Turn Mourning Into Dancing! A Policy Statement on Healing Domestic Violence and Study Guide (2001)

The church works for changes in society so that violence is not accepted or in any way legitimated by the social and cultural realities. This means working for systemic change to the end that, while immediate needed care is provided to victims and survivors and abusers are held to strict accountability, changes are made in society to prevent future victims of violence and abuse. In addition, the church is responsible to engage in ongoing reflection and repentance regarding its own complicity in violence and to model by its life and witness, a nonviolent and Christ-centered way of relating to one another and to the world. In dealing with these systemic issues, the whole church witnesses to Jesus Christ.