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Explorations in Just Living

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About this blog

Welcome to the blog of the Enough for Everyone program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). By "just living" we mean both justice-based living and just simply living – freeing ourselves from the clutter of stuff so we can focus on living faithfully and living well. Join us in the exploration!

About the Author
Bryce Wiebe coordinates Enough for Everyone, a ministry of the Presbyterian Hunger Program. He loves slow food and is fascinated by the way things are made.  He is excited to dive into experiments in simplicity with you.  His sacred cow of consumption: kitchen gadgets.

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September 12, 2008

Introductions are in order

Ben Randell

Allow me to introduce myself:

I'll start with the basics.  My name is Ben Randell.  I live in Louisville, Kentucky with my wife and daughter.  I have a dog named Lucy and I'm a member of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church.

My journey to this time and place in my life is a little circuitous.  I'm originally from a small town in central Oklahoma.  My grandpa is a retired Free Will Baptist minister and had a hand in naming me after that denomination's founder, Benjamin Randall.  Every Sunday and Wednesday, he picked me up for church.  On the way to my grandparent's house for lunch, he and I would discuss the day's sermon or anything else that would come to mind.  He has had a big influence on my faith journey. 

As an answer to the inevitable questions about my current church affiliation, I like to say, "I grew up Free Will Baptist.  I went to a Southern Baptist university where I became a Presbyterian."  You may have a similar story about how you came to worship God where you do. 

I got my feet wet in the environmental movement early in undergrad.  When reading the textbook for environmental biology, I learned the scope of the problem and realized, "I have a lot to learn."  I began to explore on my own, which at times was a source of discomfort.  I became suspicious of my drinking water after reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.  Henry David Thoreau's Walden had me wishing for a simpler time in US history.  I learned in John McPhee's The Control of Nature the folly of drastically changing the environment to protect our self interest.  And with Resource Wars, Michael Klare drew my attention to the political ramifications of our insatiable appetite for natural resources.  All the while, I was reminded of what God said to the first humans:

"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it."  Genesis 1:28a (KJV)

I look forward to working with Enough for Everyone and meeting the many people that take part in its programs.  I am glad to be here putting my knowledge and experience into helping "Replenish the Earth."