General Assembly Mission Council

Advocating for Women’s Rights

Forty-four Presbyterians were among the women (and some men) who gathered for the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This functional commission of the United Nations met from February 27 through March 9. The Commission met to make recommendations to the UN Member States about how to support women living in rural areas as they work for development and to address hunger and poverty. Presbyterians advocated with the Commission, built relationships and strengthened networks, participated in and sponsored parallel events, preached in conregations in the New York City area and developed plans to advocate when they returned home and more. There are a number of ways to learn more about the experience:

• Swords into Plowshares
• Watch the plenary sessions of the Commission
• Ecumenical Women
• Presbyterian United Nations Ministry Facebook page
• Presbyterian Women Facebook page
• Ecumenical Women Facebook page
• Commission on the Status of Women Facebook page

2012 Peacemaking Conference

Restorers of Streets to live in
July 11-14, 2012
Ghost Ranch Conference Center
Abiquiu, New Mexico

Register now! This conference is different: Peacemakers, we are listening to you and challenged by you! Peacemakers from across the country are invited to the sacred space of Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico, to explore the Kin-dom of God as expressed in Isaiah 58:12, holding fast to our call to be Restorers of Streets to Live In. Note that there are special opportunities for young adults.

This is a conference about restoring and transforming the streets in which we live and mentoring new and younger peacemakers. You will have the opportunity to form and covenant with new communities to continue the work of peace beyond the conference and learn skills in connecting and communicating the work of peacemaking through the use of social media. This is a conference for peacemakers by peacemakers; conference leaders are giving their time to this conference because of their passion and commitment to peace.

Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations staff will lead workshops at the 2012 Peacemaking Conference. We hope you will join us!

World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel

28 MAY - 3 JUNE 2012

Pray, educate, and advocate for justice

The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches invites member churches, faith-based communities, and civil society organizations to join together in 2012 for a week of advocacy and action in support of an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and a just peace for all in Palestine and Israel. Congregations and individuals around the globe who share the hope of justice shall unite during the week to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness.

During World Week for Peace 2012, from 28 May to 3 June, participants are encouraged to plan their activities around the following three principles:

• Praying with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem and other worship resources prepared for the week.
• Educating about actions that make for peace, and about facts on the ground that do not create peace, especially issues related to displacement.
• Advocating with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice.

Opportunities for global discipleship

• Support the Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act
• Children in situations of armed conflict and the Kony2012 video
• Urge President Obama to send the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the Senate
• Call for the ratification of CEDAW—the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

How to schedule a seminar

Amid the restless spirits and often-tough diplomacy of the United Nations, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations helps inspire, equip and connect Presbyterians for ministry as faithful disciples of Jesus in the global community. We educate with the hope of helping individuals live out God’s call in Christ to live with compassion, seek peace, and pursue justice wherever they go.

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Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations

The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations represents the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the United Nations. Staff members help inspire, equip and connect Presbyterians for ministry as faithful disciples of Jesus in the global community. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations helps Presbyterians witness to the nations of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, based on the policies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assemblies to the United Nations. Through the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, the church responds to Christ’s call to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and to let the oppressed go free. The church lives out the reality that “God sends the church in the power of the Holy Spirit to share with Christ in establishing God's just, peaceable, and loving rule in the world."  (Book of Order, G-3.0300)