wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Peacemaking panel's proceedings were pacific

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Note #7746 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Peacemaking panel's proceedings were pacific
GA03057

Peacemaking panel's proceedings were pacific

by Midge Mack

DENVER, May 27 - Members of the General Assembly Committee on Peacemaking
characterize its proceedings as sensitive, careful and thoughtful. 

"The way this diverse group of people came to consensus is a model of the
peacemaking process itself," said the Rev. Mike Barron, a member from Eastern
Oklahoma Presbytery.

	The group concluded its deliberations Tuesday by approving Overture
31, from Hudson River Presbytery, on strengthening the peacemaking vision and
witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The committee added a paragraph
addressing the concerns of conscientious objectors to military service.

	The panel also approved for distribution a document, "Iraq and
Beyond," written during the U.S. war on the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, a
paper the committee members said is intended to provoke discussion, not to
outline policy. The group applauded a description of the statement as one
that "a variety of peacemakers, in fact all of us, can learn from and
accept."

	A resolution before the committee calls for the PC(USA) to be in
prayer for those who seek conflict rather than reconciliation. Another asks
the Assembly to reaffirm its solidarity with and commitment to Pakistan. A
third expresses deep concern about a failure to implement of the 1996
Guatemalan Peace Accords. All three had passionate advocates and all three
were approved.

	Four commissioners who had voted earlier against a resolution on
Israel and Palestine titled "End the Occupation Now," a product of the
Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, are planning to offer a minority
report when the resolution comes before the Assembly. 

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