An invitation to dialogue
“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
— Martin Luther King Jr.
On Sunday, May 18, 2008, we invite Christians to engage and promote “sacred conversation” on the issue of race in the United States with the hope that discussion around the issues of race and racism will begin. Use these resources to engage your congregation in dialogue on this important matter.
International church action for just peace for Palestinians and Israelis
June 4-10, 2008
Through a week of advocacy, World Council of Churches member churches and related organizations will contribute to a common international witness for peace for Palestinians and Israelies.
Jerusalem's churches and related organizations in Palestine and Israel are at the centre of this initiative, as is the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme of the WCC. Churches from Australia, North America, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East have committed themselves to:
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has identified a number of resources that might prove helpful during this week. The message of the action week is that now "It's Time for Palestine": It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace; time to end 60 years of conflict; time for freedom from occupation; time for equal rights and time for the healing of wounded souls.
Bring the world closer
Requests are now being received for International Peacemakers and for an Interfaith Listening Team who will itinerate from September 26–October 20. From now through June 15, presbyteries, synods and Presbyterian educational institutions may submit a request for an International Peacemaker from Peru, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Russia, India, Portugal, China, Mexico, Romania, Syria, Colombia or Israel/Palestine. The Interfaith Listening Team hails from Pakistan.
For more information, please
contact Debby
Vial at (888) 728-7228 x5702 or Bryan
Reiff at (888) 728-7228 x5786.
2008 Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference
Sowing Mustard Seeds: Working for God’s Justice — Confronting
Poverty
July 15-19, 2008
Chapman University
Orange, California
Today globalization creates new forms of poverty with more
extreme disparities between the rich and the poor. The annual income of the richest
1 percent is equal to that of the poorest 57 percent, and 24,000 people die
each day from poverty and malnutrition. The majority of those in poverty are
women and children. The number of people living in absolute poverty on less than
one dollar per day continues to increase (Accra Confession. World Alliance of
Reformed Churches, 2004). In 2006, as many as 36.5 million people in the United
States lived in poverty (U.S.
Census Bureau).
Jesus calls us to be aware of the systems that impoverish
people and, through the parable of the mustard seed, teaches us of the power
of small acts of peaceful resistance to crack those systems open.
Find out more about the 2008 Peacemaking Conference. Download a conference registration
form  and brochure.
Travel study opportunities
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
August 1-15, 2008
Equal Exchange
Interfaith Program and Witness for Peace
October 18-28, 2008
Presbyterian Peacemaking Program
November 5–15, 2008
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