Nineteenth-century images of Africa continue to replay in our minds, even in this twenty- first century. We tend to be ignorant of the history of Africa and of its great diversity of life. We hold stereotypes of a backward continent. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has invited its members and friends to embark on a journey with Africans. If we no longer wish to look at Africa through a dim glass, but rather through high-intensity lenses, then we will have to be intentional in seeking new perspectives on a contemporary continent. This guide for study and reflection is intended for adults …
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), through the Office on the Middle East, the Iraq Partnership Network, and other programs, continues to lift up the plight of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons. Through the Peace Fund for Solidarity with the Churches of Iraq (Extra Commitment Opportunity account #E051722) and the Jinishian Memorial Program, the PC(USA) has also assisted the churches of the region, through the Middle East Council of Churches, as they address this crisis. The GAC supports the call to the United States government to alleviate the suffering of Iraqi refugees. Part of that effort could involve working with other nations, …
The purpose of this study paper is to state more fully the Christian basis for the "costly lessons" affirmed in the resolution (now in Appendix A) and for the directions signaled in its title, "to repent, to restore, to rebuild and to reconcile." In practical terms, repentance can simply mean changing the direction of our policy, but it means here changing assumptions about how international relations are done. Similarly, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (Baker?Hamilton Commission) speaks frequently of the need for "national reconciliation" in Iraq, building on dialogue, equitable sharing of oil and other resources, and even?controversial "amnesty" for …
Increasingly, we find that we are living in a world with numerous walls and barriers. These are walls that force us to live in sometimes small and isolated compartments. These walls and the resulting compartments often prevent us from seeing and understanding the lives of others who live in different compartments or on the other side of the wall from us. These walls are leading many to live in fear, isolation, and poverty; therefore, preventing all parties from living in peace. This is no more obvious than with the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Ideological, theological, political, economic, and even …
As a Christian community based in the United States, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) affirms our heritage of separating government from religious control and yet allowing faith communities to witness for fair and wise public policies. In the Arab world, and the larger Muslim world, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supports practices of mutual respect, tolerance, and understanding based on principles of international law and diplomacy. Aware of historic differences between Muslim and Christian understandings, the church sees these addressed best through dialogue, diplomacy, and respectful presence that recognize the importance of religion in societies. This approach is to give religious leaders …
Responding to a 2014 request for a report on Cuba and US policy, the General Assembly anticipated and went further than the Obama Administration in recommending normalization and understanding changes already underway. Building on the strong relationship maintained between the Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Cuba and the PCUSA since the 1959 Revolution, and with the help of the Cuba Partners Network, this report looks at the transition from an atheistic to a secular state, social achievements and human rights challenges, and the counter-productive role of the US embargo and other official hostility, long after the Cold War and international scorn for …
The repeated failure of the peace process in Israel-Palestine is also a failure of national and international politics to address the human rights of a people kept stateless by military occupation and exile. This report reviews the status of the “two-state” solution, but it does not engage in further political solutions-thinking, given the limited support for a Palestinian state by the United States and the international community in the face of Israeli government resistance. As a church based in the United States, we continue to believe that both Israel and the Middle East would be safer if Palestine were a …
In a broken, sinful world, people often exploit rather than contribute to the well-being of others. This exploitation has many forms, and can be direct or indirect. This study document examines some ways by which we and others in our contemporary culture exploit persons sexually, using them rather than serving them, degrading them rather than affirming them, sometimes directly, often indirectly. It looks at some old issues - pornography, for example - in which the new sociocultural context that unites permissiveness with mass communication techniques. It discusses some recently emerged issues, sexism for example. And it suggests some directions and …
In 1978, the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church assigned to the Council on Women and the Church responsibility to "study the problems of sexual harrassment, and to explore ways of involving the church in ministering to victims of sexual harrassment." The Council appointed a committee which developed a working definition for sexual harassment: Any unwanted sexual advances or demands (verbal/physical) which are perceived by the recipient as demeaning, intimidating or coercive. The committee sought to find out how widespread was the incidence of the problem, what forms it took, and what sorts of solutions had been developed within …
The Council on Women and the Church (former UPCUSA) and the Committee on Women's Concerns (former PCUS) jointly appointed a focus group to initiate the study on the sexual exploitation of women. Due to funding limitations, the group focused on prostitution and tourism and the economic factors that nurture and sustain the exploitation of women.