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Showing posts with label Peace & Global Witness Offering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace & Global Witness Offering. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
The Peace & Global Witness Offering video is here!
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Why support the Peace & Global Witness Offering?
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Saturday, October 5, 2024
Minute for Mission: World Communion Sunday/Peace & Global Witness Offering
October 6, 2024
“Sowing the Seeds of Peace” (Zechariah 8:12)
We’ve all witnessed it, haven’t we?
Flowers miraculously blooming across a ravaged landscape. Children holding hands and smiling in the face of war.
We’ve all seen it and wonder how it’s possible. Such scenarios seem unlikely when we’ve all but given up hope.
And yet …
The prophet Zechariah casts a vision for peace. He shows forth a world where each person — old and young, all genders and races, people from north, south, east and west — lives without enmity, fear and destruction. In Zechariah’s vision, there is “a sowing of peace” where the world is restored, made whole and abides in peace. People in Zechariah’s prophecy bind themselves together in love for one another, imbued in them by God, where all people have dignity and worth.
The Presbyterian Confession of 1967 invites us, the Church, to be “emissaries of peace.” It also reminds us that “with an urgency born of this hope, the Church applies itself to present tasks and strives for a better world.”
Peacemaking is central to the gospel and the mission of the Church. Peace is possible, and it begins with us sowing the seeds of peace in every interaction and decision we make.
The Peace & Global Witness Offering is one way we can begin to bring peace. Through our support, the Central America Migration Mission Network seeks solutions to the root causes of migration and offers support for those who have had to flee their homelands; the Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, began their “Loads of Love” laundry program (not being able to keep yourself clean robs people of their dignity); and after members from Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, attended a Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar to the Native Lands, the church voted to send funds to help with necessary repairs and improvements to Native American churches.
This World Communion Sunday, let us remember the Christ who we meet at the Table of Grace and affirm that in Christ all Christians are one, regardless of nationality, race or ethnicity.
We are the Church. Together.
Special Offerings
Today’s Focus: World Communion Sunday/Peace & Global Witness Offering
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Barbara Soete, Ministry Specialist for Special Offerings, Ministry Engagement & Support, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Samuel Son, Manager, Diversity & Reconciliation Associate, Advocacy, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
God, you are the bringer of peace. We recommit ourselves to you as you bring peace to our world. May the works of our hands, the marching of our feet and the meditations of our hearts join with you as we sow the seeds of the peace only you can bring. In your name we pray. Amen.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Exposing the moral and migrational implications of climate change
Peace & Global Witness Offering contributes toward mitigating the trauma of global and geopolitical neighbors
November 21, 2023
Kotema Lanto
Of the many tools a farmer can usually rely on to help ensure a successful crop yield — resources to control weeds, fight pests or build healthy soil — Kotema Lanto found nothing in his toolkit to counteract the devastating impact of climate change on the family farm.
And there was certainly nothing within his grasp to prevent him from having to uproot his family from the place they once called home.
As residents of Nui Island — one of a group of low-lying Islands and atolls in the South Pacific Ocean that make up the small nation of Tuvalu — Lanto and his young family have been battered over time by the destructive effects of climate change, eventually culminating in their forced migration inland.
“Not only did they have to move further inland,” said Maina Talia, a former International Peacemaker for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, “but they have been unable to return to the place where they grew up. For people who have no choice other than to leave their homes, there aren’t just financial, agricultural and practical implications, but moral implications as well because they’ve been living in a place for their entire lives. This is where they’re attached to; and, when they move on a small island, they are also intruding into other people’s space, creating internal conflicts.”
Because Tuvalu is especially vulnerable to tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and global pollution, after Tropical Cyclone Pam struck the small island nation in 2015, some 45% of its residents — just like Kotema — were displaced.
“Climate change is unpredictable, especially when it comes to shifting weather patterns,” he said. “It’s difficult to predict when there will be a cyclone.”
