Who we are

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) is a servant of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We develop, interpret and monitor policies that encourage and challenge the Church and society to reflect and act in faithful response to God's call to do justice.

• About us
• Function of ACSWP
• The history of ACSWP

On Building Peace in Iraq and
To Repent and To Restore, To Rebuild, and To Reconcile

These versions of the Iraq-related actions include all changes made by the General Assembly and are laid out for down-loading. Along with the primary action with recommendations, item 11-10, On Building Peace in Iraq, there is the substantial background paper in 11-24, To Repent, To Restore, To Rebuild, and To Reconcile, which was “commended for study” and directed to be posted on the Office of the General Assembly site. These statements, plus an appendix to the study paper, Costly Lessons of the Iraq War, are also posted.

Three other Iraq-related actions are still available on  PC-Biz:

• Item 11-09, a resolution advocating “the United States government to act more quickly to provide haven in the United States for threatened Iraqi refugees and displaced persons,” with help from congregations and legislative initiatives to expand such refugee resettlement.
• Item 11-11, a resolution addressing “the violence and suffering of Iraqi women” and communicating PC(USA) concern for equal rights and justice for women to the Iraqi and U.S. governments, to our particular churches, and to appropriate Muslim bodies.
• Item 11-17, a resolution that “opposes the use of armed private military contractors paid to perform security, intelligence, training, and military operational services traditionally rendered by U.S. military and other U.S. government personnel … because it is immoral to wage war or kill essentially for private gain …” In addition to recommendations to end these practices, the General Assembly action also advocates that “Congress and the Attorney General of the United States investigate war profiteering in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Download

• On Building Peace in Iraq
• To Repent, to Restore, to Rebuild, and to Reconcile
• Appendix A: Costly Lessons of the Iraq War

Special offer on Church & Society back issues

Fellow Presbyterians:

Some of the best reading I did this past summer was of old issues of Church and Society magazine. I had never known of the Presbyterian publication until recently when I began categorizing issues dating back to the early 1970s. I was disappointed to discover in my discussions with fellow members that few within the denomination had access to this journal. Church & Society, “C&S” was actually 98 years old and had existed in several formats. For this college student, reading about the history of the Presbyterian Church’s involvement in social justice was very enlightening. It is for this reason that I want to share this publication with others so that they too can learn more about our socially active church.  Read the rest of this letter from Erica Arave, ACSWP's 2008 Summer Assistant.

Order Church & Society magazine back issues.

The Power to Change

U. S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, approved by the 218th General Assembly (2008) is the first major update of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s energy policy in more than 27 years. This General Assembly policy offers moral guidance and provides practical steps individual Presbyterians, groups and communities may take to change unhealthy energy practices to ensure that there is an abundant supply of God’s good energy for future generations of the whole creation to enjoy.

Order the printed report
$3.00
#02-052-09-001

Lift Every Voice: Democracy, Voting Rights, and Electoral Reform

This report recommends ways to strengthen democratic — small d — promise and practice in the political life of the United States based on principles of Reformed Christianity. Presbyterian political scientists, ethicists and others studied why so many Americans do not vote, despite the 2007 renewal of Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination. Remedies include voting machine paper trails, non-partisan election commissions, re-enfranchising former felons, D.C. voting rights, weekend and instant-run-off voting and innovative structural improvements.

Download a single copy of Lift Every Voice

Order the printed report
$3.00
#02-052-08-003

Also read Christian Iosso's October 2008 article in The Presbyterian Outlook, "The General Assembly and the general election."

A Memorandum on Social Witness at the 218th General Assembly

This is one of periodic memos sent on behalf of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and follows most directly the memo of April 2008, "Prophetic Choices before the 218th General Assembly." That memo outlined the ten actions that the Advisory Committee was bringing before the General Assembly. This memo is designed to update you on this part of the Assembly's work and touch on other matters of importance to those concerned with social justice work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). [Keep reading]

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