Newsletters

Date: December 22nd 2008

From Rick

Friends,

As the Advent story leads toward Bethlehem, I have found myself wearier than usual from all the clutter that seems to go with it. There has been a never-ending task list of all the things to do before Christmas, though what I most feel the need for is a chance to retreat from the obligation to send Christmas cards, the challenges of a month with fewer work days, and the constant energy needed to resist the dominant culture's push to "shop till I drop."

And then, this morning, it started to snow. Three hours later there are six inches of a fresh start that blanket the grounds here at Stony Point Center. Roads, schools and stores are closed, and I've been forced into the retreat that I knew I needed but wasn't wise enough to take.

So on this day, I am pausing to give thanks. I give thanks for so many new beginnings in my own life over the past year: for Leana and Troy, the two kids whom Kitty, Teo and I welcomed into our family this year, for the new rhythms that are becoming routine in our lives as our family has settled in here at Stony Point, and for the possibilities of starting up the new PPF office here.

I had that same sense of thankfulness earlier this week when I spent the day in Washington meeting with colleagues from the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership. It is clearly a new day, and friends who have been slogging through their "to-do" lists for the last eight years have an unmistakable look of hope in their eyes. From the Presbyterian Office in Washington to the halls of the capitol across the street, the sense of possibility is palpable.

What is clear is that regardless of who we elect to political office, the work of peacemaking will remain much the same. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has long insisted, through Republican and Democrat Administrations alike, that we will stand firmly for nonviolence and the abolition of all war, that we will be a people who choose hope and engagement with the world over fear and first-strike. Our task, over the coming months, will be to make sure we communicate those values as clearly to this administration as we attempted to do with the last.

I hope that you will pause over the coming days to give thanks also, with or without the gift of a snowstorm to help you do so. Many blessings on you as you celebrate the birth of the Christ child, and the remarkable way that his commitment to the power of love and nonviolence continually transforms all of God's people when we find ourselves vying for power and dominance over one another. I look forward to renewing our work together as the New Year begins.

Rick

Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America: January 19, 2009

If you're anywhere near Washington DC for the Inauguration, plan to worship with the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership (and with me) as we honor Dr. King and prepare for the Inauguration. The service will be held at All Souls Unitarian Church from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday evening the 19th. Go to http://www.olivebranchinterfaith.org for more information about the event. You'll also find a great study guide called "Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America," that offers help on how to organize discussions linking Dr. King's legacy and the possibility of an Obama Presidency in your own congregation or community

Sign Letter to President-elect Obama

As we move through the Advent Season, please take a moment to sign on to an important letter to President-elect Obama, which has been drafted by Churches for Middle East Peace. You'll see that a wide-ranging number of highly respected religious leaders, including Gradye Parsons, the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), have also signed the letter. It takes about two minutes, and is a good way to remember the people of the Holy Lands, and to honor our real commitments in the midst of the Christmas craziness. Go to http://www.cmep.org/Alerts/2008Dec2.htm.

Please support the Mejia Family in the last few months of their time in the U.S.

Many of you have been very supportive of Milton Mejia and Adelaide Jimenez, who were forced to leave Colombia two years ago with their two boys after Milton received death threats for his human rights work. Throughout their time in the U.S., the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) has taken the lead on raising and accounting for the tens of thousands of dollars necessary to support their family. Please consider writing a generous check to CRLN (with "Mejia Support" in the memo line) to support their family while Milton and Adelaide finish their studies at McCormick Theological Seminary.

The address is:
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
4750 N. Sheridan Road #429, Chicago, IL 60657 – USA

Presbyterians out in big numbers to protest WHINSEC/SOA

PPF again had a strong presence in Fort Benning, GA, this Novmember to call for the closing of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation/School of Americas (WHINSEC/SOA) and protest U.S. foreign policy that has been responsible for abuses of human rights throughout the world. Over 40 young adult seminary students gathered together, including representatives from four Presbyterian seminaries. PPF also facilitated a lively intergenerational gathering at the annual breakfast. Thank you to all who participated!

From Colombia

PPF Accompanier Jean McLeod Doughty:

"I arrived in Barranquilla on November 3, the day before the US presidential election. Those first days I was here there was interest among the Colombians about the election and I was impressed by how well informed they were. I spent time with one teenager the day of the election who knew the importance of Ohio and Pennsylvania to the early returns of the evening and also spoke to me of the electoral college.

But news from the United States dwarfed the news that splashed across all the newspapers that same week and that has been the subject of many conversations I've had since arriving here. Apparently in late September, the Colombian press reported the discovery of eleven corpses of young men who had been murdered by Colombia's military. The victims--all from a poor barrio of Bogota, lured away from their homes to another area of Colombia with false promises of a job--were killed by the military who then reported them to be leftist guerrilla fighters killed in combat, 700 kilometers northeast of Bogota. In Colombia they are known as 'false positives'" ... Read More

Save the Date: Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, April 29-30, 2009

CPWI is planning a witness in Washington at the end of the Obama Administration's first one hundred days in office. Please plan to join many of us from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship as we gather to worship, and to give voice to our Christian conviction that we must quickly and responsibly remove our troops from Iraq, commit significant resources to an international effort to rebuild the country, and put diplomacy and development first as we seek secure relationships with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. More information can be found at http://www.christianpeacewitness.org.