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Note #6107 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

00244	Presbyterian fellowship to sponsor a "day of witness" in Washington

	40-day campaign envisions a culture of peace and justice

	by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (PPF) will serve as
host for a "day of witness" in Washington, D.C., next week in connection
with a national campaign for the creation of a culture of nonviolence and
justice.

	The PPF's vigil on Wednesday, July 12 – part of the 40-day People's
Campaign for Nonviolence – will include worship, speakers and discussions
about how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has responded to social and
justice-related issues. The topics are expected to include gun control,
disarming land mines and closing the controversial School of the Americas.

	"We didn't try to get experts," said Anne Barstow, coordinator of the
Presbyterian vigil and a PPF member. "We're getting Presbyterians for whom
these issues have become a moral challenge. It's going to be more personal
testimony and witness."

	The people's campaign, which started on July 1 and scheduled to end on Aug.
9, is sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a Nyack, N.Y.-based
non-profit interfaith organization that sponsors programs and educational
projects on domestic and international peace and justice issues.

	About 26 faith-based peace fellowships are expected to take part in the
campaign. Each day a different peace group maintains the call for justice
with a nonviolent vigil at the White House, the Capitol or the Pentagon.

	"There will be reflections on what it means to be a Presbyterian and think
about the challenge of acting nonviolently," said Barstow, who lives in New
York City and New England.

	The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship will take its turn on July 12, starting
with worship at 9 a.m. on the East Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building. At
9:30, participants will gather across the street in the chapel of the
Methodist Building, which is also home to the Presbyterian Washington
Office, at 110 Maryland Ave. NE. Briefings will be held there on social and
justice-related issues.

	After lunch, the participants will again gather on the East Lawn from 1 to
5 p.m. for witnessing, banner-waving and personal stories linked to program
themes.

	The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is separate from the Presbyterian
Peacemaking Program, which is part of the Congregational Ministries
Division. The PPF, which has at least 1,200 active members from across the
nation, receives no money from the PC(USA).

	"I think it is important to keep all of these issues in the forefront, and
to keep the pressure up on Congress on all of these issues having to do with
peace and reconciliation," said the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of
the Washington Office. "It's good that the groups are coming and maintaining
a constant vigil on those issues."

	Among the goals of the People's Campaign for Nonviolence is for groups to
witness against three evils of society identified by Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. –  racism, poverty and militarism. Throughout the campaign, there will
be weekly education and nonviolence-training sessions as organizers work to
unite the justice and peace movements on two general issues:

	* Racial, social, and economic justice: the creation of a nonviolent,
non-oppressive society, with an economy that funds human needs and helps
sustain all life on the planet; and,

	* Demilitarization: substantial cuts in military spending, the abolition of
nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, and the pursuit
of a nonviolent foreign policy.

	Marilyn White, of suburban Houston, Texas, said the event differs from
others previously held by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. She said the
group typically organizes a conference every other year, but this year chose
to join the faith groups taking turns holding vigil.

	"It's amazing the way it's all come together," said White, who will speak
during the program about the controversial U.S. Army School of the Americas,
which critics have long maintained teaches Latin American paramilitary
officials abusive tactics that are then used against the populations of
their home countries. "If you look at the schedule, wow what they're going
to have! I'm even considering returning to Washington for the big
culmination in August."

	For additional information, contact Barstow at (413)229-2604.

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