The Peace Page

- Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy

The presbytery is named for two extraordinary ministers: the Rev. Salmon Giddings and the Rev. Elijah Parish Lovejoy. Salmon Giddings rode horseback from the east coast to the region of St. Louis, then regarded as the far west. Believing that one of our most sacred principles is that everyone has the right and privilege to establish a place to worship and serve according to their beliefs and traditions, he labored to establish 12 Presbyterian churches, even where they were not always welcome.

Elijah Lovejoy became editor of the St. Louis Observer, in which he wrote ever stronger articles condemning slavery. Threats of personal harm led him to move to Alton where three printing presses were thrown into the river. Vowing to protect the fourth press Lovejoy wrote, "We distinctly avow... never... to yield to this new system of attempting to destroy, by means of mob violence the right of conscience, the freedom of opinion, and of the press." His martyrdom advanced the course of the abolitionists and the rights of free speech and freedom of the press.

Given our historical tradition and dedication to freedom of religion, free speech, and civil rights, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, Presbyterian Church (USA) affirms:

• The right of the Muslim community to construct a planned Cordoba House project in New York City in order that our Muslim friends and neighbors may possess the same rights and privileges of others in America who are able to worship and serve their God freely and without intimidation.
• That the Stated Clerk commend this action to the congregations of the presbytery and urge them to hold classes and, where possible, enter into dialogue with members of the Muslim community.
• That the Stated Clerk share this decision with the appropriate news media.
• That the Mission Council explore with the leadership of the Muslim faith community and Interfaith Partnership the feasibility of a one‐day workshop to build better relationships between the faith communities in the region and to apply the principles of freedom of religion to the current tensions in our nation. The workshop could be resourced by "A Common Word Between Us and You", an invitation from 138 Muslim religious leaders and scholars in 2007 to build honest and respectful relations between the Muslim community and other faith leaders and faith communities on the principles of love of the One God and love of our neighbor as found in both faiths.

Adopted Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will join a group of religious leaders and community based organizations speaking out against domestic violence this week on Capitol Hill

The national Interfaith Domestic Violence Coalition, launched by Jewish Women International (JWI), will hold its inaugural briefing on Feb. 13 in Washington, D.C. Recognizing the role of religious communities in supporting, counseling and advocating for victims of abuse, the coalition of more than 20 organizations will gather under the theme "Policy & Persuasion: How Faith-Based Communities Can Work Together to Advance Domestic Violence Laws."

"Peacemaking is putting your heinie on the line," the Rev. Mark Lomax declared to a full house gathered Monday night for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program's 25th anniversary celebration dinner.

The Rev. Mark Lomax, founding pastor of First Afrikan Church in Lithonia, Ga. and assistant professor of homiletics at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, speaks at the Presbyterian Peacemaking 25th Anniversary Celebration and Dinner on Monday. Photo by Joseph Williams.

"We are engaged in a fight," said Lomax, founding pastor of First Afrikan Church in Lithonia, GA. "You can't get in a fight and not come out bloodied."

What is the church to do?

"We really do have to go to the cross. We have to become the gospel," Lomax said. "We have to live it out in our daily walk."

Julia Ward Howe is best remembered by history buffs as the woman who wrote the words that became "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," the fiery Civil War anthem first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. Not so widely known is that eight years later, the woman who wrote "Let us die to make men free" wanted to end war forever. Having seen and survived the violence and economic devastation of the Civil War, Howe dreaded the gathering storm of the Franco-Prussian war. In Boston 1870, she delivered a "Mother's Day Proclamation for Peace," 274 words in which she envisioned "a great and earnest day of counsel" in which mothers of all nationalities would arrive "at the means the great human family can live in peace."