The prophet Isaiah promised, “you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace” (Isaiah 55:12). At the 2010 Peacemaking Seminar, “Re-Membering Peace: Still the Believers’ Calling,” generations of Presbyterian peacemakers from across the United States will gather for a joyful homecoming among the mesas of northern New Mexico, celebrating 30 years of Presbyterian peacemaking. The event will take place Aug. 25-28, at Ghost Ranch, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conference center in Abiquiu, N.M. This event especially seeks to call forth a new generation of Presbyterians committed to building those things that make for peace.
“This seminar will be a time to celebrate the past, affirm the present, and dream for the future,” says Presbyterian Peacemaking Program Coordinator Mark Koenig. “We have much to celebrate and much to anticipate. God has done great things through Presbyterian peacemakers. And God remains at work.”
The 2010 Peacemaking Seminar is designed for young adults and adults. Registration is limited. For more information or to register for the event, contact Dayna Oliver at (800) 728-7228, x8700 or by email.
The seminar will provide an opportunity for Presbyterians engaged in historic and ongoing peacemaking efforts to revisit and reaffirm these core commitments; to rekindle old friendships and establish new ones; to replenish spirits, hearts, and minds through imaginative work and creative worship; to reconsider some of the pivotal social, cultural, political, and ecclesiastical transformations of the past 30 years; to reassess the state of peacemaking in the church and world; and to renew the church’s resolve to seek God’s realm of peace and justice on earth.
Inspired by the intricate and vibrant weaving for which northern New Mexico is famous, the 2010 Peacemaking Seminar will be an opportunity to practice the art of storytelling, weaving our stories of peacemaking together, discovering how we are already intertwined, and bearing witness to our being knit together into Christ.
“On behalf of the planning team, I invite you to come to the 2010 Peacemaking Seminar and explore together how we live into God’s call in Christ to be peacemakers,” says Koenig.
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program was established in 1980 by action of the General Assembly of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, when it adopted the statement Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling. The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program continues to be guided by the central affirmations of this landmark paper: (1) the church is faithful to Jesus Christ when it is engaged in peacemaking; (2) the church is obedient to Jesus Christ when it nurtures and equips God’s people as peacemakers; and (3) the church bears witness to Christ when it nurtures the moral life of the nation for the sake of peace in the world.
See more information online and at the Peacemaking Web site.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) comprises more than 2 million members in more than 10,000 congregations, and answers Christ’s call to mission and ministry throughout the United States and the world.