Risking Peace in a Violent World (2014)

The commitment of the church to peace and reconciliation has a central role in Christian vocation. For Presbyterians, it is a matter of creedal standing, briefly yet powerfully set forth in the Brief Statement of Faith (1991) cited above, and outlined at greater length in The Confession of 1967. Wording from both confessions is echoed in the title of this report. We acknowledge not only a "fearful" but a violent world, even as we hear God's call in our time to take new risks to challenge our country's over-reliance on military might and under-investment in "the things that make for peace." Thus the title invokes The Confession of 1967's prophetic phrase: "This search [for peace] requires that the nations pursue fresh and responsible relations across every line of conflict, even at the risk to national security, to reduce areas of strife and to broaden international understanding