Dancing with God : 
Global Mission on the Edge

What happens when you gather about 75 Presbyterians and let them loose for six hours to create their own workshops, decide their own topics, lead them or just listen as they choose, wander off to something else, and finally write up their own reports?

What we found was that lots of people had concerns and ideas and projects to talk about, and lots of others were interested enough to sit for a few minutes or an hour, working through some issue and putting together some kind of report for the whole group – some with very significant recommendations (to the Worldwide Ministries Division, or to Witherspoon, or to themselves).

Some of us confessed to a bit of anxiety about this free-for-all approach, but Charles Ryu, Stony Point program director (who contributed huge amounts of time and effort to making the conference work) convinced the planners that we should try it. And we concluded the weekend feeling it had been a very good thing.

Here’s a sampling of the workshops, and some of the points they reported to the whole group:

A number of the Young Adult Volunteers convened groups to deal with some of their specific concerns – how to recruit more volunteers, how to share their experiences after returning home, sharing awareness about the Roma (often referred to as "Gypsies") and their situation. These groups were by no means confined to YAVs; many others took part as well. Another group, gathered by Barbara Renton, joined with the YAVs who were talking about recruiting more volunteers.

One concern seemed to dominate those discussions: the challenge of community the often intense experiences these volunteers have had in various parts of the world, often in challenging situations, to folks "back home" who seem to have trouble relating to their stories. Creative presentations with skits and such can help, but the difficulties are still great.

One of the groups urged that the Witherspoon Society help returning volunteers to find congregations and other groups where their presentations might be valued, especially in dealing with the challenges of "Empire" in today’s world, as a crucial aspect of the church’s witness and action. It was also suggested that Witherspoon might help plan and sponsor some "debriefing" events for YAVs as they return from the service experiences.

A number of workshops were led by staff members of the Worldwide Ministries Division. Some groups offered a global perspective on the work and programs of the Division, for example in the workshop led by Marian McClure in a review of the recent policy document, "Gathering for God’s Future." That group noted the need for the U.S. church to hear the witness of the global church, and to recognize how deeply the gospel is threatened in our own culture. They recommended that congregation and presbytery missions committees use "Gathering for God’s Future" as a way of seeing the "bigger picture" of our mission.

Gary Cook led a session focusing on the very practical issue of "funding the confrontation of Empire." The group discussed the lack of organizing among the justice-oriented groups in the church and their lack of funds development. It was also noted that there are many Extra Commitment Opportunity accounts which support justice-oriented programs. There were recommendations that Witherspoon consider working more closely with WMD, and consider the possibility of staff development to become more effective in its work.

Other staff-led workshops dealt with justice and education, with farmworker organizing through the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Taco Bell boycott, and the new Campaign for Fair Food. Two people from CIW took part in the conference and added a great deal to these discussions, pointing to the need for moving people from charity to justice, through building partnerships and alliances.

Also on the always-interesting theme of food, Susan Ellison described the work of Joining Hands Against Hunger as one model of ways the PC(USA) is working actively to confront unjust economic and political structures – i.e. confronting Empire. This group noted the need for more help in building connections among the many networks, such as the Ghana Mission network, Bolivian Joining Hands network, and those working in accompaniment in Colombia, so they could lean from each other. This group asked whether WMD and Witherspoon could help connect these justice-oriented groups, and help them share information and models for action.

And more about food: Another workshop looked at the new Just Eating? curriculum material from the Presbyterian Hunger Program – another resource for confronting Empire, as it provides biblically-based education about many aspects of our food system, laying the foundation for building life-affirming alternatives to Empire, by inviting people to stand with those who are hurt by the present system, and joining them in resistance.

In a workshop looking at the broad issue of fair trade,  Melanie Hardison talked about efforts to broaden current purchasing policies of the PCUSA's General Assembly agencies to deal with environmental and energy concerns as well as the AA/EEO policies now in effect. She pointed to many specific efforts for sweat-free purchasing in some congregations, campus ministries and colleges.  You can read Gene TeSelle's more complete report on that session on fair trade.

Other workshops covered a wide range of subjects, reflecting the wide and interesting variety of people at the conference.

Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon’s Issues Analyst, convened a group looking at the Social Creed – starting from a statement written in 1908, and plans to promote a similar effort in 2008, as a short statement of biblically-shaped principles which might influence the ethos of the church and society, especially in economic affairs.

