General Assembly and Beyond

by Marilyn White

Dozens of volunteers from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship attended the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis this summer to help make PPF's GA witness stronger than it has ever been before. We were present at General Assembly in four significant ways: with our exhibit hall booth, at the Peace Breakfast, through advocacy for peaceful perspectives in General Assembly committees, and through our communications outreach to the wider church during and after the meeting.

GA made significant and substantive statements on the Middle East, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Gun Violence. But perhaps the action of most consequence was the decision to begin a four-year study to “Seek clarity as to God’s call to the church to embrace nonviolence as its fundamental response to the challenges of violence, terror, and war.” The GA urged that the steering committee in charge of the study develop a broadly participative process. We certainly look forward to engaging in such a study and learning more about nonviolent alternatives to war.

Every GA brings its surprises, often in the form of Commissioners' Resolutions. This year's nice surprise was a CR addressing Arizona's new immigration legislation. The GA approved a policy that would prohibit national meetings in states where some of the participants might be subjected to harassment due to laws similar to the Arizona legislation. Conference centers such as Ghost Ranch and Stony Point (both are often used by PPF) could still be the site of such meetings if they create accompaniment programs to protect at-risk attendees.

PPF is proud of the General Assembly for its amazing collection of wise and at times prophetic statements and actions. Thank you, commissioners and advisory delegates!

Below are brief articles summarizing actions taken by GA in specific areas and indicating directions for our work ahead, written by PPF members who have been deeply involved in the work.