| “God has called me,”
writes Gary, “to use the knowledge developed for war during
the first half of my life for the ends of peace and reconciliation
during the second half of my life. It is an exciting and a humbling
responsibility.
“I started studying Russian in the eighth grade in a program
spurred on by fear of the Soviet Union. For the next 30 years,
I followed the political, economic, and military activities of a closed
society. Today, I can freely visit these countries in an effort
to deepen the connection between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
and Christians across the region.
“As the people of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine struggle
to overcome the legacy of over 70 years of communism, the rebirth
of the church brings hope to millions of people. Many of our Orthodox,
Baptist, Lutheran, and Reformed brothers and sisters are eager
to connect with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Where in the
depths of the Cold War, we viewed each other as ‘the enemy,’
we now have the opportunity to join hands in our spiritual journey
and work toward peace, reconciliation, and the growth of the Body
of Christ.”
Gary spent three weeks in September 2005 in Mississippi helping
with disaster relief. Follow the link to read his
dispatches from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In August 2006, Gary served as a co-leader of a Young Adult
Travel Study Seminar to Russia called "Terrorism
in the World Today: the Response of the Church and State."
The seminar was sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program
and the Interchurch Partnership in St. Petersburg.
Prior to his responsibilities with the World Mission program unit
of the PC(USA), Gary was coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking
Program from 1996 to 1999, a program area of the Congregational
Ministries Division. In this position, Gary was involved with
the production of Bible studies and special resources on peace,
conflict, and violence issues; annual peacemaking conferences,
travel study seminars to places of conflict in the world, visits
of international peacemakers across the church, public policy
advocacy training; and the Presbyterian United Nations Office
in New York, New York. With a special interest in disarmament,
he led seminars in the Campaign to Ban Landmines at conferences
and congregational gatherings. Gary was an active participant
in the working group that produced the 1998 General Assembly “Resolution
on Just Peacemaking” and the subsequent Ecumenical Consultation
on Just Peacemaking at the 1999 General Assembly. He attended
the World Council of Churches 8th Assembly, Harare, Zimbabwe,
in December 1998, organizing PC(USA) presentations and visiting
a Zimbabwe National Army mine clearing operation. Most recently,
he served on the working group which produced the "Resolution
on Violence, Religion, and Terrorism" adopted by the 2004
General Assembly.
For 24 years preceding his work with the PC(USA) Gary was an
officer in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Turkey,
Germany, England, and a variety of locations in the United States.
Gary graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, with a double major in international affairs and Soviet
area studies. He received an M.A.S. in management from Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Maryland, and an M.A. in Russian area
studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Gary is married to the Rev. Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton and they
have three sons: Ian, Adam, and Graham. They reside in Sandpoint, Idaho, where Nancy is the pastor
at First Presbyterian Church in Sandpoint and Gary is an elder.
Birthday - May 25
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