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This weekend Presbyterians will be encouraged to sign up to the Church's 'Peace Vocation' which commits members to be 'Christian peacemakers in our own situation'.
The vocation (full text below) was agreed by the General Assembly in 1994 and was reaffirmed by this year's Assembly in June when it was felt that there was an necessity to nurture a deeper commitment to peace making throughout our land.
"We have had the peace vocation in place for 2 years," explained Dr Donald Watts, convener of the Church's Peace and Peace Making Committee, and that committed our Church to do everything it could to promote peace in our community.
"The events of the summer clearly showed that we have a long way to go before everyone can live peacefully with their neighbour and by asking members to sign up to the vocation we hope it will commit them further to the task of being peacemakers in their own community."
The 400 word statement acknowledges 'our vocation to peace as a mission placed on us by God'. It also calls on people to 'meet and talk together with those whom we have disagreements and those whose practices and beliefs differ from our own.' The vocation also recognises the responsibility given to government and points out that 'in a democratic society all citizens share responsibility to encourage well-doing, correct evil-doers and protect the innocent.' The vocation calls on people to reject violence and encourage all efforts to establish new structures of consent and participation.
"The vocation gives us a goal to work towards," said Dr Watts, "and many congregations have taken practical steps towards beginning to fulfil the words of the vocation statement."
It has been suggested that congregations will start to sign up for peace this Sunday, Remembrance Sunday.
To further promote peacemaking within the Presbyterian Church Peace agents have been established in many congregations over the last 2 years and they will be meeting together at the end of this month to see how the practical aspects of the peace vocation can be further advanced.
To register your signature to the Peace Vocation send and email to info@PresbyterianIreland.org
THE CHURCH'S PEACE VOCATION
WE, MEMBERS OF THE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND,
called by God,
in the grace of Jesus Christ,
and the power of the Holy Spirit,
to live in faith, hope and love,
as children of our heavenly Father,
and witnesses to God's Kingdom ,
publicly acknowledge our vocation to peace,
which is both the gift and mission placed on us by God.WE BELIEVE that the same evangelical faith in Jesus Christ,
which emboldens us to pray to God as our heavenly Father,
challenges us to develop radically new attitudes and relationships
with our neighbours in Ireland.WE AFFIRM that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
We must grasp more clearly the distinctive teaching of our Lord
which challenges the general practice of our world,
and breaks the vicious cycle of matching injury with injury,
hate with hate, ignorance with ignorance.
We must therefore be prepared to meet and talk together:
with those in our own church with whom we have disagreements;
with those from churches whose practices and beliefs differ from our own;
with those from whom we are politically divided.WE AFFIRM that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
we must recognise the responsibility given by God to government,
and to those who serve the cause of law and order,
so as to encourage well-doing, correct evil-doers, and protect the innocent.
We must therefore reject violence;
seek ways to advance justice and promote the welfare of the needy;
affirm that in democratic societies all citizens are called
to share in these responsibilities;
and encourage all efforts to establish new structures of consent
and participation.WE AFFIRM that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
We must be initiators of programmes of action
which will contribute to peace in our community.
We must therefore provide resources and encouragement to
enable congregations to move forward at the local level in
the field of inter-community relations.WE UNDERSTAND peacemaking to be an affirmation
and accommodation of diversity,
and that our particular history in this land of divided communities
and recurring violence,
of mutual suspicion, fear and injury,
makes it imperative that we reassert the Church's own proper calling
to seek peace, and the things that make for peace
in our day.Adopted by the General Assembly, June 8th, 1994
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