Introduction The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been engaged in a decade-long struggle to divest from companies that are profiting from the Israeli
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Ark of Escape or Community of Reconciliation? When I teach the Reformed Confessions to students at Union Presbyterian Seminary, I like to point out that one of the benefits of belonging to our communion is belonging to a tradition with
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Marriage in the PC(USA) That’s my daughter there, with the rainbow face paint and the “Love who you are” sign. We were downtown in Richmond, VA, standing with same-sex couples who have asked Virginia to recognize their marriages. Ours is one of the states that currently ban same-sex marriage. Last
MoreAs a Christian theologian, I support marriage equality because I take the Bible seriously. More importantly, I take the God of the Bible seriously. The God I worship has a divine passion for justice that compels me to respect all neighbors and defend their human rights, including the freedom to
MoreAs I write, the Presbyterian Church (USA) finds itself in a strange place, at an important juncture. Even as our denomination has affirmed our call to care for creation, we continue to profit significantly from fossil fuel companies. In November 2012, Cool Planet Working Group, one of the small groups
MoreEditor’s Note: For business items before the General Assembly, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP, for short) has the opportunity to offer “Advice and Counsel” – including comments on the social witness implications of the overture, relationship to past social witness policy, and the opportunity to recommend approval,
MoreEditor’s Note: As the PC(USA) heads to the 221st General Assembly wrestling with whether or not to engage in certain forms of boycott and divestment in Israel/Palestine, a church with whom we are in full communion, the United Church of Christ (UCC), finds itself wrestling with the same issue. This
MoreGrape-Nut Flakes. Eleven days in Israel/Palestine…eleven exhausting, eye-opening, life-changing days…so many defining moments, so many stop-dead-in-your-tracks encounters… And the take away? Grape-Nut Flakes. Let me explain. Put 110 Presbyterians in a hotel meeting room in Newark to prepare them for the Holy Land and you will have diversity: age, gender,
MoreA Reflection from the Mosaic of Peace Conference Our bus drive from Bethlehem to Qasr el Yahud, the latter designated as the possible site of Jesus’ baptism, is brown and dusty like much of Palestine. Israel either claims or controls most of the water, so there is no chance for
MoreIntroduction The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been engaged in a decade-long struggle to divest from companies that are profiting from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. After an extensive corporate engagement process, the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) has recommended that the
MoreFor the last two years I have attended Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) March shareholders meeting in Mountain View, CA, and I have asked HP’s Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Ashley Watson, for an example of how HP’s ethical business practices have changed the way they do business with
MoreMay 3, 2014 Editor’s Note: The following blog is one if the entries in the daily blog from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s Mosaic of Peace Conference to Israel/Palestine in April/May of 2014. Read the other featured blog in Unbound here, and click here to read more from the blog! While no day
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