Browse Tag

Belhar Confession

Except on Palestine?

“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

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Belhar, Peace, and Israel-Palestine

9 mins read

Earlier this year, a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid, symbolizing the shared struggle to provide resources to Palestinians was recently intercepted by Israeli naval forces. Much international outrage has been directed at Israel’s treatment of the detainees, especially after Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security, was seen taunting

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Casting Out Our Pride

15 mins read

Confrontation and Confession in Charlottesville The events in Charlottesville this weekend remind me how dangerous it can be to be proud of your identity. In the midst of that ultimately violent confrontation, I was proud to see Presbyterian clergy among the many people of faith standing up to the massed

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Faith in the Public Square – A Time for Choosing

12 mins read

In March 1948, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr graced the cover of Time. His appearance came at the end of two decades in which Niebuhr had risen to cultural prominence not just as a religious thinker, but also as one of the country’s foremost political leaders. Mainline Protestantism was riding high, and

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Except on Palestine?

27 mins read

“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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There is Such a Thing as Being Too Gentle

12 mins read

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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Through the Lens of Belhar

11 mins read

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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From Confession to Confession

8 mins read

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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30 Days with the Belhar Confession

1 min read

Reflections on Unity, Reconciliation and Justice This useful companion to the Belhar Confession, published by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, weaves together Scripture passages and the Confession’s timely themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. Written by a diverse collection of scholars, theologians and church leaders, it is the perfect resource for

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The Time Was Yesterday

14 mins read

White privilege means waking up in the morning with the ability to decide whether or not racism will be a part of your day. Just ask people of color who teach their black sons how to interact with police so that they can stay alive. Or who listen to well-meaning

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