Maina Talia
Talia, who regularly works and engages with various nongovernmental organizations, including the Pacific Conference of Churches and Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (the Tuvalu Christian Church) on a variety of environmental issues, was instrumental in securing funding from the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives for an early warning system to communicate during cyclones and a 15kva solar system to power the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu head office.
He has also just completed his Ph.D. on the concept of neighbor in Luke 10, the “Good Samaritan,” as viewed through the lens of geopolitics and climate change, which he sees as intimately related to his pursuit of peace and justice.
“In context of climate change and geopolitics, our neighbor is no longer someone living next door to us, but rather someone who is impacted by our actions,” he said.
Talia’s call to peacemaking — including addressing the escalating economic, moral, food security and safety issues that result from the impact of climate change — is made possible, in part, by gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering, traditionally received on World Communion Sunday, which this year fell on Oct. 1.
Kotema Lanto, at right, is one to pitch in and help during a time
of need. (Contributed photo)
The Peace & Global Witness Offering is unique in that half of it is directed to peacemaking and global witness efforts at the national church level to address critical issues around the world. Twenty-five percent is retained by congregations for local peace and reconciliation work, and 25% goes to mid councils for similar ministries on the regional level.
Talia’s peacemaking work not only involves research and teaching, but also advocacy on behalf of his neighbors, who live in constant fear.
“Although the government can provide food and shelter, we have to ensure that our neighbors are in a good state of mind to continue with the work that they do,” he said. “Pre- and post-trauma counseling is important for us. The Church in Tuvalu is looking into the issue very seriously.”
Talia said that he greatly respects what the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has done in the past and is doing now when it comes to peace. He hopes to continue to build a network with the PC(USA) and its members toward both mutual understanding and working for climate justice.
As Talia continues to highlight Tuvalu and the Pacific on the issue of climate change he embodies Christ’s call to peace, love and justice as it is exemplified by the Matthew 25 movement.
Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Today’s Focus: Peace & Global Witness Offering
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Gabrialla Rudovic, Housekeeper, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Joseph Russ, Coordinator for Migration Issues, Advocacy & Mission with the Northern Triangle, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
Father, our hearts ache for our siblings around the world who struggle in the hands of poverty. Continue to sow your seeds of hope, grace and love among us, so that we may find new life and freedom in Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Matthew 25 congregations in the PC(USA) take action against structural racism
Peace & Global Witness Offering supports pastors’ efforts to confront North Carolina’s racist legacy
November 15, 2023
The Rev. Stephen Herring is pictured with Trell,
at left. (Contributed photo)
When God promised to be present through life’s floods and fires, the assurance was of little comfort to Trell, whose house burned to the ground in March.
And, to make matters worse, after all of Trell’s earthly belongings had gone up in flames, when he sought refuge in his car, he discovered that it had a flat tire.
That was when the timely intervention of a local pastor, the Rev. Stephen Herring — known more familiarly in Tarboro, North Carolina, as Pastor Steve — made God’s presence real to him.
Herring, who in retirement serves two small churches — Nahalah Presbyterian Church in Scotland Neck and Cobb Memorial Presbyterian Church in Tarboro — also runs Creative Salvage Designs with his wife, Cathy, and son, Peter, which does primarily junk removal and property clean-outs.
As the owner of this unique business, coupled with both his commitment to peacemaking and the Matthew 25 charge to dismantle structural racism, Herring was uniquely positioned to lend Trell a hand.
“What he went through,” said Herring, “now that is stress! Your stuff all burned up, no place to stay and a flat tire! We lent him our portable air compressor to get him back on the road. His smile and thanks brought tears to my eyes.”
Herring, who lives in Tarboro and has business interests in neighboring communities such as Princeville, is all too aware of the environmental racism that affects the people — like Trell — in these flood-plain cities, which have been devastated in recent years by the ravages of climate change.
Princeville, whose unique history has been all but wiped off the map, is the oldest U.S. town founded and settled by free African Americans after the Civil War.
