wfn.org | Presbyterian Women Grants $150,000 to Confront Violence

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

3-February-1997 
97056 
 
                Presbyterian Women Grants $150,000 
                to Confront Violence Against Women 
 
                         by Julian Shipp 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Presbyterian Women (PW), through its Birthday Offering, 
has granted $150,000 to the Societal Violence Initiative Team (SVIT) of the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Center for the Prevention of Sexual 
and Domestic Violence (CPSDV) in Seattle to provide training and develop 
materials to confront violence against women. 
 
     According to Dr. James N. Poling, SVIT member and professor of 
pastoral theology and counseling at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in 
Rochester, N.Y., recent studies indicate that over half of all women have 
directly experienced physical/and or sexual violence. 
 
     "We assume that a majority of Presbyterian families in our 
congregations have been affected by child abuse, dating violence and/or 
battering," Poling said. "An education program on these issues is urgently 
needed." 
 
     Two national training events for 100 participants are being planned by 
the SVIT for the winter of 1998. Persons with a commitment to 
congregational education and experience in shelters and other 
community-based programs to protect women should contact their presbytery 
or synod office in May for more information. 
 
     With the grant from PW and other funding, the CPSDV will produce a 
video on dating violence.  Videos on preventing domestic violence in 
Hispanic and African-American communities will also be developed as 
additional funding becomes available. According to SVIT officials, these 
videos will become part of the ecumenical resources available for all 
religious communities. 
 
     "We hope that every Presbyterian congregation will plan workshops and 
use the videos to educate their members," said Kristine Thompson of 
Washington, D.C. SVIT moderator.  
 
     "I am very pleased that Presbyterian Women has given us the grant," 
said the Rev. Thelma Burgonio-Watson of Seattle, a CPSDV staff person and 
SVIT member. "This is a reflection of their faith and confidence in our 
collaborative efforts to address violence against women." 
 
     One unique aspect of this program is the cooperation among various 
PC(USA) entities, the General Assembly Council's Societal Violence 
Initiative, and an ecumenical entity such as the CPSDV, which has been 
working closely with Presbyterian Women of  Seattle Presbytery on the video 
resource development portion of the project. 
 
     "Presbyterian Women [is] making a significant statement in [its] 
decision to name SVIT and the CPSDV as its birthday offering recipients," 
said Jinny Miller of Mishawaka, Ill, SVIT member and past vice moderator 
for issues of Presbyterian Women. "[Presbyterian women] are saying that the 
church will be silent no longer. We are grateful for this partnership in 
addressing violence against women."   
 
     The other 1997 Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering recipients are: 
 
       
     The Duvall Home in Glenwood, Fla.--Mentally challenged children and 
adults are 
     served for a lifetime at the Duvall Home, which serves those who may 
be subject to the 
     worst kinds of warehousing. With the grant, the Duvall Home proposes 
to increase its 
     program of services by constructing a family-type group home 
specifically to meet the 
     special needs and abilities of mentally challenged women. 
          Rural Ministry, Johns Island, S.C.--By funding the Rural Mission, 
Inc. of the coastal sea 
          islands south of Charleston, S.C. with a grant from PW, the 
organization is providing 
          education to the resident black children and Hispanic migrant 
children there. A new, 
          multi-use facility will house a Headstart Center, provide an area 
for drug and substance 
          abuse programs, for expanded activities for the elderly, the 
disadvantaged at-risk island 
          youth and the migrant and Hispanic community. 
          Villa International, Atlanta, Ga.--Villa International, Atlanta 
provides Christian 
          hospitality and affordable housing to medical professionals and 
scientists from around 
          the world who work on a short-term basis at Atlanta's famed 
Centers for Disease 
          Control and Prevention. With PW's 1997  Birthday Offering, the 
Villa plans to improve 
          its facilities by becoming fully handicapped accessible; 
expanding the dining room and 
          modernizing the community kitchen; and providing additional rest 
rooms and storage 
          areas. The living room is expected to be remodeled and the 
library is to be 
          soundproofed. 
          Cameroon Women for Enterprise and Environment (CAMWEE), Cameroon, 
West 
          Africa -- CAMWEE will use PW's Birthday Offering grant to 
initiate 30 new livestock 
          development projects with women's group's identified by the 
Presbyterian Church of 
          Cameroon. Under the auspices of Heifer Project, International, 
each of the 30 projects 
          will provide training and livestock to 10-20 families. These 
families will then in turn 
          pass on animal offspring to other needy families in the 
community. The pass-on-obligation continues with each new family, so the 
animals serve as living loans. 

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