Peace Fellowship

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship announces two trips to the Middle East:

Advent trip to Palestine, Israel and Jordan

November 24 to December 9, 2007

Cost: $3,100 including all expenses round trip from NYC

Delegation Leaders:

Walt Owensby worked in the Washington Office for many years, focusing on advocacy on economic justice and international issues, including the Middle East.

Kelly Baker is the Director of Youth Ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Palm Coast, FL.

Itinerary: This 16-day trip will include 10 days in Israel-Palestine and 4 days in Jordan. It will include visits to holy and historical sites; briefings from many perspectives, including Christian partners, peace groups, and representatives of the governments of Israel, Palestine and the U.S., academics and journalists; and meetings with agencies dealing with Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Most importantly, there will be exchanges with ordinary people in both Israel and Palestine to reframe this highly explosive situation as a double human tragedy. The time in Jordan will focus on issues that effect the larger Middle East region and U.S. policy. This includes a clearer understanding of contemporary Islam, its internal tensions and relations with other faith communities from both Israel, Palestine and Iraq.

By the end of the trip, each participant should be able to accurately and empathetically share the narrative of Palestinians and Jewish/Arab Israelis who have been affected by the violence in the region.

Participants will be asked to make a commitment to work as advocates for the end of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and for security for both Israelis and Palestinians within mutually agreed upon borders of two states living in peace.

Participants: Commissioners to the 2008 General Assembly are particularly encouraged to apply. First time visitors to the region will be given priority if all spaces are filled. A maximum of seventeen participants can be accommodated.

Registration Deadline: October 15, 2007. ($500 deposit and copy of airline tickets due upon registration. Balance of $2,600 due on November 7th. Participants are encouraged to register as early as possible to complete passport and visa requirements. Passports must be valid for six months beyond the December date of return and have no visa stamp from Syria or Iran.

Add on for those who wish: An optional trip to Petra will be made available at an additional cost following the Peace Pilgrimage.

Contact: Kelly Baker, Advent trip Logistics Coordinator: kelly61683@hotmail.com or 386-445-4757 ext.. 321

Pentecost Trip

May 10 to 25, 2008

[Updated on 1-21-08]

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Pentecost Peace Delegation to Palestine, Israel, and Jordan

May 10-25, 2008

Itinerary: This 16-day trip will include time in Jordan and various areas in Israel/Palestine. It will include visits to holy and historical sites; briefings from many perspectives, such as Christian partners, peace groups, and representatives of the governments of Israel, Palestine and the U.S., academics and journalists; and meetings with agencies dealing with Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Most importantly, there will be exchanges with ordinary people in both Israel and Palestine to reframe this highly explosive situation as a double human tragedy. The time in Jordan will focus on issues that effect the larger Middle East region and U.S. policy. This includes a clearer understanding of contemporary Islam, its internal tensions and relations with other faith communities from both Israel, Palestine and Iraq.

This will be a journey of personal faith leading participants through places of Christian beginnings and through the intractable realities of an Arab-Israeli struggle that has gone on for over 60 years. This is an experience for people who want to know more, experience more, and do more for peace than wring their hands in despair.

Leadership:

	Stuart Taylor is pastor of St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ. He has worked with Witness for Peace in Nicaragua, and has been engaged with both Jewish and Palestinian communities in Tucson.
	Andrea Leonard is a former Young Adult Volunteer for the PC(USA, now living in Atlanta.

Participants: Commissioners to the 2008 General Assembly, first time visitors to the region, and clergy are particularly encouraged to apply, but all are welcome! A maximum of eighteen participants can be accommodated.

Cost: Approximately $3500 all-inclusive (airfare, meals, lodging, transportation, and programming).

Registration Deadline: February 6, 2008 is the deadline for applications, with a $100 deposit to hold your spot. Participants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible! We would like half of the total trip cost on March 1 and the final payment by April 1.

Contact: Andrea Leonard, Pentecost Trip Logistics Coordinator: andrea.c.leonard@gmail.com or (903) 744-6337.

For more information about this trip please visit http://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/?p=126

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Also: Two other delegation opportunities to put on your calendar!

Colombia Delegation

January 18 – 28, 2008

Details for this trip will be posted by mid-August. The experience will focus on the human rights situation in Colombia and the church’s role in responding the violence. Emphasis will be on helping participants to discern whether they are called to become volunteer accompaniers there.

Delegation to the Philippines

End of February, 2008

This trip will be an intentionally small delegation to develop a relationship with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, with a particular interest in exploring whether and how the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship might deepen our presence there and provide genuine support to church workers whose action in defense of human rights have put them at risk.

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship calls for rededication to justice and nonviolence.

[9-14-01]

PRESBYTERIAN PEACE FELLOWSHIP STATEMENT

IN RESPONSE TO THE TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SEPT. 11, 2001

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, in the name of the One who rejected violence and the cycle of vengeance, condemns the human-created catastrophe of Sept. 11, 2001, when terror struck our nation.

We grieve with those who suffer now. We mourn for those whom we have lost. We agonize because of the violence our country has been plunged into, and the prolonged sadness we shall endure.

We join in prayer with all those who cry out against attacks on civilians, against terrorism as a way of asserting power. We pray God to heal all hearts and give eternal life to the dead on the day of resurrection.

Yet we know that as U.S. Christians we cannot self-righteously blame others as though they alone are guilty of injustice. Struck by the reality of others' sin, we can not act as though we are sinless in this world.

We confess that we are part of a nation that too often does not respect the sovereignty of other nations.

We impose economic practices on other countries that destroy people's hopes for even the bare necessities of life. We have cultivated for ourselves a way of life that requires the economic exploitation of others. We have indulged in conspicuous consumption with little regard for the fact that more of the world's people die each month from malnutrition than the number who died in these attacks.

We sell more weapons world-wide than any other nation, and deploy nuclear weapons that can destroy life on this planet.

For such reasons we have incurred the envy and resentment of an ever-growing number of the world's population.

To respond to this attack, our governmental leaders focus on military retaliation and retribution in the name of security. We view these actions and these views as a perpetuation of the beliefs and systems that have brought us to this tragic time. Jesus said: "Those who take the sword will perish by the sword." The violence that the United States has long exported has now come back upon us in a covert operation of masterly, although diabolic, planning. If we retaliate in kind, we will do so at risk to our souls and to the survival of life on the planet.

In contrast, we view the violence of this day as summoning us to repentance and to rededicate ourselves to pursue justice in this land and around the world. In the name of peace, we will continue

	to advocate nonviolent ways of conflict resolution,
	to end the violence perpetrated through small arms, landmines, and indeed through all weapons,
	to end the sanctions against the people of Iraq,
	to work for a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis,
	to protect the rights of Arab-Americans
	to work for a greater understanding between Christians and Muslims.

We have great wealth and power. Only by sharing these gifts can we live in peace with the world. The post-World-War II Marshall Plan and the generosity by government and citizens in times of natural disaster point the way.

Shaken as we are by the terror of Sept. 11, grief-stricken as we are, tempted as we are to rage and retribution, let us pray God to turn us toward the light and hope that are offered to us by the Prince of Peace. Let us become builders rather than destroyers. May God comfort us as we work to heal our wounds and have mercy on as we strive to learn the ways of peace.

For any information, please contact:
Len Bjorkman (Rev.) co-moderator of the Peace Fellowship
POB 15194, Syracuse, NY 13215-0194
315-492-9042
LenandJudy@acmgfcu.net