wfn.org | Methodist Peace with Justice grants

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SEARCH:   Grants, peace, justice

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                         214(10-71){2860}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722          April 9, 1996

Peace with Justice grants
focus on improvement of life

                by United Methodist News Service

     A grant of $5,000 will assist the fledgling Petersburg (Va.)
Urban Ministries, a United Methodist program, to provide a number
of opportunities for children, youth and adults in a small urban
area beset by all the problems attending a general economic
decline.
     The award is one of seven Peace with Justice grants totaling
$20,000 being given by the United Methodist Church to seven
organizations, for use in their work to improve life in the
United States and other areas of the world.
     In Petersburg, a city of only 38,000 people, the church
appointed a minister at large last summer and established the
urban ministries organization to provide a new approach in this
city where a high rate of violent juvenile crime and low levels
of educational and neighborhood commitment prevail.
     New programs focus on building relationships with community
residents and working for change from within. Community service
projects have included trash pick up, grass seed distribution,
flower planting and snow removal.
      Opportunities are provided for the children and youth to
learn about different faith groups, cultures and historical
events. After school activities include a peacemaking school, art
and dance classes, and a garden project.
     Such grants are made from money collected in a special
offering on Peace with Justice Sunday and are awarded semi-
annually by a committee of the denomination's Board of Church and
Society, which has its headquarters in Washington.
     A grant of $4,000 will enable the Kirkwood (Mo.) United
Methodist Church to conduct a peacemakers program bringing
together diverse elements of the community to work for greater
racial understanding and conflict resolution.
     The Churches for Middle East Peace, a working group to which
both the Board of Church and Society and the Board of Global
Ministries belong, will receive $2,500 toward a program to
address increasing U.S. hostility toward Iran. A study trip by a
small group will be followed by seminars for congressional staff
people and grassroots advocacy including legislative updates.
     A grant of $2,500 will help the Center for Democratic
Education to provide information for the U.S. public about
economic and political conditions in Central America. The
center's projects also include working with non-governmental and
non-profit groups in Central America on economic and social
policies.
     People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, a program of the
North Carolina Council of Churches, will receive $2,000 for
education and mobilization of the religious community on this
issue. Bishops Bevel Jones and C.P. Minnick both have endorsed
the program.
     The North Central New York Conference Task Force for Peace
with Justice in Palestine will receive $2,000 to help support
Dianne Roe, who is engaged in a three-year Christian Peacemaker
Corps project in Hebron, Palestine.
     California-Pacific Conference Environmental Ministries will
receive a grant of $2,000 to use providing resources and training
to local churches for environmental justice advocacy and greater
theological understanding of environmental issues.     
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