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07413 July 11, 2007
Peacemaking conference urges attendees to tap 'spirit of the Lord'
300 gather at Montreat to discern God's leading
by Toya Richards Hill Presbyterian News Service
MONTREAT, NC - If peace could be found anywhere the first week of July, it was in the mountains of Western North Carolina in the serene Presbyterian enclave that is Montreat Conference Center.
Here, amid trees that have inhabited the land for centuries and among still waters that could calm the most harried of souls, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s 2007 Intergenerational Peacemaking Conference took place.
A mix of Bible studies, reflective and contemplative times, briefings on world issues, hearty songs and energized movements, arts and films, and food and fellowship filled the week from July 3-8 as more than 300 people gathered here to explore peacemaking under the theme "Jesus Proclaiming Peace."
"It will be a time when we grow in grace and understanding," the Rev. Mark Koenig, coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program [http://www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/], told participants gathered for the opening night of the conference.
Among the anchors of the week, which spanned Independence Day, were plenary Bible studies.
"What does it mean to have the spirit of the Lord upon us?" the Rev. Mark "Keita" Lomax asked during one Bible study. "To have Holy Spirit power?"
He was referring to Luke 4: 18-19, which reads: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Jesus lived his life "filled with the Holy Ghost," said Lomax, founding pastor of First African Church in Lithonia, GA, and the new interim administrative dean at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary.
Though he was tempted to "ignore that inner voice," Jesus repeatedly chose to follow God, he said. "He was able to discern what voice was actually speaking."
We "need to take time with ourselves in silence. So that we can begin to hear again that inner voice," Lomax told the group.
It's about building a relationship with God, through whom Holy Ghost power comes, he said, adding that it's through that power, "God's anointing," that you can proclaim the message of God, as Jesus did.
"We are to proclaim release to the captives, that God is on their side," Lomax said. "That God is about liberation and love."
Yet to proclaim it, "we have to at least get in shouting distance," he added. To "get outside our comfort zone."
That could mean getting close to the 7 million displaced people in Sudan or the scores of battered and deserted women in India. Or it might mean assisting some of the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States or those held in detention centers.
"We all physically have a blind spot," said Jewel Payne, a conference participant from Davis, CA. "We think what we see is everything."
"We don't even know what we don't see," said participant Trudy Smith of Mason, MI. Smith attended the gathering with friend Lazara Aragon, who hails from Cuba and now lives in Mason.
Smith said she had no idea a refugee community even existed in her area, but that through her friendship with Aragon her perspective has greatly broadened.
"That's what opened the door," said Smith, who now works with refugees through the Global Family Fellowship at her church, First Presbyterian Church of Holt, MI.
"This is where God has been leading me," she said.
Bill Andress, moderator of the Trinity Presbytery Sudan Ministry and co-moderator of the Sudan Advocacy Action Forum [http://www.sudanadvocacy.com/], has been led to actively work for "a just and lasting peace in Sudan."
He shared much about the history and ongoing war and genocide in Africa's largest country during an issues briefing, and encouraged those attending to assist through prayer, action and giving.
Andress pointed out that 2.25 million people have died in Southern Sudan, where war raged for many years, and that the people left are "horribly destitute."
In Sudan's Darfur region, some 500,000 have died, and conditions in refugee camps are so unsafe that major humanitarian organizations have pulled out, he said.
Yet "you can make a difference," he told the group. Whether its joining organizations like the Sudan Advocacy Action Forum or donating money through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance [http://www.pcusa.org/pda], there are ways to have an impact, Andress said.
"You can advocate with your local congressman," he said.
Advocacy, too, was touched on in a session on immigration led by Julia Thorne, manager for immigration issues and immigration counsel for the PC(USA)'s Office of the General Assembly, and practical ways to help immigrants were outlined.
Creating immigration working groups or task forces, aiding those in detention centers, including the thousands who are children; and even something as simple as creating signs at your church in Spanish are ways to make a difference, she said.
Thorne also pointed out that according to the PC(USA)'s Book of Order, "No person shall be denied membership because of race, ethnic origin, worldly condition, or any other reason not related to profession of faith. Each member must seek the grace of openness in extending the fellowship of Christ to all persons. Failure to do so constitutes a rejection of Christ himself and causes a scandal to the gospel." (G-5.0103)
"Your immigration status is a worldly condition," she said.
The Rev. Florence Deenadayalan and Mathuram Shiamala Baby certainly know about worldly conditions, and especially the harsh treatment faced by many women in their native India.
Leading a Bible study during the peacemaking conference, the two spoke candidly about India's disenfranchised women, including those battered, abandoned or widowed, and they cited three specific cases of women who were oppressed and humiliated.
"The releasing power of God ... is now embodying me to liberate others," said Baby, herself the victim of many years of abuse at the hands of her husband.
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me," said Deenadayalan. "What step can you take?"
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