The Adoption of Belhar and the Public Naming of Abuse The moment was simply stunning. With no verbal form of disagreement or dissent, the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to adopt the Belhar Confession. With this landslide vote, the Belhar Confession will be added to the
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The 222nd General Assembly is considering 5 Risking Peace affirmations to guide the church as we live out Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Peacemaking is an essential aspect of “the ministry of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18). The Peace Discernment process which
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Much work has been done to make the General Assembly as inclusive a gathering as possible. Fair representation of both Ruling Elder and Teaching Elder Commissioners is ensured. We hear from Advisory Delegates, who represent a wider swath of voices, the majority of whom (YAADs) represent a younger generation, prior
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During his tenure as the Moderator of the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Heath Rada has listened deeply and broadly to people across this denomination. Moderators of the PC(USA) often have this unique and sacred privilege of really listening as they travel and hold conversations with Presbyterians in congregations, presbyteries,
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Being the Church of Matthew 25 One year ago, I took in my first shocking breath of the Arizona heat. Punctuated by saguaro cacti and surrounded by foreboding mountains, the Sonoran Desert represents one of the most treacherous climates for human survival. Despite rhetoric of dryness alleviating the burden of
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In March 2016, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) called for a consumer boycott of Wendy’s until it joins the Fair Food Program. After having engaged Wendy’s with the CIW for ten years, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board voted denominational support for the boycott at its April meeting. In this
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An Excerpt from the Office of Public Witness’ New Study Guide on Voting Rights and Voter Suppression By Mara Sawdy and Nora Leccese – Read and/or download entire resource here! Introduction At the direction of the General Assembly, we at the Office of Public Witness have compiled resources to aid
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In Defense of “Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace” In February of 2016, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) released its report, Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace, in fulfillment of the mandate given it by the 221st
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For more than a hundred years now, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its antecedent organizations have called for the use of economic pressures to challenge injustice, oppression, and other situations which they viewed as morally wrong. Examples include a call to the people of the church to “keep themselves financially
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This post was originally published as part of the Presbyterian Outlook’s coverage of the Foothills overtures at https://pres-outlook.org/2015/11/social-witness-of-the-church-commentary-on-foothills-overture-1/ We live in times of tremendous cultural change. We also live in times of high anxiety as a church, having lost so many congregations over the past two years. During these times,
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