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Note #7965 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Picture perfect
03427
October 3, 2003

Picture perfect

New ACSWP video focuses on diversity, Christian community

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - How to build community in an increasingly diverse culture is the
focus of a new video from the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Advisory Committee
on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP).

Connecting Diversity in Community: Race, Class, Gender, Religion encourages
congregations to combat racism, put aside class consciousness, affirm
equality between men and women, and create connections between faith
communities.

The 36-minute video, co-sponsored by the PC(USA) Office of Communication, is
divided into five segments, and comes with a study guide. It offers lots of
suggestions for congregations interested in bringing together people from a
variety of racial and cultural backgrounds.

"Simply put, American life has changed," the narrator says in the opening
segment. "People who are different from us impact our lives much more than
ever before."

The video features a range of community projects involving Presbyterian
congregations from New York to California.

 In Milwaukee, for example, Trinity Presbyterian Church used a "community
garden" to bring together different segments of society. Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church in New York City has worked to overcome class barriers
through its program for the homeless.

In San Francisco, Iglesia Presbiteriana de la Misisn, (Mission Presbyterian
Church) has developed a non-profit organization, Manos Unidas, that serves as
an umbrella organization for all its social-service programs. "I was not
called by God to keep a building, but to keep God's flock," said the Rev.
Mauricio Chacsn, an El Salvador native who has led the predominantly Hispanic
congregation for 10 years. "If you call me to work in this church, I want to
work with the community."

  The Rev. Sue Dickson, pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church in El Paso,
TX, is shown in the video conversing with a Jewish rabbi and participating in
monthly interfaith community gatherings to raise awareness of different faith
traditions.

"We have a time of community building where we get to know each other," said
Dickson, who also serves on ACSWP's advisory committee. " ... We begin to
break down some of the artificial barriers that we think there are between
us, that really aren't there. It's a wonderful way for us to make friends
with people that we might not otherwise come into contact with."

ACSWP, which develops social policies for GA consideration, undertook the
video as directed by the 1999 Assembly, which approved a related policy
statement, Building Community Among Strangers: A Plan for Study and Action,
urging Presbyterians to seek out and correct injustices suffered by people at
the margins of contemporary society. The document challenged church sessions
to study the issue of "strangers" within the community and to take steps to
address their needs.

"We wanted to do a video that would bring this problem alive positively, so
that congregations and individuals can dismantle barriers and forge alliances
in their communities for life as God created it," said the Rev. Peter A.
Sulyok, the ACSWP coordinator.

The video is available from Presbyterian Distribution Service for $9.95, plus
shipping. The VHS version is item #68-60003-002; the DVD is item
#68-600-03-001. Order by phone at (800) 524-2612 or by fax at (502) 569-8030,
or visit the PDS Web site: www.pcusa.org/marketplace.

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