Swords into plowshares
About this blog
Swords into Plowshares is the blog of the Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations of the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Seeking peace. Striving for justice. Together.
Recent posts
- Three Prayer Concerns - May 23
- Summer 2013 intern at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations - Brendan Welsh
- Summer 2013 intern at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations - Marissa Costello
- Hold Sudanese Human Rights Violators Accountable!
- US remarks at high-level talks on trafficking
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Posts with tag: child advocacy
January 15, 2013Children are children, not soldiers - 11 years on
‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ – Matthew 19:14
February 12, 2013 marks the eleventh anniversary of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
Find worship resources, ideas for participating in the Red Hand Campaign, and suggestions for further study for this occasion. 
They may be used at any time.
UNICEF estimates that more than 300,000 children – boys and girls under the ...
October 12, 2012
No child soldiers: more steps on the journey
As representatives of the Member States gathered for the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, several important events took place in the effort to create a world where children are children not soldiers:
- On 19 September 2012, the Security Council demanded that "parties to armed conflict which commit grave abuses against children, including those who recruit and use children, kill and maim, commit sexual violence or attack schools and hospitals, immediately halt such practices and take special measures to protect children."
- Indonesia, Nigeria, and Swaziland announced that they have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the ...
June 11, 2012
Covenant Presbyterian Church holds seminar on child soldiers
By Sophie Beal
Today the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations was pleased to host Covenant Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, California for a seminar that covered the current global situation concerning the use of child soldiers in armed conflict and efforts made by the United Nations and others to stop this practice.
To begin the day, Elodie and I asked the group members to draw a picture of a world in which children do not serve as child soldiers. The responses were wonderfully diverse and provoked a thoughtful discussion about what the lives of child soldiers might be like ...
June 6, 2012
Summer volunteers work on Red Hands
Sophie Beal and Elodie de Bethmann are summer volunteer interns at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. This is their first week with us, their first blog with us, and their first time getting involved with Red Hands. Below is the blog from Sophie and Elodie.
More photos are available on our Facebook Page.
The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations has taken on two new volunteer interns for the summer. We are both excited to have this incredible opportunity to experience the ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Mission Council at the United Nations ...
June 14, 2011
Look back on the Decade of the Child
As the Decade of the Child draws to a close in July of 2011, pause to consider what your congregation has done in ministry with and for children, both those within your own walls and those beyond your doors — in your community, the nation and the world. What good programs have you put in place? What special new challenges have arisen in the past ten years? What stubborn problems remain to be addressed? Visit the Child Advocacy website and post a comment about what your church is doing.
Pray for children using the video “For Children We Pray” . Set up ...
October 22, 2009
Trick or treat for UNICEF - more of the story
From the Presbyterian Child Advocacy Office: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the PC(USA) have long had a special relationship. Why? Because Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF was initiated by the Rev. Clyde Allison, a Presbyterian minister. Allison's children and others...