GAMC0945
November 3, 2009

Piece work equals peace work

Contact:
Mindy Marchal, (502) 569-5212

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As violence continues to rage in the African country of Sudan and tens of thousands of children are displaced, the PC(USA)’s Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, in partnership with the Office on Child Advocacy and the Africa Office, has released a new curriculum for grades one through six: Piece Work/Peace Work:  Working Together for Peace in Sudan.

Representatives of the Sudan Mission Network and the Sudan Advocacy Action Forum assisted with the content. Presbyterians have been in ministry with the Sudanese people for more than 100 years.

Using the image of a quilt, the study explores the intersection between piece work and peace work. To make a quilt, artisans traditionally take remnants of fabric which they put together in some coherent way to make something that is both useful and beautiful. Often the fabrics and colors are quite distinctively different. Out of disparate pieces, each with their own history, something new is created. That is the vision this curriculum has for Sudan — peace work will involve bringing together great diversity to create something beautiful for the people of Sudan.

In this four-session study, children will examine the “piece work” of diversity that is Sudan — its cultures, tribes, peoples, and religious expressions. The students will explore the interlocking issues that, like pieces of a quilt, make up the complex situation that exists in Sudan. The children will also discover ways that they, as Christians, can make a difference for the children of Sudan.

The four sessions include games, simulations and art projects. Suggestions on how to enhance the material, through worship, songs, scripture, books and Internet access, are included. An intergenerational session is also included and may be used as the final session of the study. It may also be used as a stand-alone event.

The leader’s guide can be purchased for $8.00 through Presbyterian Distribution Services using PDS #24358-09-008.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) comprises 2.2 million members in more than 10,000 congregations, answering Christ’s call to mission and ministry throughout the United States and the world.