Highlights of Presbyterian Women's involvement in justice and peacemaking

Ecumenicity/Social Justice Issues: Supported issues of social justice through National and World Council of Churches at their earliest dates. Church World Service support noted in 1940s.

Hunger: In 1969, PCUS hunger program formed. As an outgrowth of PW concerns for hunger, in May, 1975, the General Assembly voted to make hunger a priority for the church.

Peacemaking/Human Rights: The "Asian Encounter" Global Exchange in 1977 opened issues of peacemaking and human rights. In 1983, GA invited sessions to integrate peacemaking into the life of their congregations.

Racism/Prejudice/Divestments: "Race Relations Sunday" started in 1922. "South Africa: Exchanges in Understanding" (1984) Global Exchange challenged us to search for racism within ourselves, as well as the issue of divestment in South Africa. The church struggled with the issue. In 1999 the Churchwide Coordinating Team of Presbyterian Women (CCT) declared itself an anti-racist community and continued work on the issue.

At the July 2000 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women (PW), PW declared itself to be "anti-racist" and called for organization-wide antiracism training. Working towards this end, a task group was created to critique the organization from a structural and programmatic perspective. The task force is now surveying 600 members of PW, seeking feedback on how Presbyterian Women can become a more racially and culturally inclusive organization.

Child Prostitution/Child Pornography: The 1996 Global Exchange, "A Caring Journey" to southeast Asia and the United States of America brought home the terrible injustice done to a million-plus children who are abused through tourism and commercialized sexual abuses.

Domestic Violence: Women and Children: Ongoing education of the issues and occurrence of domestic violence, and support of advocacy, prevention and rehabilitation.