Swords into Plowshares

Executive Order on Torture

On Thursday, January 22, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order that stops the CIA’s abuse of detainees, closes U.S. secret prisons, ends rendition for torture, and provides the International Committee of the Red Cross with access to U.S.-held detainees.

While concerns remain about the details, there is a deep sense of gratitude for President Obama's action. The National Religious Coalition Against Torture(NRCAT) encourages faith communities across the country and around the globe to join in offering prayers of praise and thanksgiving to mark the President's executive order.

NRCAT offers an opportunity to send an email of thanks to President Obama.

NRCAT provides a bulletin insert with a prayer of thanksgiving on one side and next steps in the campaign to end torture on the other side.

General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), including the 218th General Assembly (2008) have made a number of statements related to torture.

 

2009 Peacemaking Conference Registration

REGISTER NOW!
The 2009 Peacemaking Conference will be part of the Big Tent - a first-of-its-kind Presbyterian event taking place at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, GA on June 11-13, 2009.

Registration materials are now available.

“And the Word Became Flesh — Peacemaking in the Neighborhood” is the theme of the 2009 Peacemaking Conference. Jesus calls and empowers us to make peace with our neighbors around the corner and across God’s world. Peacemaking Conference participants will have the opportunity to visit significant sites in metropolitan Atlanta where peacemaking has occurred and is taking place, share stories from our own neighborhoods, and engage in public witness, small group discussions and conversations on current issues as we explore how to do justice and seek peace.

Hope to see you there!

Human Rights in the Philippines

The 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a resolution expressing concern for human rights violations in the Philippines.

The Assembly voted to direct “the appropriate agencies within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to advocate that the United States Congress and the Department of State reduce U.S. funding of the Philippine military and to condition all future aid on: (a) concrete signs that the human rights of unarmed citizens and groups within civil society are respected by all levels of government, including the Philippine military; and (b) evidence that those elements of the Philippine military that are implicated in murder, abduction, torture, and other gross human rights violations are held accountable by the government.”

An advocacy campaign that included Presbyterians resulted in human rights conditions and funding restrictions on U.S. military aid to the Philippines being added to the U.S. budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008.

Groups and individuals concerned for our sisters and brothers in the Philippines are working on the FY 2009 budget. They have begun this effort with a Letter of Concern (Download Letter of Concern on the Philippines) addressed to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate asking them to hold the Philippine government accountable concerning extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations against civil society groups in the Philippines as they develop the FY 2009 budget.

Sign on to the letter (affiliation would be for identification purposes) by emailing the following information to the Rev. Larry Emery who is collecting the signatures:
 
Name, Title
Organization
City, State
 
The deadline for receiving signatures is Thursday, February 5, 2009.

The Letter of Concern acknowledges that deaths and disappearances in the Philippines have declined. But it also notes that the conditions included in the FY 2008 budget were not met.

Letter to Secretary of State Clinton On Behalf of Gaza

A group of seven members of the United States House of Representatives have organized a letter to Secretary of State Clinton expressing “deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis.”

Ask your Representative to sign on this letter. Churches for a Middle East Peace provides an opportunity to send an email.

February Fast on Food Crisis

  Join Presbyterians and others around the country and across the world, in this church-wide fast on the global food crisis. Materials are available for the February (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) fast. The focus for February is Food Demand and the featured country is India. Fasting is a spiritual practice that can take us on a faithful journey that may change us for good. Fasting allows us to focus our attention on God. We may fast from food or from some other aspect of our life in order focus our attention on God and remind ourselves of our dependence of God. The monthly fasts typically begin after a Friday evening meal and end with Communion on Sunday - about 40 hours. Participants should feel free to use the resources and adapt the schedule in ways that fit their needs and situation.

Peace is . . .

While working on a sermon, I came across a quote attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero. I could not track it to a citation, but it is certainly worth pondering:

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.

Interfaith Platform on Humane Immigration Reform

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition has prepared a statement outlining a platform on humane immigration reform. The statement will be presented to President Barack Obama's new administration and the 111th Congress.

Pastors and leaders from all faith traditions are invited to sign on to the letter. Julia Thorne, Manager for Immigration Issues/Immigration Counsel in the Office of the General Assembly, invites any Presbyterian pastor or elder or other leader interested in signing the statement to send her an email.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is a partnership of faith-based organizations committed to enacting fair and humane immigration reform that reflects our mandate to welcome the stranger and treat all human beings with dignity and respect. Coalition members work together to advocate for just and equitable immigration policies, educate faith communities, and serve immigrant populations around the country. Through this coalition, hundreds of national and local faith-based organizations and faith leaders have called on Congress and the Administration to enact immigration reform consistent with these values.

Walking for Justice

Staff members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) joined with Louisville community members, students from several Presbyterian seminaries, and staff from the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky for a Justice Walk on what would have been the 80th birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

The event was set in the context of worship. The service began in the atrium of the Presbyterian Center and included song and prayer and words of encouragement from Louisville Metro Councilman David Tandy.

The walk itself was constructed as a time of confession. Walkers journeyed to sites in downtown Louisville that had ties to acts of racial injustice (slave pens) or justice (churches where Dr. King spoke). At each site, they remembered and confessed and made ties to current situations such as the trafficking of children.

A smaller group gathered in the chapel at the Presbyterian Center and followed the same order of service as the walkers.

The walk ended at the Presbyterian Community Center which has been tending to spiritual, physical, and emotional needs for over a century. The journey to justice continues.

David Gambrell, Associate for Worship, has a posting about the walk. WDRB-41 also has a story and a brief video clip.

A View on Gaza from Bethlehem

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, recently posted a reflection on events in Gaza.

Here are some excerpts. Mitri writes:

"The most important thing, I believe, is not what we are told and shown, but what this war is trying to hide. Here are some of the intentions as I see them:  

"1) The two-state solution is the intended victim of the war on Gaza.

"2)  Regional power struggles continue to be played out in Palestine.

"3)  Gaza is the new poster-child for justifying humanitarian aid.

"I know how children in Gaza are now being traumatized, how families are scared to death, not knowing who’s next. And yet it was at that time that we wrote: 'We will never give up on our town and on the wellness of our community. We will continue to build and rebuild, to train and educate, to empower and to create life in the midst of death. We will continue to call for justice and reconciliation in the midst of rising hate, revenge and retaliation.' This was as true then as it is now."

Read the whole thoughtful, thought-provoking reflection from a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission parter. 

Countdown to End Torture

The National Coalition against Torture has launched the Countdown to End Torture campaign. The goal of the campaign is to encourage President-elect Barack Obama to end U.S.-sponsored torture on his first day in office by issuing an executive order based on the Declaration of Principles developed by the coalition. 

Support for this effort includes signing the Declaration of Principles and using an interfaith prayer and bulletin insert in a worship service during the ten-day period between January 11th and January 20th.
 
NRCAT will hold a press conference on Wednesday, January 14, with national interfaith religious leaders urging President-elect Obama to issue an executive order on his first day in office.  We want to highlight the significant number of faith communities across the country that are joining together in this Countdown.
 
The 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to affirm the Declaration of Principles.