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Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- Jan. 29, 2009
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director
800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org

'HEEDING GOD'S CALL' BRINGS PEACE CHURCHES TOGETHER FOR COMMON EFFORT

(Jan. 29, 2009) Elgin, IL -- "Heeding God's Call: A Gathering on Peace" spo nsored by the three Historic Peace Churches--Church of the Brethren, Quaker s, and Mennonites--in Philadelphia on Jan. 13-17 has brought together peopl e of faith for a common peacemaking effort.

The gathering saw the launch of a new faith-based initiative against gun vi olence in America's cities. An "epistle" or letter written from the gatheri ng issued an invitation to "all people everywhere" to heed the call to peac emaking. More than 20 focus statements also were created for future coopera tion.

The event was held alongside a series held by the peace churches on differe nt continents, this time in the United States. Previous peace church gather ings have been held in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 2010 a meeting of the p eace churches in the Americas will be held. The peace churches also will be  represented at a World Council of Churches meeting signaling the close of  the Decade to Overcome Violence, in Jamaica in 2011.

"The significance of the event has been for the American peace churches to  participate in the global effort to hold consultations on issues of peacema king in the 21st century," said Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the C hurch of the Brethren. "During this time when the US has been seen as such  an aggressor by the rest of the world, it was most important for us to brin g the Historic Peace Churches together with others who believe there is ano ther way of living."

Set in the historic district of Philadelphia, Heeding God's Call gathered a t Arch Street Meeting House, a Quaker meeting house, for daily worship and  plenaries. The group included delegations from the peace churches along wit h invited participants from other Christian traditions as well as observers  from the Jewish and Muslim faiths. It was reported that a total of 23 fait h traditions were represented among the 380 participants.

On the "facing bench" in the Quaker style of worship were leaders from the  three convening groups: Thomas Swain, presiding clerk of the Philadelphia Y early Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; Susan Mark Landis, peace  advocate for the Mennonite Church USA; and Noffsinger as general secretary  of the Church of the Brethren.

Many different speakers addressed the theme, "Strengthening our witness and  work for peace in the world by inspiring hope, raising voices, taking acti on." At the opening plenary, speakers included National Council of Churches  (NCC) general secretary Michael Kinnamon, and James A. Forbes Jr., senior  minister emeritus of Riverside Church in New York. Vincent Harding, chair o f the "Veterans of Hope Project: A Center for the Study of Religion and Dem ocratic Renewal" at Iliff School of Theology and a noted Civil Rights activ ist and author, gave daily reflections.

Plenary speakers included Ched Myers, a biblical scholar and director of Ba rtimaeus Cooperative Ministries, and Alexie Torres Fleming, founder of Yout h Ministries for Peace and Justice in the South Bronx, N.Y. Preachers inclu ded Colin Saxton, superintendent of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends  Church; Matthew V. Johnson Sr., national executive director of Every Churc h a Peace Church; Gayle Harris, suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Church Di ocese of Massachusetts; and Donna Jones of Cookman United Methodist Church  in Philadelphia.

A panel on the "Faith Basis of Our Peace Testimonies" featured speakers fro m the three Historic Peace Churches. A second panel discussion on "Speaking  Truth to Power" was given by church and nonprofit staff who work in Washin gton, D.C.

In addition to worship and plenary sessions, participants met in small grou ps for discussion, ate meals together, and were invited to support and take  part in daily witnesses against gun violence.

The gathering closed Jan. 17 with a day of worship, education, and action i n sanctuaries and meeting houses across the city, focused on the gun violen ce that has been causing hundreds of deaths a year in Philadelphia. Partici pants traveled to one of nine host faith communities--seven churches, a syn agogue, and a student center--where morning programs were planned and led b y several congregations jointly in each sanctuary. A total of 40 partner fa ith communities from Philadelphia took part, including Christian, Muslim, a nd Jewish congregations.

That afternoon, an interfaith service was held prior to a march to Colosimo 's Gun Center. Organizers said the day's events were planned "to confront t he avoidable tragedy of gun violence in our communities," and that the stor e was identified as a focus for the campaign as "a leading supplier of crim e guns." The march included 600 or more people, and marked the end of the g athering.

An "epistle" or letter written from the gathering issued an invitation to " all people everywhere" to heed the call to peacemaking. The epistle committ ee included James Beckwith, pastor of Annville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren  and a former moderator of Annual Conference. "We believe this is indeed a  time when peace can happen," the letter said in part. "Awaken with us to th is new opportunity to act as the united Body of Christ, along with friends  of peace everywhere, in a world desperately in need of justice and peace."  (Go to www.peacegathering2009.org/Epistle-New-Beginning for the full text.)

Also created were more than 20 focus statements identifying priorities for  ongoing work. Topics ranged from becoming a Living Peace Church, to buildin g community that supports radical Christian living, to recognizing and over coming racism, to working on disagreements about human sexuality. Some focu s groups highlighted current political situations including the violence in  Gaza, the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, immigration concerns, and the i ssue of torture.

"We are not alone," Noffsinger said, reflecting on what the peace churches  have learned from the gathering. "We may approach the ways to make peace th rough different expressions...but we are not alone. We shouldn't hesitate t o seek peace and pursue it."

A photo journal of Heeding God's Call is available at www.brethren.org (cli ck on "News" to find the link). Go to www.peacegathering2009.org for audio  recordings of the major presentations.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continu ing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in  community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith t raditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated it s 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts more than 125,000 members across the  United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nig eria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org