Swords into Plowshares

Sudan in Transition

Thursday 2 June 2011

11:00 am- 1:30 pm

at

Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations

777 UN Plaza, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10017

 

11:00 – Noon

Briefing - Humanitarian concerns and hopes for South Sudan and insight on the new mandate as well as the Security Council trip to Sudan in May.

• Ms. Aida Mengistu (confirmed)- Desk Officer for Sudan, Africa II Section, Coordination & Response Division,Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Ms. Lacey Stone(confirmed), NGO Officer, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

 

12:15 – 1:30

Conversation- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in ministry in Sudan.

• The Rev. Roger Dermody- Deputy Executive Director for Mission, General Assembly Council for Mission, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

 

Lunch will be provided.

Please R.S.V.P. to 216-697-4568 or [email protected]

 

 

The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations equips and inspires Presbyterians for global discipleship following Jesus and advocates for peace and justiceguided by policies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s General Assembly. 

 

PC(USA) resources related to issues raised by the death of Osama bin Laden

The death of Osama bin Laden raises many issues for prayer, study, discussion, and reflection. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a number of resources available to use at this time. Among them are the Resolution on Violence, Religion and Terrorism from the 216th General Assembly (2004) and Faithful Living in a Time of Violence and Terrorism, a study paper on the resolution. The Thoughtful Christian offers a study Responding to Terrorism.

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program offers a list of materials to help study and practice nonviolence. Resurrection Living: Journeying with the Nonviolent Christ is the most recent study resource on nonviolence for use by individuals or groups.

The General Assembly has made several statements related to Iraq and Afghanistan.

219th General Assembly (2010)

• On the War in Afghanistan

218th General Assembly (2008)

• Regarding Assistance for Iraqi Refugees
• On Building Peace in Iraq
• On Addressing the Violence and Suffering Inflicted on Iraqi Women During the Current Prolonged War

216th General Assembly (2004)

• Iraq: Our Responsibility and the Future

215th General Assembly (2003)

• Iraq and Beyond

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has identified resources for caring for those serving in the military and their families:

• Ministering to Families Affected by Military Deployment
  U.S. Army Chaplains
• The Human Effects of War
  A Reflection by the Rev. Ken Moe, Grand Canyon Presbytery
• How to Help the Family of a Deployed Soldier

Recognizing the centrality of prayer to our lives, Faithful Living in a Time of Violence and Terrorism offers the following suggestions:

• Pray for peace, for one another, the community, national and international leaders, and the people of the world in each worship service.
• Light a candle for peace in each worship service.
• Use liturgical resources from around the world in worship, such as those found in Gifts of Many Cultures.
• Hold prayer vigils with other Presbyterian congregations and with ecumenical and
  interfaith partners.
• Pray daily for one another, the community, national and international leaders, and the people of the world.
• Create a group to pray together.
• Open a part of the church daily as a place of prayer and meditation.

Prayers for those who might be touched by the spiral of violence and revenge are also important.

Published since the study guide was written, Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor contains many hymns with peace themes.

The introduction to Faithful Living in a Time of Violence and Terrorism notes: "Through Christ, we are invited to look beyond what this world presents to God’s vision of wholeness and peace and to live into the hope brought about by God’s covenant." May these resources help us respond to Christ's invitation.

 

 

 

IEPC course for seminarians

Graduate study in peacemaking will be available for academic credit at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), held 17-23 May in Kingston, Jamaica and sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC). A course for seminarians and other graduate students will be offered on “Overcoming Violence: An Engagement with the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation”.

The course is accredited through the United Theological College of the West Indies in association with Boston University School of Theology, the WCC and the Boston Theological Institute. Transcripts of study will be issued for 4 academic credits; participating students are responsible for determining whether the credit is transferable to their own institution, and under what circumstances.

The IEPC will provide a unique opportunity for ecumenical formation as it encourages individuals and churches to renew their commitment to nonviolence, peace and justice.

The objectives of the course are to survey areas of violence which confront the churches, as discussed in plenary sessions and workshops at the IEPC, to develop skills as peacemakers with respect to IEPC themes, and to foster learning in the context of ecumenical formation.

The course dates are 16-28 May 2011, beginning in Kingston a day before the IEPC and ending a few days afterward. The syllabus and a registration form for the course are available below for downloading.

Applications need to be sent by e-mail to Dr Rodney Petersen of Boston Theological Institute by 1 April 2011.

Please download:

• Syllabus (pdf, 100 KB)
• Application form (MS Word, 200 KB)

For more information on the IEPC, please visit 

Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call

This policy statement of the 219th General Assembly (2010) encourages "the church at every level—from individual member to congregation, presbytery, synod, and national church—to become informed and active in preventing gun violence, to provide pastoral care for victims of gun violence, and to seek a spiritual response of grief and repentance, grace and courage to resist that violence and celebrate the Lord and Giver of Life."

It includes ideas for action and study questions.

Find additional study and worship resources for responding to gun violence.

Economic and Peacemaking studies seeking volunteers

Friends of Social Witness and Social Ministry,

The General Assembly has authorized two new studies that will involve the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP). One is about the economic crisis and the other is about the peacemaking witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We are providing links to brief prospectuses (work outlines) and nomination forms for those who want to be considered for work on these issues. Along with paid and volunteer consultant writers, the ACSWP and its predecessors have depended upon dedicated church members with particular expertise in the areas under consideration to serve on teams that define the work, contribute to it, and evaluate its adequacy.

The first study, Living Through Economic Crisis, builds upon the Social Involvement Report by that name which is to be distributed to each congregation in the denomination. That eight-page statement is an excellent call-to-action-and-reflection on our current demoralizing recession, and it provided the rationale for the Assembly to authorize a new study. Although this study is for a resolution and not a new full policy, we post a brief prospectus outlining the work to be done and knowledge needed. There is also a volunteer form. The prospectus lists the previous policy statements that provide a basis for the new assessment of "economic trends and practices, including their impact on the church itself.  In this case the focus is partly on "long term developments," as structural problems are not likely to be solved easily even if employment picks up. The goal is to prepare a report in time for the next General Assembly.

The second project is a peacemaking discernment process designed to provide both new thinking and a new range of practical applications to the church's peace witness. It may even lead to a re-orientation of our corporate conscience - part of the discernment is not to know all the outcomes. Thus, while there will be consultations to invite participation from peace and international affairs people in the colleges, universities and seminaries with an eye to updating policies, there will also be resources and ways for congregations and individuals across the church to reflect on their own peace engagement.

An initial assessment of Peacemaking: The Believers' Calling (1980), for example, suggests that its policy core remains valuable but that the nine areas surveyed in its background study all have changed since that Cold War period, and that several new concerns would probably be among the top nine challenges to peace. Along with this critical reading of the "signs of the times," discernment is also a faith guided process involving spiritual disciplines and formation of conscience. A steering team will work with both ACSWP and the Peacemaking Program to design as participatory a process as possible. Again, an initial outline of tasks to be performed is available, building clearly on the Assembly's action, as is a volunteer nomination form. The form notes that it is not only for the five-person steering team but for other aspects of the process, so if you feel called to participate please note your area of preferred contribution.

See 'The Changing Face of HIV/AIDS'

“The Changing Face of HIV/AIDS” is a new DVD/video by the Presbyterian AIDS Network (PAN).

In the United States, the face of HIV and AIDS has changed dramatically in the 30 years since the start of the pandemic.  Communities are living with increased rates of infection and more and more Americans are affected by HIV.