Herring’s call to be a peacemaker — including pursuing pathways of peace by working to address structural racism and mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change in his home state of North Carolina — is made possible by gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering, traditionally received on World Communion Sunday, which this year fell on Oct. 1.
The Peace & Global Witness Offering is unique in that half of it is directed to peacemaking and global witness efforts at the national church level to address critical issues around the world. Twenty-five percent is retained by congregations for local peace and reconciliation work, and 25% goes to mid councils for similar ministries on the regional level.
“Creative Salvage is a key point of intersection with the impoverished African American community here in Tarboro,” Herring explained. “Due to the need for cheap rent, it helps that our building is located in the poorest part of Tarboro. This allows for continuous intersection with and outreach to those at the bottom of the social hierarchy.”
Herring’s ongoing work in Princeville, which is contracted by the town, has mainly been to deconstruct and extract resources from its flood-damaged properties. He then demolishes and reconstructs them in order to show — and save — the town’s heritage.
Preserving Princeville’s history has become even more challenging since its residents, already marginalized due to the dual impact of structural racism and systemic poverty, have been steadily migrating outward since 1999 in the wake of the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricanes Floyd, Matthew and Ian.
The intersection of several of the most persistent, prevailing and pressing challenges for Presbyterian peacemakers today, namely poverty, racism, climate change and immigration/migration — as seen in Princeville — are also among the primary concerns of being a Matthew 25 Church.
“The Matthew 25 movement presents us with this invitation of ‘What are you doing for those in need among us,’ not just our neighbors in our subdivision or on our street, but our geopolitical, global neighbors,” said Amy Lewis, mission specialist for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. “Because their needs are increasingly being brought to our attention through advances in technology, we can no longer just bury our heads and pretend that these things aren’t happening all around us. We must continually ask ourselves how we can participate in this work of God in the world.”
Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Today’s Focus: Peace & Global Witness Offering
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jacob Roberts, Trust Associate, Presbyterian Foundation
Lawrence Robertson, Administrative Assistant, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
God of boundless love, thank you for meeting us at our place of deepest need. Look with compassion on our brothers and sisters. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may witness to your love in the world. Amen.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Today in the Mission Yearbook - PC(USA) partner discusses ministering on the margins in Madagascar
Gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering help stop human trafficking and the exploitation of children
November 1, 2023
Rose
As a mere child herself, Rose had already married, given birth to — and lost — a child by the time she was 15 years old.
Upon discovering that she was pregnant just four months after her traditional Malagasy wedding, Rose’s joy at the birth of her son quickly turned to sorrow.
“My baby was dead after 10 days,” she said.
One agonizing month later, Rose’s in-laws demanded that she move out of their home and file for separation from their son. Because — according to their belief system and the prevailing customs in their native Madagascar — if a baby dies before it is 1 month old, it doesn’t have a good mother.
“Even the chicken can take care of their kids beyond one month,” Rose recalled. “That means I am not even as bright as a chicken.”
Overwhelmed and despondent at having lost everything, Rose turned to the bright lights of Madagascar’s nightclub and discotheque scene.
“I do not like this life,” she said. “I am like a prostitute; but I needed to run away from my sadness.”
It was there that the Rev. Helivao Poget found her.
A teacher of missiology at Madagascar’s Faculty of Theology Ambatonakanga, Poget also serves as director of ministry to marginalized people (SAFFIFAA) at the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), one of Presbyterian World Mission’s global partners.
Poget’s call to end human trafficking in Madagascar and the exploitation of children everywhere is made possible, in part, by gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering, traditionally received on World Communion Sunday, which this year fell on Oct. 1.
A teacher of missiology at Madagascar’s Faculty of
Theology Ambatonakanga, the Rev. Helivao Poget also serves as director of ministry to marginalized people (SAFFIFAA) at the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), one of Presbyterian World Mission’s global partners. (Contributed photo)
The Peace & Global Witness Offering is unique in that half of it is directed to peacemaking and global witness efforts at the national church level to address critical issues around the world. Twenty-five percent is retained by congregations for local peace and reconciliation work, and 25% goes to mid councils for similar ministries on the regional level.
