wfn.org | "Pillars of Peace" Teach-In At NCCCUSA

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: NCC News: 212-870-2227 
         (Except 11/11-13: 847-928-3858)
Internet: news@ncccusa.org  Website: http://www.ncccusa.org 

"PILLARS OF PEACE" TEACH-IN ENCOURAGES CHURCHES TO 
INFLUENCE INTERNATIONAL THINKING AND POLICY

 CHICAGO, Nov. 10 ---- A teach-in on defining "Pillars of Peace for the
21st Century" held during the National Council of Churches (NCC) General
Assembly meeting encouraged the church to influence global thinking on
international peace today as it did during the World War II era.

 "The historic document `Six Pillars of Peace,' prepared by our predecessor
body, the Federal Council of Churches, shaped global thinking on
international peace in the midst of World War II," said the Rev. Dr. Rodney
Page, Director of the NCC's Church World Service and Witness Unit.  "Today
it is our fervent hope that once again the churches - through the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA - may speak prophetically to
the requirements of peace rooted in justice as we prepare for the 21st
century in an age of unprecedented conflict, complex emergencies and global 
economic turmoil."

 Just as the first document was visionary and influential in bringing about
the founding of the United Nations, teach-in participants stressed that a
new document is needed to address the challenges of the post Cold War world
and to envision the role of the United Nations in the 21st century.

 "Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century" addresses the following concerns:
 ? an international political framework for collaboration
 ? international economic accountability
 ? a comprehensive international legal system
 ? liberation and empowerment
 ? conflict resolution and building a culture of peace
 ? human dignity and rights
 ? protection and preservation of the environment

 "The current pillars of peace policy statement on the United Nations, to
receive a first reading at this General Assembly meeting, was developed by
the NCC's International Justice and Human Rights Program Ministry 
Committee," explained Ms. Mia Adjali, who chairs that committee.  "In
partnership with The Stanley Foundation, we held three consultations in New
York, Chicago and San Francisco which led the statement to this place."

 Following the first reading this week, there will be a year of study and
reflection before bringing the policy statement back for a second reading
at next year's General Assembly, Ms. Adjali said.  A study guide and video
will be available at the beginning of 1999 to engage local congregations in
the nationwide process of examination.

 "The Stanley Foundation is interested in partnering with denominations
during this time of reflection and study to engage leaders and 
congregations in the process," said Ms. Joan Winship, Vice-President of The
Stanley Foundation.

 Throughout the teach-in, participants were encouraged to make connections
between their local communities and the international context.  Smaller 
groups took up individual pillars and developed action planks and
principles drawing on local situations and faith-based values and ethics.

 The Rev. Angelique Walker-Smith, Executive Director of The Church
Federation of Greater Indianapolis (Ind.), illustrated such connections
when she told of the peacemaking that goes on in her city.  "Within 48
hours of every violent death (in Indianapolis), congregations gather to
offer prayer," she said.  "These local witnesses on the street corner can
witness to the global community.  My hope is that the localization piece
will be key, and we will be pragmatic and develop action plans."

 "The makers of the original pillars in the 1940s understood that they had
to be taken to the grassroots," said Patricia Rumer, Director of Community
Programs at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.  "As we
understand the ways that `we the people' have changed with the `NGOization'
of world decision-making, which includes us in the religious community, we
can each of us take ownership for how we participate in this process."

-end-