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Washington Advocacy Days - March 2005 |
Ecumenical Advocacy Days set for March 11-14 in
Washington
[Updated 1-4-05]from the
Presbyterian Washington Office
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office invites
you to attend the third annual
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
gathering in Washington, D.C., to be held March 11-14, 2005. Presbyterians
are also invited to a Presbyterian Washington Office dinner, in celebration
of its 60th Anniversary on Saturday, March 12. Call the Presbyterian
Washington Office for further details about the dinner at (202) 543-1126 or
e-mail Sherry Giles at .
Make All Things New
is the theme of the gathering addressing urgent global and domestic issues.
Advocacy Days will take place in the context of a new presidential term, a
new Congress and a new opportunity for people of faith to learn together and
raise their voices in advocacy for a more just and peaceful world.
Ecumenical Advocacy Days will highlight the urgency of
pursuing wise and peaceful solutions to conflicts and the need for aid, debt
and trade policies that benefit our impoverished brothers and sisters
throughout the world.
Participants will examine U.S. policy regarding the Middle
East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, global economic justice, global security,
eco-justice and U.S. domestic issues. The event will feature challenging
speakers, including Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 216th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Bishop Vashti McKenzie of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Participants will participate in
issue briefings and training in advocacy.
Comprehensive briefings will precede visits with members
of Congress or their key policy staff assistants.
For more information and to register for
Advocacy Days, go to
www.advocacydays.org.
You'll also find there a
printable registration
flyer.
Published by the Stewardship of Public Life
(SPL) advocacy program of the Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (USA),
100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, (202) 543-1126,
www.pcusa.org/washington
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
growing!
Please consider making a special
contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve
this service.
Click here to send a
gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.
Or send your check, made
out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to
our PVJ Treasurer:
Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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