This video in six 3- minute segments explores “The Changing Face of HIV/AIDS,” telling the story of ministries of compassion, support and advocacy as the church and our communities respond. The segment, “What People of Faith Need to Know about HIV/AIDS” offers a basic primer for the church living in an HIV Positive world.  By discussing the facts about HIV and AIDS, the video empowers the viewer to make faithful decisions and the church to take faithful actions, as well as helping to reduce the stigma attached to this devastating illness.

The Presbyterian AIDS Network (PAN), a Network of the Presbyterian Health, Education & Welfare Association (PHEWA), is available to assist a congregation in becoming an HIV and AIDS Competent Church.

View or download “The Changing Face of HIV/AIDS.”

The DVD will very soon be available to be ordered through the Presbyterian Distribution Service at no cost (phone (800) 524-2612).

Just in time for World AIDS Day (December 1), and far beyond!

Find worship resources for World AIDS Day.

Read a World AIDS Day reflection by Amanda Craft, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workter in Guatemala.

Presbyterian Office of Public Witness invites internship applicants and church partnerships

The Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has announced a new program Internship for Public Witness, esigned for the formation of servant leaders in public policy ministry.

http://tinyurl.com/2v2ttnt

The Biblical Witness to Peacemaking

The Biblical Witness to Peacemaking, 2010-2011 is a daily lectionary bearing witness to God’s gift of peace and Christ’s call to peacemaking.

Peacemaking is a central declaration of the gospel. Though Jesus Christ, God grants us the gift of grace. We experience God’s grace as peace. God’s peace restores, sustains and heals. In response to this good news, Christians go into the world to proclaim and become part of God’s peace giving as peacemakers.  

This daily lectionary resource from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program may be used in private and group devotions, worship, or private and group Bible study.

Knit together

The Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer, Associate Professor of New Testament at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, preached the closing sermon at the 2010 Presbyterian Peacemaking Seminar. Bethany Furkin of the Presbyterian News service writes about the sermon at Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - News & Announcements - ‘Knit together’.

The story begins:

When it comes to translations, much depends on the choices of the translator, said the Rev. Margaret Aymer.

She was speaking at the Peacemaking Seminar, held at New Mexico's Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center Aug. 25-28. During the conference, participants studied Ephesians 4: 1-16 in small groups. Aymer focused on one verse from the passage, which states "But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from who the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love." (Eph 4: 15-16)

Aymer focused on the phrase "knit together," noting that it is strange for Greeks to have thought in the context of knitting. Why not "joined," "tied" or "woven"? Why "knit"?

While it might have been strange for Greeks, it was fitting for the participants in the seminar. They explored using a variety of art media to tell peacemaking stories and to engage in peacemaking - including knitting.

Noting that knitting is not a common Greek word, Dr. Aymer noted that knitting is a contextual word that describes the reality of the body of Christ and shapes our ministries as peacemakers.

"We're not called to uniformity. We are called to be linked into the body," she said. "We are called to hold on to one another."

Noting that every generation must translate for its context, she suggested that a future translation of the Ephesians passage might use, instead of "knitting," the word "networking" to express what it means to be ligaments in Christ's body.

On Thursday morning, Dr. Aymer, presented the model of Contextual Bible Study, which has been developed at the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research, in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. After her presentation, participants had the opportunity to practice the study model.

The photo is by David Young and shows the Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer leading a debriefing of the Contextual Bible Study experience.

Civil Resistance and the Dynamics of Nonviolent Conflict

From the United States Institute of Peace comes an announcement about a new course, Civil Resistance and the Dynamics of Nonviolent Conflict:

October 19, 2010 - December 9, 2010

An in-depth and multi-disciplinary perspective on civilian-based movements and campaigns to defend and obtain basic rights and justice around the world. This course will focus on governance, civil society, grassroots movements, and human rights.

This course is being delivered in partnership with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.

This course will run every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 PM to 8 PM from October 19-December 9, 2010.

Can't make it to Washington DC to take part in the course? Check out Resurrection Living: Journeying with the Nonviolent Christ, a journal study resource by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.