In her work ministering to people living on the margins in Madagascar, Poget often asks children, “What can you buy at the market?” She then tells them, “Children are not for sale!”
One such child, Rose, first met Poget in 2009 at the age of 17.
“Rose sat down on the beach, looking at the nice blue ocean, at a place called La Pointe, where people take canoes across the channel between Îles aux Nattes, the island where she is from, and Sainte Marié town,” recalled Poget. “When my colleague and I started sharing with her, Rose said that she would like to go somewhere — anywhere — far from Îles aux Nattes. When I asked her why she wanted to leave such a beautiful island, where tourists spend a lot of money to enjoy the beach and nature, Rose just smiled when she told us that they like to enjoy the women, too.”
After Poget and her colleague listened to Rose’s story and prayed with her, she agreed to follow them to their place, where she was ultimately able to turn her life around.
Today Rose is helping to lead others out of the scourge of human trafficking.
“She became our first colleague to rescue teenagers from the discotheque lifestyle,” Poget said.
Poget is not alone in her efforts to prevent children from being exploited. Among the many partners and volunteers she relies on to join her in combating human trafficking are school officials, church, youth and community leaders, and child protection officers.
“PC(USA) mission co-workers also work with us by visiting our activities, sharing ideas and providing materials and support,” she added. “PC(USA) regional liaisons come to see our work in the field, regularly helping us to write our projects and advising us in many other ways as well.”
Give to the Peace & Global Witness Offering to continue the valuable ministry of the Peacemaking Program.
Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Today’s Focus: Peace & Global Witness Offering
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jason Peterson, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program
Jim Phares, Web Systems Developer, IT Application Development, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Let us pray
God of all ages, we thank you for all stages of our faith and lives. Open us, we beg, to serving and welcoming all your people. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who met strangers and friends and who gives us new life. Amen.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Sharing peace and understanding
Preparing for the Peace & Global Witness Offering
September 30, 2023
Every year, Presbyterians are asked to give to the Peace & Global Witness Offering. And every year Presbyterians ask: “Why?” One reason that Presbyterians contribute is because 50% of the offering stays with their local congregation and presbytery, empowering local peacemaking work in their own community. The other 50% supports the peacemaking work of the denomination, through our office, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
I’d like to share a personal story about the power of the interpersonal interactions that are necessary in peacemaking efforts. Our office provides in-person and online educational and leadership development opportunities to help Presbyterians engage issues of justice and peacemaking. One effort is the Standing Our Holy Ground webinar series, which focuses on how the faith community can be involved in gun violence prevention.
Our first webinar was broadcast live from the Presbyterian Youth Triennium at Purdue University. The webinar featured a panel discussion of youth as well the deputy chief of the Purdue University Police Department, who talked about how the university was trying to prevent gun violence.
After the webinar and discussion was over, a young man approached the front of the stage. I’m going to describe him, so you understand the context of the situation. He was a young Black man, wearing a du rag, tank top, green gym shorts and pristine gray basketball shoes. Around the U.S., he would be a prime target for racial profiling by police.
This young man came to the front of the stage and greeted the Purdue University deputy police chief. He said, “Hello, officer, thank you for the presentation and comments today. I’d like to ask you a question.” The police chief said, “Certainly.” The young man said, “I appreciated how your comments about how you are trying to keep students safe. But I’d like to ask about the incidents of police brutality and being quick to shoot in situations involving Black individuals and members of the African American community.”
Standing Our Holy Ground — Young People and Campuses (provided)
The police chief responded, “Thank you for asking about that. First, I would say that every police officer needs to undergo proper training. Training about not only how to operate a weapon as a police officer but about how to evaluate situations with a measured head. Unfortunately, we get a lot of young officers coming in who are not trained properly and they shoot impulsively in a situation or engage in inappropriate actions. Secondly, we as police officers need to remember that even if we are arresting someone, that they need to be treated like human beings. A practice I use to remind myself that I am working with a human being is I ask, ‘Are you OK?’ I was in the process of arresting a man who was resisting and very agitated and distressed. I took a breath, and I asked him, ‘Sir, are you OK?’ The man stopped resisting and moving around as much and said, ‘yes.’ Then I replied, “OK. I’m going to put these cuffs on you now.”
After this conversation, the young Black man said, “Thank you, officer. I really appreciate you talking with me,” and they shook hands.
I like to think in that situation there was a moment of peace and understanding between these two people. But it is saddening that one year later the very public instances of police brutality and racism against Ahmad Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor undermined this moment of peace.
In a world that is fractured and chaotic, we need more moments like the one at Purdue University of genuine understanding and conversation. If we can foster moments like this every day and all over the world, imagine how much our world could change. Imagine if our Communion tables would be used not just for the sharing of elements, but tables for the sharing of experience and understanding.
Of course, systemic reforms are needed as well to address the injustices in our world. But at a personal level, this is one way we live into God’s call to us as peacemakers. It requires courage, boldness and a willingness to step outside of our comfort zone. But if we are willing, only God knows the possibilities for transformation and peace that can ensue.
Simon Doong, Associate for Peacemaking, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program
Today’s Focus: Peace & Global Witness Offering
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Sally McKinsey, Managing Editor for Call to Worship, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Andrea McNicol, Manager, Budgets & Forecasting, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Let us pray
Dear God, bless all those who do peacemaking and justice work in your name. May we be brave and feel your love and comfort even in difficult moments. Help us to remember we are not alone. May we find peace in sitting around a table together to engage in intentional conversation with all our siblings near and far, being the world communion that you call us to be. Amen.
Sunday, October 2, 2022
Minute for Mission: World Communion Sunday/Peace & Global Witness Offering
October 2, 2022
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace.” Isaiah 55:12
The prophet Isaiah invites us to imagine God’s peace in unlikely places. Trees clap their hands. Joy grows where sorrow once reigned. A world torn by enmity, strife and despair blossoms back to abundant life. Lions lie down with lambs, and nations once at war with each other come together in peace.
Whenever the church gathers for worship, we are assured of Christ’s peace. We celebrate that we are connected, we are loved and we are not alone. We worship together and are fed from Scripture and at Christ’s table of peace.
After the feast God has prepared for us, we are sent out carrying the joy rekindled in worship and challenged to take the peace of Christ into our world. No matter how large or small the world we inhabit, the joy of God’s presence empowers us to live joyfully within our communities and to bring peace to all around us.
Peace empowered by joy is at a premium in our world. It is difficult to find and even more challenging to maintain. In our polarized world torn by war, famine, and marginalization of the poor and disenfranchised, we are in desperate need of joyful and brave people willing to ask the hard questions and live the difficult solutions that make peace possible. One person, one situation, one step at a time.
As we go out into the world in joy and are led forth in peace, we are called to take decisive and bold action. We take action today by offering a blessing of our own. Through our participation in the Peace & Global Witness Offering, our church is extending Christ’s peace throughout our communities, our regions and our world.
On World Communion Sunday, we celebrate that Christ’s peace extends throughout all Creation. We celebrate that we are all connected at the table, in God’s house. We celebrate that we are offered what we need to continue the work of building the household of God with active peacemakers here at home and around the world.
God’s peace, empowered by God’s joy, reminds us that we are connected to each other. We are not alone. You are not alone. Peace begins with each of us. Thanks be to God.
William McConnell, Interim Director, Special Offerings
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
John Glenn, Network Operations Manager, Information Technology, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Thomas Goetz, Mission co-worker serving in Japan, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
O God, you are our peace. As you have gathered us to feast at your table, lead us into this world you love so much with the joy that only you can give. Amen.
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