Newsletters

Date: March 2nd 2010

From Rick

Colleagues,

National Capital Presbytery, at the urging of Clarendon Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA, has passed what I believe may be the most important overture to this year's General Assembly, at least for those of us who are peacemakers. They have asked the PC(USA) to enter into a six-year long "period of discernment" about how we will respond to growing violence in our world in the 21rst Century. The overture asks for four years of study, to be presented to the General Assembly in 2014 and then shared broadly across the church for the following two years, with the hope that our denomination will vote on this potentially historic shift in emphasis in 2016.

The Overture is carefully crafted, historically grounded, and thoughtful in its invitation to the church to consider this matter together over a period of years. The session of Clarendon was bold and prophetic in issuing this call. I invite you to share the overture with friends in your own congregation and presbytery, and to join me in prayer for it's affirmation by the General Assembly this summer.

Makes me proud to be Presbyterian.

Rick

Peace Breakfast at General Assembly

If you are planning to attend General Assembly this summer, please also plan to join us and peacemakers across our denomination at the Peace Breakfast on Wednesday, July 7th. Camilo Mejía, President of Iraq Veterans Against the War, will be our keynote speaker. Peaceseeker Awards will be presented to Bill Galvin for work with Conscientious Objectors, and to Mel Duncan, co-founder of Nonviolent PeaceForce. For more information and tickets, please visit our website.

Convocation of Peacemakers Update

On April 15-17, Peacemakers from all over the country are gathering at Stony Point for a strategic meeting. How does our call to peacemaking and nonviolence manifest itself in our work? If you want to find new ways to live out your calling as a peacemaker and work with others who want the same thing, please join us for three days that could change your life, our organization, and the church.

The format will flow from keynotes and workshops to open conversation and strategic planning, all of which will be surrounded by worship. For full details, click here.

Workshops to educate, empower, and inspire will include:

• Transforming Military Exports: U.S. Military Bases & Training and Global Strategies to Resist Them
• Afghanistan: If War is Not the Answer, Then What Is?
• Peace in Our Streets: Approaches to Reducing Violence in the U.S.
• Nonviolent Accompaniment with the Church in Colombia
• An Interfaith Conversation about Israel/Palestine
• Peacemaking and the Arts

Schedule:

Thursday, April 15

Arrival – 5:00 pm, Dinner, Worship and Open Space Sessions

Friday, April 16

Morning Breakfast, Keynote Address #1, Obery Hendricks

Afternoon Lunch, Workshops on Skill-Building and Current PPF Work

Evening Dinner, Keynote Address #2 and Worship

Saturday, April 17

Morning Breakfast, Organizing & Action Groups

Afternoon Lunch, Closing Worship, Departure – 3 p.m.

Delegations with Christian Peacemaker Teams

Christian Peacemaker Teams has been a valued partner of PPF for years. Delegations travel to places around the world where local people have invited CPT to provide a nonviolent presence. Consider one of these journeys to witness the power of Christian Nonviolence in places of severe conflict, and prepare to be transformed:

COLOMBIA: DATES: May 12-25, July 14-27, and September 15-28, 2010.
Based in Bogota, Barrancabermeja, and a rural community in southern Bolivar province.
Fundraising expectation: $1900 US / $2200 Canadian.

IRAQ (Kurdish North):DATES: October 14-28 (apply by September 1), 2010.
Based in Suleimaniyah in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) region, with visits to outlying areas such as displaced persons camps and border villages.
Fundraising expectation: $2900 US or $3100 Canadian.

PALESTINE / ISRAEL: DATES: May 18-31, July 20-August 2, October 5-18, and November 16-29, 2010. Special delegation, Reformed Church in America/Christian Reformed Church in North America, April 6-19, 2010.
Based in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the city of Hebron, and the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills.
Fundraising expectation: $2750 US / $2950 Canadian.

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Delegates will meet with various individuals and groups such as human rights organizations, government officials, displaced persons and local residents, to gain perspective on the current situation. They will spend some time with CPT's long-term team and get a taste of CPT's work of human rights documentation and accompaniment, and join with local partners in public witness or advocacy against the structural violence. Some physical rigors are involved with most of the delegations, such as hiking in rough, muddy, or hilly terrain and generally long days.

Round-trip airfare from a designated U.S. or Canadian city, all on-ground travel, two to three meals a day, simple accommodations, and all honorariums and delegation fees are covered. Those planning to travel from other than the U.S. or Canada, contact the CPT office for more information.

For more information, contact Christian Peacemaker Teams, phone 773-376-0550; fax 773-376-0549; e-mail delegations@cpt.org, or see CPT's website at: http://cpt.org/participate/delegation/schedule

Multifiath Peace Internship at Stony Point Center

Farm the Land, Grow the Spirit: A Multifaith Peace Internship

Ages 18 to 28
July 6-31, 2010

Live in an intentional multifaith residential community, study non- violence and faith-based community organizing, plant and tend CLT* gardens, enjoy hiking, kayaking, drumming, ropes course, big puppet making and good food. Interns will co-create their time together with elders from each tradition and will support CLT's* Multifaith Family Peace Camp at Stony Point Center, July 25-31.

If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb at lgottlieb@stonypointcenter.org. Interns will receive a $300 Stipend and room and board. They are responsible for their own travel to and from Stony Point Center.

For more information, please click here.

*Sponsored by the Community of Living Traditions: an intentional multifaith residential community at Stony Point Center dedicated to the study and practice of nonviolence.

Peace Overtures to General Assembly

• Four presbyteries have submitted overtures on the war in Afghanistan
• National Capital Presbytery has submitted an Overture on Nonviolence

If you know of an overture to GA concerning peacemaking, please let us know.

Will you be at GA? Would you like to volunteer with PPF? Please contact Peggy Howland at peghowland@aol.com.