Thank you for your interest in Presbyterian Peace Churches

‌ Learning about Presbyterian Peace Churches Thank you for expressing interest in Presbyterian Peace Churches and in the anti-war efforts of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. The Peace Church Working Group coordinates this work for PPF. We invite you to consider some ways to participate directly in helping us to reach out to congregations and individual Presbyterians. You can begin by looking at the PPF Peace Church web page to learn about our work and see examples of statements from PCUSA Peace congregations here. There are many reasons to consider becoming a Peace Church. What are yours?   Being a Peace Church…   Deepens our spirituality; Allows us to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation (II Cor 5:18); Aligns us with those who have less power in the world; Recognizes that we will not stop global warming without stopping the machinations of war; Recognizes that radical change to the epidemic of gun violence requires a radical change to our culture of violence and war; Strengthens our support for young people who declare themselves Conscientious Objectors; Has been recognized by the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination; Serves to break the conflating of faith and empire that has been part of Christianity since the time of Constantine; Provides an opportunity for us to be liberated from war making, thus protecting our consciences and our souls; Helps to influence our denomination toward becoming a Peace Church denomination; Continues the work of the Reformation; Places the church squarely on the side of collaboration and peaceful solutions to conflict; Means following Jesus more closely. Are you a pastor, member, or affiliate of a Presbyterian congregation? Would your congregation consider using some of the resources in our Peace Church curriculum? We are looking for testers to give us feedback on the lessons. If your congregation is a potential Presbyterian Peace Church, you may want to plan a process to use most or all of the curriculum, but we also hope that some churches will use parts of it as a way to introduce Peace Church perspectives to the congregation. Are you someone who can help PPF strengthen our witness against war, violence, and militarism? Our Peace Church Working Group needs you! We do outreach to congregations; write statements and articles about global conflicts; promote conscientious objector awareness in youth; and join efforts to resist militarization of policing and border management in our own country. We also partner with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the PCUSA Militarism Working Group to promote this work at every level of the church. The working group meets by Zoom every 6 weeks to plan events, develop resources, and to support and encourage each other. Can you join us? If so, or if you have any suggestions, questions, or feedback about our work, please reply to this email. Sincerely, Marilyn White For the PPF Peace Church Working Group