into a mission for workers at Ground Zero, ultimately feeding over 500,000 meals to rescue workers for the next eight and a half months. Harris had over 240 days’ exposure to the site, leading to PTSD, depression, and difficulties breathing. Like many other first responders, his life soon fell apart: loss of job and vocation, marriage failure, and losing a home in foreclosure. Spending years in darkness, Harris nevertheless found gold to share: the life-changing and healing power of forgiveness. Lyndon Harris now serves as Co-director of Tigg’s Pond Retreat Center in Zirconia, NC. He is a forgiveness coach, and an inspirational and motivational speaker, having spoken at numerous conferences across the United States and around the world. His work at Ground Zero has been written about widely by news media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and Germany’s Die Zeit.
Panelist, Dr. Todd Nesbitt
J. Todd Nesbitt is Professor of Geography at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU). A native of West Virginia, he received a Ph.D. in geography from West Virginia University. He taught at Glenville State College for six years prior to arriving at LHU. As an economic geographer, his research and teaching interests include political ecology, cultural identity, and regional economic development – all within the Appalachian context. He has developed and directed a summer study abroad program in Northern Ireland, in partnership with the University of Ulster, examining identity politics and conflict between Protestants and Catholics. His most recent research focuses on economic distributism as an alternative development model for Appalachia. He is particularly interested in examining the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, located in the Basque region of northern Spain, as a model for sustainable economic development in West Virginia.