Keynote speaker Philip Wickeri led a group in discussing evangelism, which produced four specific recommendations: the Witherspoon organize more conversations on evangelism; that WMD develop resources that explore an understanding of evangelism as invitation extended by individuals and churches; that WMD develop worship resources that emphasize evangelism, and that (again!) WMD ask racial-ethnic churches to help anglo churches in developing the practice of evangelism.

Haynes led another group in discussing outreach ministries and mission, especially among inner city churches. One of the group’s suggestions was outreach ministries should respond to "basic needs related to: hunger, those who incarcerated and their families, people who are infected/affected by AIDS, homelessness, drugs, gang violence, etc."

Ken Smith, Witherspoon president, led a group in considering LGBT issues and the church in the developing world. Participants shared a wide variety of interests that brought them to this group, including concerns for the interlocking issues of racism, patriarchal structures and heterosexism. Some expressed concern about the way some Presbyterian conservatives seem to be manipulating church leaders, especially in Africa, for their own purposes. The group suggested that WMD seek ways to encourage more conversation among our churches about partnership, and how it can help inform our own thinking about questions of sexuality, while allowing for genuine disagreement as all of us struggle with new patterns of partnership between people as well as between churches.

Karla Koll, a Presbyterian mission co-worker in Guatemala, convened a group around her strong concern for issues of power and social justice in the presbytery partnerships that are becoming more and more important in our relationships with sister churches. While many partner churches in other countries are strongly engaged in work for social justice, often their U.S. partner entities are more interested in direct service and building projects than in long-term transformation. The group recommended that conscious efforts be made to nurture social justice commitments within presbytery partnership, and to help our people gain the analytical tools to understand their experiences in a wider social framework. They also called attention to the fact that sustaining such presbytery partnerships takes a great deal of energy on the part of our partners in other countries.

Peggy Howland presented a workshop on "networking with women in ministry around the world," focusing on her work with the International Association of Women Ministers, including plans for a workshop at the World Council of Churches Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006.

Another group discussed the much-debated Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI) program, affirming it as a very effective way to use the church’s investments to resist the problematic aspects of globalization – not merely by divesting from certain countries, but by being pro-active and investing in responsible companies, development projects, and under-capitalized technologies that could be very helpful for the developing world. The group took note of the fact that MRTI staff has been reduced from to full-time people to one half-time person – so that an effective tool for global justice is being weakened rather than expanded.

Bobbie Frances McDonald, founder of the Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, led two workshops. In one she reported on her visits to Sudan, and to her growing advocacy work in the US – and the frustrations of that work. In the other session she led a conversation on the wider topic of "how to initiate advocacy as mission," emphasizing the need for a clear and accurate mission statement, and for a strong and diverse advisory board.

Vice Moderator Jean Marie Peacock talked with a workshop about Hurricane Katrina, which had swept through the Gulf Coast – and her own home and church – just days before the conference. She told of her own experience, but also of the sense of many church leaders of being overwhelmed by the disaster, with their congregations scattered and many members planning never to return. One of her major concerns was that the American people deal seriously with the economic issues and poverty that were so visible in the disaster. Some suggestions from the group included asking the Stony Point Center to help churches in the affected area to offer programs for people overcome with "compassion fatigue," helping them to deal with their own issues as they recover from the trauma, and help others in the process too.

Peter Barnes-Davies, now a student at San Francisco Theological Seminary, led a discussion on "exploring corporate welfare reform: a look at alternative annual reports of Halliburton." He presented this very specific activity of CorpWatch as a tool for advocating for measures against corporate fraud by companies profiteering from the war. He strongly recommended their website: http://www.corpwatch.org/.

Britt Johnston convened a group to focus on the Colombia accompaniment program, through which the PCUSA and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship are working together to send volunteers to spend a month or two with the Colombian Presbyterian Church as they confront violence and threats of violence in their country. The volunteers go as a "presence," to see and hear, to be supportive of the churches, human rights workers, and displaced persons, and to advocate with the Colombian and US governments.

Doug King (who is compiling this report) gathered a group to think together about ways Witherspoon might engage more effectively in its mission, and communicate more effectively about it. About the group’s mission, it was suggested that Witherspoon could do more to support local and presbytery groups in their advocacy activities, and that we could help returning Young Adult Volunteers to develop a network of their own, and to connect with congregations that can benefit from their presence. As for communications, there were suggestions for a monthly newsletter, for a larger typeface in Network News, more white space, and summaries of longer articles. It was also suggested that Witherspoon might develop a shared newsletter with other progressive Presbyterian groups, with a page for each group, and links to their full stories.