wfn.org | Peacemaking and Global Community Committees Finish Work

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

GA99058 
23-June-1999 
 
                      Peacemaking and Global Community  
                      Committees Finish Work 
 
 
FORT WORTH-Two committees, meeting next door to each other, completed their 
agendas by mid-afternoon Tuesday, and raised their voices in the Doxology 
within minutes of each other. 
     Peacemaking and International Relations approved for recommendation to 
the Assembly, with editing or comment, overtures 16, 31, 40, 51, 55, and 
71, and rewrote 19 and 20.  They approved also items referred to them from 
the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy relating to the 
International Years of the Culture of Peace and Thanksgiving, and to the 
International Criminal Court. 
     They concluded their work by accepting for recommendation two 
Commissioners' Resolutions which several committee members felt were the 
most important items on their agenda.  One seeks renewed response to 
Africa, using "resources of intercessory prayer, study and education, 
publicity, public policy advocacy, pastoral care and generous dedicated 
giving." The resolution comes from the African situation of continuing 
civil wars in at least seven countries, millions of refugees, women and 
children being sold into slavery and other human rights abuses. 
     The second resolution acknowledged our "heritage" and expressed thanks 
to all who had served their country during this century, "preserving our 
freedoms on those occasions in this century when such freedoms were in 
jeopardy."  The resolution was written in hopes of acceptance before the 
turn of the century, "speaking living words while we may yet look into 
their living eyes."  Commissioners also asked that, if adopted by the 
Assembly,  it be communicated throughout the church. 
     Earlier the committee, using the "quasi-committee-of-the-whole" 
procedure had combined two Commissioners' Resolutions on Kosovo, crafting 
them into a single document for recommendation to the Assembly. 
     The Committee on Living in Global Community has worked its way through 
two papers, changing a word here, a phrase there, combining or separating 
paragraphs before recommending them to the Assembly.  One, Transformation 
of Church and Society through Encounter with New Neighbors,  is new from 
the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and focuses on refugees, 
immigrants and asylum seekers. 
     The second is a new version of last year's Building Community Among 
Strangers which was disapproved and sent back for rework by last year's 
Assembly. 
 
Midge Mack 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  This note sent by Office of News Services, 
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
  to the World Faith News list <wfn-news@wfn.org>.
  For additional information about this news story,
  call 502-569-5493 or send e-mail to PCUSA.News@pcusa.org

  On the web:  http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/

  If you have a question about this mailing list, 
  send queries to wfn@wfn.org