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.
June 20 is World Refugee Day.
Here are resources from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Here's a prayer:
God of the journey,
We remember that Mary and Joseph
Had to flee to Egypt,
Taking Jesus to safety,
Leaving home behind.
Remembering,
We pray for sisters and brothers
Around your world
Who are forced to leave their homes.
We pray for brothers and sisters who are
Driven from home by natural disasters.
We pray for sisters and brothers who are
Driven from unnatural acts of violence and persecution.
We pray for brothers who are
Driven from home because of inadequate responses to ...
by Marissa Costello
When I was younger, I use to joke with my parents that they were forcing me to do child labor for them by carrying two heavy loads of laundry or soda packages.
But child labor is really not something that should not be taken lightly when so many children in the world are deprived of an education and childhood.
On June 12 is World Day Against Child Labour, a day created by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002. This day is meant to grow worldwide attention to this issue while also reminding us that children around ...
by Anna Folz
June 5, 2013 marked the 40th annual World Environment Day on the theme of Think-Eat-Save. The United Nations Environment Programme hosted a panel discussion with four speakers who highlighted a different aspect of food and how it affects our world. Every year a different country hosts a week of events in honor of World Environment Day.
This year Mongolia is hosting these events. The Ambassador of Mongolia stated that it is very “ironic” for his country to be hosting such a series of events, because Mongolia has a rather low negative environmental impact. Mongolia has an ...
by Brendan Welsh
Carol Smolenski, executive director of ECPAT-USA, spoke to yesterday’s seminar group from the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ about her organization's work to protect American children from sexual trafficking. In her organization’s film What I Have Been Through Is Not Who I Am we meet Katrina, a young woman who was coerced out of her job as an Atlanta restaurant hostess when she was 17 by a patron who, unbeknownst to her, was intent on making money off of her through the sex trade. The man gained Katrina’s trust not only by paying ...
by Marissa Costello
I was inspired today by three speakers whose presentations all related to one atrocity: human trafficking and forced labor. Ryan Smith, Presbyterian representative to the United Nations, Kevin Cassidy, Senior for the International Labour Organization, and Carol Smolenski, executive director of ECPAT-USA, each spoke to a seminar group from the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, New Jersey. I was inspired by each speaker’s passion to change the world one life at a time, which just left me in pure awe. Let me tell you a bit about one presentation.
Mr. Cassidy presented a PowerPoint that incorporated pictures ...