wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Washington office celebrates 60th birthday

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8676 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05150
March 18, 2005

Washington office celebrates 60th birthday

Capital staff has long history of  'speaking truth' about peace, justice

by Toya Richards Hill

WASHINGTON, DC - In the 60 years since the Washington office of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) opened its doors, said the Rev. Elnora Giddings
Ivory, its mission - advocating for justice and peace - hasn't changed.

"It's important to speak out; it's part of our heritage," said Ivory,
director of the Washington office. "After all, Jesus didn't stay in the
temple, waiting for people to come to him."

	Ivory's comments came on March 12, when current and former office
staffers gathered for a dinner celebrating the office's approaching 60th
anniversary. Also on hand were Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 216th
General Assembly of the PC(U.S.A.), and the Rev. Curtis Kearns, director of
the National Ministries Division.

	Suitably, the celebration, with live music and liturgical dance, came
during a March 11-14 conference titled "Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global
Peace with Justice," in which hundreds of representatives of various
Christian denominations gathered in Washington to lobby legislators on
Capitol Hill.

	The Washington office has been doing that for the denomination since
Fern Colborn became its first director in 1946.

Ivory said the main charge of the Washington office is to promote the
policies of the General Assembly in Congress and to "speak truth." 

The recent dinner was the first of a number of anniversary celebrations that
will be taking place over the next year and a half.

The Washington staff, working from an office only a few steps from the
capitol, meets face-to-face with lawmakers and other policymakers, writes
letters advocating GA policies, makes thousands of phone calls and
occasionally testifies before Congress.

	Since its founding, the office "has always been completely focused on
justice issues," said Mary Jane Patterson, its director from 1971 to 1990.

 Another former director, Josiah Beeman, who served from 1970 to 1975,
pointed out a number of key issues the office has taken up over six decades:
Everything from opposing the war in Vietnam to supporting liberation
movements in southern Africa to addressing economic justice issues such as
Social Security and Medicare.

The office has "been a prophetic witness all along," said Beeman, adding:
"The Washington office is needed now more than ever."

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