June 5, 2014 

 

   



Our Mission Statement
We, the Synod of the Covenant,
in partnership with
our presbyteries, congregations, the General Assembly
and other faith communions,
are called and sent by God
to be a living, active and inclusive witness
to the love of Christ  
In This Issue
What Can the Church do to Inspire Hope?
Detroit 1954: A Tale of Two Cities
Tent of Nations Trees and Terrace Destrotyed
Multicultural Youth Conference
Support Smarter Sentencing

 Presbyterian

News 

General Assembly backgrounder: mid councils issues
 

General Assembly backgrounder: ecumenical and interfaith relations

  

Play a song for everyone

Then the bulldozers rolled

  

Detroit 1954: a tale of two cities

  

Q&A with musician, speaker, author David LaMotte

  

Fellowship, Presbyterians for Renewal plan merger that would offer a new home to evangelicals

Survey: One-quarter of the world harbors anti-Semitic sentiment

General Assembly backgrounder: civil unions and marriage

  

Back in the sanctuary business

New Book Explores an Evangelical's Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage

National Council of Churches issues calls for justice in the Middle East and South Sudan 

The Jesus Trail - a journey along the path of Jesus

  

Seminary news

Overtures to the 221st General Assembly (2014)

Christian leaders say Middle East Christians must not be forgotten

Austin Seminary backs Columbia Seminary statement on schism

  

Black Theology & Pastoral Care Retreat

SAVE THE DATE!

 

THE ANNUAL IRVIN MOXLEY BLACK THEOLOGY PASTOR CARE RETREAT

is scheduled for October 19-22, 2014 at the Quaker Hill Retreat Center in Richmond, IN. 

 

'A Between the Line Conversation on Theological Education'

 

 

 

Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake

Presbytery of Detroit

 

 

Would you like to feel the waves of a spring fed, glacier made lake rolling on a sandy shore and against your toes? How about challenging yourself in archery, a high ropes course, a climbing wall or learning to swim at a Christian Camp? What if you could learn more about God from a Christian counselor as you explore God's outdoor creation with campers of your age and who share your interests in art, star gazing, drama, sailing, and singing? Does storytelling and s'mores around a blazing camp fire sound appealing to you?  Then Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake is the place for you this summer!

 

Camp Westminster on North Higgins Lake in Roscommon Michigan is an outreach and Christian education program of Westminster Church of Detroit. There are openings for campers from ages 7 through 18 with appropriate challenges and programming based on interests and experience. This residential camp is located approximately 200 miles north of Detroit.  Camping begins in June and continues through August.  If you are not a camper, but would still like to come, there are opportunities for mission trips and visitors. College students from around the world serve as camp counselors.  The diversity of their experiences and talents enriches the program and expands our knowledge of God at work in the world.

 

To learn more about Camp Westminster and to register, please check us out at www.campwestminster.com or call the Camp office at 313-341-8969.

 

I hope to see you at Camp Westminster this summer!

 
WHAT CAN THE CHURCH DO TO INSPIRE HOPE? 

 As we go on with our daily/weekly routines, what can the church do to draw a smile and rekindle hope

for those whom we serve and those who watch us at a distance?


 

I came across the above posting on Face Book and was taken by the creativity of the workers and/or window cleaning company or perhaps the hospital to add a touch of genius to what would otherwise be a tedious task to adults and an unnoticed event to the children under treatment at the hospital.  This was made possible by ordinary and hardworking people who wore beautiful and colorful costumes that are full of character and imagination and known in comics and movies to have special physical abilities to hang around and jump off from high buildings.  I was also taken by the effort of those involved to make such a mundane, routine, and risky task such as cleaning windows from outside tall buildings fun and rewarding to all.  I can imagine how these elaborate costumes complicate the task of window washing with their ropes and pulleys outside tall buildings, not to mention strong winds and other weather elements.

 

We often take our tasks or even call to ministry as boring or mundane, many of us are burnt out, and often many of us feel our efforts go unrecognized or unappreciated.  Perhaps we need more intentional creativity in our ministries.  Perhaps we need to dress for the call we have received not the call others think we serve.  What would it take to draw a smile on people's faces, especially when they are weary and worried?  What would it take to generate bursts of joy and to inspire hope and assurance?  What an impact will congregations have if pastors were to replace our common courtroom attire with theologically relevant attire from novels or biblical characters, even from comics or the movies?  What will become of our children and adults when they get used to smiling at church and their eyes twinkle during worship, when faces reflect the innocent joy and contagious hope to those whom we encounter?  What will become of the church and our world when we dream and imagine the future?

