Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis and Presbyterians for Earth Care selected for awards
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship will present its Peaceseeker awards for 2025 and 2026 during the 227th General Assembly
Busy are the peacemakers! With war and violence dominating the news, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship lifts up the call to peacemaking in events planned for the 227th General Assembly this month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
June 26 Peace Gathering and Award Ceremony
At the June 26 “Peace Gathering” at General Assembly, the Peace Fellowship will present its 2025 Peaceseeker Award to Presbyterians for Earth Care and its 2026 Peaceseeker Award to Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Peaceseeker Award honors those who offer an example of the nonviolence of Jesus Christ for today. First awarded in 1970 to Presbyterian Stated Clerk William P. Thompson for his support for Vietnam War conscientious objectors, past Peaceseeker awardees range from the Warren Wilson College Peace Studies Program to Mister Rogers to Presbyterian organizers against human trafficking and nuclear weapons. Learn more about the Peace Gathering here.
“Earth care and fossil fuel divestment are acts of peacemaking for the future,” said the Rev. Schaunel Steinnagel, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship co-moderator. “For 30 years, Presbyterians for Earth Care and its young adult network, CANOPY, have led congregations in Earth care and now they lead the effort for the PC(USA) to finally divest from fossil fuels. That action will help mitigate the violence and war that climate change will bring.”
For the 2026 Peaceseeker Award, the faith community of Minneapolis inspired the nation with public presence and action. “In the face of violent tactics by ICE, the congregations of Minneapolis stood out — and sang out — as hope for us all. Along with many other congregations, Westminster Presbyterian Church opened its doors, shared its funds and took public risks on behalf of human rights,” said the Rev. Harry Eberts, PPF interim executive director. “Thank you.”
The two awards will be presented on Friday, June 26 at the Peace Gathering from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Central Time at Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 1100 North Astor Street in Milwaukee, not far from the Baird Center, the General Assembly meeting site. Registration is open to all here.
Following a sandwich buffet and dessert, a keynote address will be offered by Dr. Osamah Khalil entitled “From Gaza to Minneapolis: Confronting America’s Forever Wars.”
Khalil is a historian at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His most recent book is “A World of Enemies: America’s Wars at Home and Abroad from Kennedy to Biden.”
Resource tables will offer education and action tools for congregations.
June 26 Peace concert with Matthew Black
After the Peace Gathering, Peace Fellowship member and indie singer-songwriter Matthew Black will offer a concert at 8:30 pm upstairs in the sanctuary of Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Literally “the son of a preacher man,” Black has dubbed this the “Everything is Terrible and No One is Okay Tour.” Expect a spirited evening. Entrance will be by donation at the door.
June 27 GA Community Day walk to end gun violence
The next day, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship will participate in the General Assembly Community Day “Walk to End Gun Violence” from 9 am to 11:30 am, starting near the Assembly gathering at Père Marquette Park. The Rev. Margery Rossi, the Peace Fellowship’s Minister for Gun Violence Prevention, will be among the speakers for the rally and walk to the Milwaukee City Hall.
Peace Fellowship members and partners from RAWtools will offer a Guns to Gardens forging demonstration, showing how garden tools are made from the parts of unwanted firearms. The Guns to Gardens movement has dismantled more than 13,000 unwanted guns, primarily in church parking lots.
General Assembly Town Square resource table
On Saturday, June 27 from 2 p.m. through 5 p.m., the Peace Fellowship will join other church-related groups with a resource table at the Town Square in the Baird Center North Lobby. Stop by to find peacemaking education and action suggestions for your congregation. Kahlil will have copies of his book, and Presbyterian pastor and author Ben Daniel will offer the book he co-authored with Maxine Hong Kingston, “Grace Over Guns: Pursuing Peace in a Militarized World.”
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