Presbyterian


Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN)

In joyful obedience to the call of Christ, and in solidarity with churches and our other partners in the Middle East, this network covenants to engage, consolidate, nourish, and channel the energy in the Presbyterian Church (USA) toward the goal of a just peace in Israel /Palestine by facilitating education, promoting partnerships, and coordinating advocacy. Our network speaks TO the Church not FOR the Church.

Established by action of the 2004 General Assembly, the Israel/Palestine Mission Network encourages congregations and presbytery mission committees, task groups and other entities, toward specific mission goals that will create currents of wider and deeper involvement with Israel/Palestine. Though our mandate establishes a Palestine Mission Network to advocate for Palestinian rights, we believe our efforts are in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians and for this reason, have included both peoples in the name of our network. Additionally, Israel (under 1967 borders) is home to over a million Palestinians who we also advocate for.

As our mandate calls for, we seek to demonstrate solidarity, educate about the facts on the ground, and change the conditions that erode the humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians, especially those who are living under occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. We work in close cooperation with ecumenical partners and with the Office for the Middle East, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the Presbyterian Washington Office, the Presbyterian UN Office and with other appropriate entities of the General Assembly and General Assembly Mission Council.

The Israel/Palestine Mission Network is an opportunity for Presbyterians throughout the country and at all levels of the church to coordinate ongoing efforts and discover new ones. Ultimately, we aim to support our church partners in Palestine to:

Strengthen Christian social institutions
Create jobs and promote economic development
Maintain schools and hospitals
Enable affordable and safe housing for Palestine

We unite our efforts through this Network, praying for the Holy Spirit’s bold guidance in our work for peace and justice. Please continue to view our web site, learn more about our activities, and how you might get involved.

General Inquiries: [email protected]
Moderator: Rev. Jeffrey DeYoe [email protected]
Website: theIPMN.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ipmnpcusa
Twitter: @IPMN


Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (PPF)

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (PPF) is a wide network of peacemakers who engage issues of both national and international import.

Our call is to be movers and shakers within the PC(USA) and beyond, encouraging one another to take seriously God’s call to God’s people to participate in God’s nonviolent work of love, peace, and justice in the world.

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship started in the 1940s as a group that provided support to Conscientious Objectors to World War II, a war in which objection was quite unpopular. Since our birth we have continued to be a prophetic voice in our church, urging the abolition of war and encouraging our sisters and brothers to enact peace in the midst of our broken world. We have helped lead the PC(USA) to take bold stances in the face of violence.

PPF has had a long and abiding concern for the Middle East, seeking a just peace for all in the region.

We approach our work in this area with great sense of responsibility to our Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sisters and brothers, and with a strong sense of humility in the ways we have been and continue to be part of the oppressions that these groups experience. We are unequivocal in our own commitment to nonviolence, and we seek to partner with others who share this commitment.

We are currently organizing an interfaith delegation to Palestine and Israel for July-August 2017 cosponsored by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). This trip is designed to provide direct experience for a multi-religious group of U.S. participants committed to direct advocacy and nonviolent direct action for peace and justice in Palestine/Israel.

General Inquiries: [email protected]
Middle East Working Group Convener: Jessie Light: [email protected]
Website: http://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/presbypeace
Twitter: @presbypeace
Blog: www.presbypeacefellowship.org/blog


Office of Public Witness

(part of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, see below)

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation’s capital since 1946.

Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, “Civil magistery is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life.”

Ministry in Washington offers a chance to translate the church’s deep convictions about justice, peace and freedom from words into reality. The political process is where decisions are made that help or harm people; decisions that help to make the kind of world God intends.

Office of Public Witness staff members visit national policy-makers and their staff, write letters, make phone calls and occasionally testify before Congress or facilitate the testimony of church leaders. This involvement helps to clarify the moral and ethical issues at stake in public policy. The goal is to make clear to people in government what the General Assembly is concerned about, why, and what can be done to respond to those concerns.

By adopting a study entitled, “Why and How the Church Makes a Social Policy Witness”, the 205th General Assembly (1993) emphasized the importance of the church’s social witness policies and programs. Along with affirming that God alone is Lord of the conscience, the study affirms “the responsibility and authority of the church to make a social witness policy which guides that witness. The church, if it is to remain true to its biblical roots, theological heritage, and contemporary practice, must not fall silent. It must speak faithfully, truthfully, persuasively, humbly, boldly and urgently.”

Website: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/washington/


Presbyterian Mission Agency

Advocacy and social justice are cornerstones of the work of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Both are woven throughout our work in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S., we advocate for social justice through the Office of Public Witness, which is the public policy information and advocacy office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We participate in direct advocacy with members congress and the administration through in person meetings, letters and phone calls. And, we encourage Presbyterians to call for action by congress and the administration on matters of conscience and faith, as well as advocate for the less fortunate. We work for environmental justice, and work to help feed the hungry both here and abroad. We work to provide health solutions to those who need assistance in the U.S. and abroad. We work for fair trade, and fair food, and against the scourge of human trafficking. Our Presbyterian Peacemaking Program promotes peace and justice around the world. In times of disaster, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance steps in to help with long-term needs. Presbyterian Women works on a number of justice and peace issues that particularly affect women, children and families. Presbyterian Self-Development of People provides grants to those living in poverty to help improve their lives.

Within World Mission, our mission co-workers serve alongside our partners in other countries, solving health problems, helping create systems to provide safe water and working to train pastors for community transformation.

Website: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-do/advocacy-social-justice/