  

Grace,

Raafat Zaki
 

Detroit 1954: A Tale of Two Cities


The Detroit area has long had a split identity: a place where innovation and prosperity coexist with economic and racial stratification. Learn about the 1954 General Assembly's historic attempts to address segregation in local congregations.
 

 

Urgent: Tent of Nations Trees and Terraces Destroyed by Israeli Military

 



 

Tent of Nations, a peace project located on the 100-acre Nassar family farm near Bethlehem, came under attack on May 19, 2014 by the Israeli military. Between 1,500 and 2,000 mature, fruit-bearing apricot and apple trees and grape vines were destroyed along with terraced land, according to a report by Friends of Tent of Nations North America (FOTONNA).   

Tent of Nations operates by the motto, "We Refuse to Be Enemies," hosting international visitors and volunteers, offering activities for local youth, and running educational projects for women in a nearby village. The Nassar family has papers showing purchase of the land by Daher Nassar in 1916, and they have been working through Israeli military and civil courts for over 20 years to re-register the land in their name.   FOTONNA reports, "In late April, the Israeli Military authorities placed a warning on the land declaring that the trees were planted on 'State Land' and should be 'evacuated.'"  FOTONNA notes that an appeal was filed on May 5, yet while the legal process was still underway, the described destruction took place on May 19 without warning. 

Contact your elected official today to bring this urgent matter to their attention.  

The situation of the Nassar family is but one of countless examples of Palestinians who live under the threat of land confiscation or whose land has already been taken by the Israeli government. B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, reports on the process by which Israel takes control of Palestinian land, explaining, "The principal tool used to take control of land is to declare it 'state land.'... Other methods employed by Israel to take control of land include seizure for military needs, declaration of land as 'abandoned assets,' and the expropriation of land for public needs."

Israeli confiscation of occupied Palestinian land serves the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. As B'Tselem explains, "Despite the diverse methods used to take control of land, all the parties involved - the Israeli government, the settlers, and the Palestinians - have always perceived these methods as part of a mechanism intended to serve a single purpose: the establishment of civilian settlements in the territories...Moreover, since this purpose is prohibited under international law, the methods used to secure it are also unlawful."


The Nassar's 22-year struggle must come to an end along with all illegal confiscation of Palestinian land by the Israeli government.  Contact your elected official today to bring this urgent matter to their attention.


The 219th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) strongly called for "an immediate freeze both on the establishment of expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and on the Israeli acquisition of Palestinian land and buildings in East Jerusalem. The illegal and unjust confiscation and destruction of property will not serve the interests of peace nor ensure security for Israelis or Palestinians.


Write your senators and representative and urge them to ask the State Department to question the Israeli government about the destruction of the Nassar property, to insist that the Israeli military conduct no further destructive action on the property, and to raise with the Israeli government the broader issue of their confiscation of Palestinian land.

 

 

 

MULTICULTURAL YOUTH CONFERENCE 2014 & COVENANT GATHERING JOINING FORCES!
JUNE 30TH TO JULY 4 AT MICHINDOH!



 


Register before June 1 for discount!




Check out the Early Bird Discount




Action Alert: Support Smarter Sentencing

The Smarter Sentencing Act (S.1410), sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), is an incremental approach to justice reform that would reduce harsh minimum mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenses, help increase fairness, reduce racial disparity, and limit overcrowding in the Bureau of Prisons.

 

In the PC(USA) we affirm God's intention of shalom for each child of God and in restorative justice, which, simply put, is "addressing the hurts and the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community in such a way that all-victim, offender, and community-might be healed."

 

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Safer Sentencing Act on January 30, 2014, and it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on March 11.

 

Click here to email your Senators in support of the Smarter Sentencing Act.

 

The federal prison population has increased by 800% since 1980 and the introduction of overly punitive mandatory sentencing policies that targeted people convicted of drug offenses. Nearly half of those federal inmates are serving sentences for drug offenses, many of which are low-level and nonviolent. Today, the Bureau of Prisons is nearly 40 percent over capacity and consumes over 25 percent of the Department of Justice's budget.

 

Furthermore, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has testified before the Judiciary Committee that African-American and Latino defendants constitute the majority of people subject to mandatory minimum sentences. Opportunities for relief from these overly punitive sentences are rarely made available to defendants of color. Passage of the Smarter Sentencing Act would be an important first step toward restoring fairness in our justice system by limiting this existing racial disparity.

 

Take action now to support justice reform and smarter, fairer sentencing.

 

The Presbyterian Church has a long tradition of commitment to justice reform:

  

 

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Synod Assemblies for 2014

 

 

August 8 & 9

Muskingum University

New Concord OH

 

November 7 & 8

Synod Offices

Maumee OH