Thanks be to God, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary next year. Presbyterians have engaged in peacemaking ever since there have been Presbyterians. But in 1980, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted a document that would establish the groundwork for what is now the Peacemaking Program, lodged in the Congregational Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The Reformed tradition, in which Presbyterians stand, has a historical commitment to world-transforming action: believing that reconciliation to God includes reconciliation to the neighbor and involvement in the social, political, and economic realms for the sake of just order and peace.

Through the years, Presbyterians have worked for reconciliation in varied and creative ways. The 187th General Assembly (1975) commissioned the Advisory Council on Church and Society “to reassess the concept of peacemaking and the direction of our country’s foreign policy in the light of our biblical and confessional faith and a markedly changed situation in the world today.” Presbyterians prayerfully and carefully developed a policy statement over a five-year period. Meeting in Detroit, the 192nd General Assembly (1980) of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling, a document that remains fresh and vital today.

While some circumstances have changed since 1980, God’s call to be peacemakers resounds and our world remains in need of peace. Weapons of mass destruction remain with us and bring the fear that they might fall into the hands of groups rather than nation states. Wars and violence, including the war on terror, plague the human family. We have witnessed the horrors of ethnic cleansing. In a world of hunger and human need, nations led by the United States continue to spend significant sums on defense. Twenty-five years after the adoption of Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling, the need persists for “Christians to move, and urge the nation to move, to consideration of justice, freedom, and compassionate order.”

Now is the time to plan celebrations of congregational peacemaking ministries in conjunction with the Peacemaking Program’s twenty-fifth anniversary. Such celebrations could involve:

• affirming or reaffirming the Commitment to Peacemaking
• honoring congregational peacemakers
• highlighting congregational peacemaking ministries
• envisioning future peacemaking ministries for the congregation
• weaving peacemaking stories and themes into worship services on a regular basis
• holding special worship services
• holding special events such as a potluck or a study

The Peacemaking Program is creating resources to assist congregations in this celebration. Many resources are available online at www.pcusa.org/peacemaking.

The Peacemaking Program will offer a number of special events in conjunction with this celebration. The intergenerational 2004 Presbyterian Peace and Justice Conference (August 3–7 in Tacoma, Washington) involves a partnership with the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Presbyterian Environmental Justice Program, and Self-Development of People. Click here for registration information. Plans for 2005 include an intergenerational conference in this country. We are also exploring the possibility of holding an event in Bethlehem. Visit the Peacemaking Program Web site for updates about anniversary plans that will include suggestions for marking the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations and information about the efforts of the Young Adult Network and the International Peacemaking Program.

Peacemaking: The Believers’ Calling closes with the statement:

“God redeems history; we do not. We must act as consistently with that redemption as our light and our power permit.”

Through the years, by God’s grace, Presbyterians have done so. May God guide us through the next twenty-five years and beyond as we continue to respond to God’s call to be peacemakers.

Mark Koenig, Peacemaking Resources Program Development Associate, is the author. Contact him at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5936, or by e-mail.