PeaceMakers is a subcommittee of Mission & Social Justice. It's a welcoming group of people involved in ways of working for peace at all levels. Although our focus has been on the ongoing wars, we believe faithful peacemaking goes beyond promoting peace and non-violence and includes issues of human rights and dignity. We've organized programs on a wide range of topics for our church, plus programs for the larger community, and some programs (reading/discussion) for our small group. Ongoing, we cooperate with local organizations in programs and information sharing (such as Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, Every Church a Peace Church, Minnesota Arms Spending Alternatives Project (MN ASAP) and the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, as well as the UCC and Presbyterian denominations. We also plan some events with groups at Macalester College.
We typically meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Macalester Plymouth United Church for conversation, event planning, occasional dessert potlucks, fellowship and more. All are welcome to visit or join us!
In 2013 the Session of MacalesterPlymouth United Church adopted a resolution in support of redirecting funding priorities from military to human needs. See "Faith in Action" and scroll down to "PeaceMakers," then MN ASAP at www.macalester-plymouth.org/pwsite/page.php?linkID=29711&churchID=16391
For information about the 2013 Peacemaking Award. See "Faith in Action" and scroll down to "PeaceMakers."
For info on denomination stances and actions, see also Presbyterian Church USA and United Church of Christ
Is God Violent? and other questions...
Jesus challenges us to renounce every form of violence in our hearts and in our world—war, oppression, racism, discrimination, and other forms of injustice. Yet, this radical nonviolence is at odds with the violence attributed to God in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. How do we reconcile this violence with the peaceable and just ways of Jesus?
As part of a discernment process, in 2012 PeaceMakers studied parts of Worship in the Spirit of Jesus, by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Brett Hesla, 2005, available online www.ucc.org/the-pilgrim-press/pdfs/wsj.pdf . Further study and discussion is occuring in adult education forums and our meetings and actions.
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