Peacemaking
Peacemaking Team
Barbara DeLouise
Chairperson
The Peacemaking Team seeks to heal the brokenness of our world and relationships through:
- sponsorship of dialogues and conferences on peace issues,
- hosting representatives from the Presbyterian International Peacemaking program, and other international Presbyterians and peacemakers
- funding peacemaking grants for Presbytery church projects that foster peace in a range of areas: families and communities, prisons, international partners, eco-justice, and Middle-East issues, for example.
- Coordinates activities in and around the Presbytery. More information about those activities are HERE.The Team of members is a subset of the Presbytery’s Mission Coordination Committee (MCC), and the Peacemaking Team Chair is an elected member of MCC. The Team issues a newsletter, Peace Connections, to publicize its projects and activities and to announce upcoming Peacemaking events.
Peace Be With You – PC(USA) Peacemaking Offering for 2009
More information about the offering is available HERE.
Commit to Peacemaking
At the July 1, 2008 meeting of National Capital Presbytery churches were asked to make a commitment (or recommitment) to peacemaking. More information on that process is available HERE. We have received the PC(USA) Committment to Peacemaking information in an electronic format. It is available HERE.
NCP Peacemaking Banner
The NCP Peacemaking Team made a banner for the 2008 General Assembly celebrating the 25th anniversary of the GA adopting a call to Presbyterians to witness and commit to Peacemaking. Click HERE for the story behind the banner that went to General Assembly and HERE to learn how to borrow the banner for your church.
The budget of the Peacemaking Team
is independent of the MCC budget and is derived solely from the Peacemaking Offering, one of four designated offerings by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Most congregations receive the annual Peacemaking Offering on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October. Of the monies received, generally 25 percent is retained by each congregation, 25 percent is used by presbyteries and synods, and 50 percent is forwarded to PC(USA) for General Assembly ministries through the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. As a result, the budget for the Presbytery’s Peacemaking Team fluctuates from year to year. Moreover, funds are not transferred from churches on a designated date, making annual funding abilities impossible to ascertain at the beginning of the budget cycle.
Connection to PC(USA) Peacemaking Program
The NCP Peacemaking Team is linked to the PC(USA) Presbyterian Peacemaking Program through the information, materials, training, and program events offered by PC(USA) in support of the Presbytery’s peacemaking goals and initiatives. The Peacemaking Program provides a calendar of peacemaking events, offers news on developing peacemaking-related national stories, sponsors conferences and seminars, has numerous resources and publications on the “how to’s” of peacemaking, makes available peacemaking materials for worship, has a Young Adult program and network, and has a United Nations office. Finally, the Peacemaking Program supports congregations’ annual Peacemaking Offering with planning guides and resources. One may also subscribe to the Peacemaking Listservs and publications.
Participate in the Annual PC(USA) Peacemaking Offering
The PC(USA) Peacemaking Program annually sponsors a Peacemaking Offering in October, usually on World Communion Sunday, among all Presbyterian churches. One-fourth of each church’s collection remains with the church, one-fourth goes to the Presbytery’s Peacemaking Team, and half goes to the PC(USA) Peacemaking Program. Click HERE for information on obtaining materials on the Peacemaking Offering.
The Peacemaking Team would like to thank the following churches in National Capital Presbytery that took part in the 2008 Peacemaking Offering:
| Ashburn | Bradley Hills | Bush Hill |
| Calvary | Capitol Hill | Chevy Chase |
| Christian Community | Church of the Pilgrims | Darnestown |
| Falls Church | Fifteenth Street | First, Annandale |
| First, Arlington | Heritage | John Calvin |
| Leesburg | Lewinsville | Little Falls |
| Manassas | Mount Vernon | New York Avenue |
| Old Presbyterian Meeting House | Redeemer | Rockville United |
| Saint Mark | Silver Spring | Sixth |
| Takoma Park | Trinity, Arlington | Trinity, Herndon |
| Warner Memorial | Westminster, DC | |
Click here for Peacemaking Survey.
Peacemaking Team Activities:
- Activities related to the Violence in Darfur
- Christian Peace Witness in Iraq
- Israel-Palestine Understanding
- PeaceConnections — Peacemaking Team Newsletter
- Peace Visits — from time to time peacemakers visit National Capital Presbytery through peacemaking grants.
- Peacemaking Grants — grants in support of church programs to promote peacemaking goals and activities
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: