1999 PW Global Exchange

Purpose

Exchange Itinerary

From mid-September to mid-October 1999, approximately thirty Presbyterian Women participated in the 1999 Global Exchange. The exchange had four components.

During the overseas component, the group visited Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel/Palestine in the Middle East. They live in community with women of the Middle East and discussed mutual concerns.

The Global Exchange group ended its experience in Detroit, Michigan, where they observed first-hand the ways Middle Easterners in the United States engage in interfaith dialogue. Presbyterian Women selected the Detroit area for the United States portion of the exchange because of its large Middle Eastern population. As with many ethnic groups, Middle Easterners came to the Detroit area to work in the auto factories, where they earned good wages early in this century. As the years went by and the home countries suffered wars and conflicts, other family members joined those already here. The primary influx of new immigrants came after 1967. Many of the new folks came as refugees with only the clothing on their backs and bearing the scars of war.

The Detroit area is proud that people all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and harmony. The area has Chaldeans, Shiite and Sunni Muslims, and Jews. With approximately twenty-five percent of the total population, the city of Dearborn has the highest Middle Eastern population. It is an authentic community that reflects its heritage and religion while adjusting to living in America.

The exchange continued in July 2000, when women from the Middle East come to the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women in Louisville, Kentucky. The Middle Eastern women arrived in the United States two weeks prior to the Gathering and was available to itinerate. Our Middle Eastern sisters were invited to synods and presbyteries, as well as to Presbyterian Women’s events. The Global Exchange committee brought several teams of three women — Christian, Muslim, and Jew — who could, together, share with Presbyterian Women in the United States their personal way of life in community with women of other faiths.

The exchange did not end with Churchwide Gathering. During the next two to three years, each of the United States participants will interpret the experience in her synod. As with past exchanges, Presbyterian Women will follow issues identified during the trip in order to advocate for change, to celebrate achievements, and to lift up continuing problems in the region and in the United States. An important component of the 1996 Global Exchange to Southeast Asia has been the continued advocacy by Presbyterian Women across the country to end child sex trade.

For the first time, women from the countries of destination were part of the Global Exchange committee. The three women served as local arrangements contacts in their home countries.

1999-2002 Mission and Commitment Statement

Having participated in the initial work of the 1997-2000 Presbyterian Women Global Exchange by going to the middle East and to Detroit, Michigan, in the U.S.A.; listening to life and faith stories; exploring issues concerning women, children, and belief systems; and celebrating our faith heritage in an attempt to become no longer strangers with our sisters and brothers there,

We, the participants, affirm that all people are created equal by God, "male and female of every race and people to live as one community"* with tolerance and mutual respect. A life of dignity, freedom, justice, and peace is God's intention for every person.

Therefore, we commit ourselves to fulfill the purpose of the Global Exchange through further study of the issues and by sharing, forcefully, bravely, and honestly, what we have seen and heard in the Middle East. These issues include:

Health: healthcare, clean water, nutritious food, safe environments for home, work and play

Civil Rights: freedom of movement, right of return, citizenship, due process, reparations for damages and losses, security for self and property, equal access to education, employment, and government services

Human Dignity: freedom from humiliation, harassment, violence, unjust imprisonment, torture, and harmful traditional practices

We further commit ourselves to welcoming our Middle Eastern sisters and brothers at the 2000 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women and afterward as they itinerate in PC(USA) synods.

*Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Part I, Book of Confessions, "A Brief Statement of Faith."

Learn More

Middle East Crisis

Learn more about the Middle East Crisis at the Worldwide Ministries Division's Website focusing on Palestine and Israel.

Invite a participant to share their experience