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07584 September 17, 2007
Web resources available for 'Peace Day'
10 PC(USA)-sponsored international peacemakers visiting U.S.
by Evan Silverstein Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has made worship resources available on its Web site for churches and other groups planning to mark the International Day of Peace (Peace Day) on Friday, Sept. 21.
The United Nations General Assembly has set Sept. 21 of each year as the International Day of Peace - a day of global ceasefire and non-violence when all nations and people are encouraged to honor a cessation of hostilities.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is also encouraging congregations worldwide to pray for peace on Sept. 21 or on the following Sunday.
"The International Day of Peace calls the people of the world to ponder the possibility of peace," said the Rev. Mark Koenig, coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. "The day provides an opportunity for Presbyterians to join Christians, interfaith partners and people of goodwill in proclaiming God's vision of peace. Together, through our prayers and our actions, we affirm our intention to live into that vision."
Materials featured on the Web site of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program for this year's Peace Day observance are prayers from the Presbyterian United Nations Office in New York City and a collection of prayers from Europe. They join a brochure from the WCC about the International Day of Peace.
Find more information here for the International Day of Peace worship resources.
Peace Day has been a focal point for community-uniting and peace-inspiring events since its inception in 1981. Last year more than 3,500 Peace Day events took place in 200 countries, according to the International Day of Peace Web site, which also offers related resources.
The observance comes as a group of 10 peacemakers are visiting the United States as part of the annual International Peacemakers Program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The program provides opportunities for leaders engaged in peacemaking in countries around the globe to come to the U.S. in order to promote mutual understanding from a global perspective.
Since arriving Sept. 11, the peacemakers have been visiting churches, middle governing bodies and educational institutions across the country. They are scheduled to depart the U.S. on Oct. 8.
The peacemakers are the Rev. Vilma Yanez-Ogaza from the Presbyterian Church of Colombia; Samuel Rizk from the Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue in Lebanon; Karla Ramos-Amaya from Casa Semillas Integrated Ministries in El Salvador; and Mamo Wejega Korjo from the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus.
Also, the Rev. Yahya Tirta Prewita from the Purwantoro Javanese Christian Church in Indonesia; Maruzella Abboud from the Near East School of Theology in Lebanon; Yody Morán and David Andrews from the Joining Hands Against Hunger Network in Peru; the Rev. Alfredo Abad-Heras from the Iglesia Evangélica Española (Spanish Evangelical Church); and Elizabeth Ajak from the Sudan Council of Churches.
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program was created in 1980 when the General Assembly of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America adopted Peacemaking: The Believers' Calling.
The work of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is guided by three affirmations outlined in the document:
The church is faithful to Jesus Christ when it is engaged in peacemaking. The church is obedient to Jesus Christ when it nurtures and equips God's people as peacemakers. The church bears witness to Christ when it nurtures the moral life of the nation for the sake of peace in the world.
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