“I didn’t know church could be like this,” said Sam, a teenager who had come to an event in Fellowship Hall. That Sunday after worship, we had Anna Baltzer speaking about why, as a Jewish-American, she had come to be an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, part of her national
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Watering down the LGBTQ/Q Apology Overture at GA222 I never thought “collateral damage” was a term I’d identify with as a church-lady. I was wrong. I was baptized as a young girl in a Presbyterian church that would become my family’s spiritual home for the next fifteen years. I remember
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Discerning Peace in the 21st Century – Part II When the Peacemaking and International Relations Committee of the 222nd General Assembly was considering the Peace Discernment resolution (12-06) from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), they heard from many speakers. Understandably so, as this resolution is the final report
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I am a woman of faith. I have grown up in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and have a deep love and appreciation for my denomination. Our church’s involvement in the Religious Coalition on Reproductive Choice is one of many reasons that I am proud to be a Presbyterian. As it
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Working for Peace in the Middle East at the 222nd General Assembly About a month ago, I was sitting in a large ballroom adjacent to other commissioners and delegates to the 222nd General Assembly, anxiously waiting for the work of the Committee on Middle East Issues (Committee 8) to begin.
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Text: I John 3:11-24 Dear brothers and sisters, we have seen a lot of violence in the past few weeks. We’ve seen terror attacks at the Belgium Airport and at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, a major bombing in Iraq, and a bombing in Medina – the holiest of place for
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The General Assembly Acts for Justice and Liberation in Palestine and Israel “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” -Amos 5:24 The 222nd General Assembly PC(USA) took place from June 17-25, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. I was fortunate enough to attend and serve as a
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Thoughts on Who We are as the PC(USA) and What that Might Mean Going Forward While doing reflections in seminary, I learned the importance of naming your social location, so here goes: I am a white, straight, married, cisgendered female. I am a mother to an adventurous 15-month old daughter,
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Discerning Peace in the 21st Century – Part I We sat in a circle, our chairs so close that our knees touched and the conversation felt intimate. Following the order of lectio divina, we were sharing first scripture readings followed by silence and prayer, then a word or phrase, and
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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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