Stated Clerk urges them to go out courageously and prayerfully for the sake of God’s peace
November 7, 2024
Photo URL: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1538357163553666
The 2024 Peacemakers pray during a service that aired on Wednesday. (Photo by Rich Copley)
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 2024 Peacemakers prayed to offer “hope in a hurting world” and to find “new possibilities for relationship and restoration” during a commissioning service that also served as a commemoration of the International Day of Peace.
The nine Peacemakers from various countries and the United States gathered in the chapel of the Presbyterian Center to lead the service with staff of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and to receive their charge from the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA).
“This is my charge to you as you go out to do this work,” Oh said. “Go out courageously, go out prayerfully, go out in mutuality, go out humbly into the world in peace, and for the sake of God’s peace, live holy, whole, and joyful lives in the spirit of the crucified and risen Savior.”
The service, which aired in a prerecorded format, was organized by the Peacemaking Program, which brings in Peacemakers each year to travel to various parts of the denomination to share their stories and perspectives on issues affecting their countries such as climate change, poverty, migration and militarization. This year, two of the Peacemakers are from within the United States, but the majority are from distant locations, spanning from Eastern Europe to the South Pacific.
“God of all nations, you have poured out your blessings upon all the peoples of the Earth,” prayed Frances Namoumou, a Peacemaker from Fiji. “Grant us eyes to see your gifts of faith and love. Appoint us as heralds of your mercies that are new every morning. … Through our worship, empower us to be sent out with joy as bearers of your hope in a hurting world — through Christ. Amen.”
The Peacemakers, who will travel to various parts of the denomination as guests of presbyteries, synods and other institutions over the next few weeks, were introduced by Amy Lewis, mission specialist for the Peacemaking Program.
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), offers the charge to the International Peacemakers. (Photo by Rich Copley)
“We are so pleased and grateful to have this group of Peacemakers with us this year,” Lewis said before highlighting them in this order: Mía Umaña (Costa Rica); Namoumou; the Rev. Joram Calimutan (Hong Kong/Philippines); Dumitru Roibu (Moldova); Dr. June Lorenzo (southwestern U.S.); Peter Egwudah (Nigeria); Zoughbi Zoughbi (Palestine); the Rev. Marielis Barreto (Puerto Rico) and the Rev. Dr. Hiheon Kim (South Korea).
The Rev. Carl Horton, manager of Presbyterian Peacemaking, helped to lead Peacemakers through a series of questions about the task ahead and their loyalty to Christ.
“God has called you through our partner churches and ministries around the world to this particular service as a Peacemaker with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” said Horton, who received a strong “I do” from the Peacemakers after asking whether they welcomed their new role with determination to follow Jesus, love their neighbor and work for reconciliation of the world.
While addressing the Peacemakers, Oh directed their attention to Jeremiah 29:7–9, noting that it speaks to the people in exile who are seeking their own peace and wishing for their own wholeness.
“God says to them, ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare,’” Oh said.
The text goes on to say, “For, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name. I did not send them, says the Lord.”
Oh emphasized that in the passage, “the welfare of the city, the wholeness of the city, the places where you will be going, and the places where you serve doing this work” are tied to “the welfare of those who seek it and dream of it and hope for it. And so, there is a mutuality in the seeking of that peace and wholeness.”
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Daily Readings
Today’s Focus: 2024 International Peacemakers
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Donyale White, Account Clerk III, Administrative Services Group, A Corp
Ryan and Alethia White, Mission co-workers serving in Germany, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
O God, we thank you for the gift of breath that begins each story that we tell, and for inviting us into the living story that begins in Scripture and continues in the community of faith. Bless us with the skill and courage to tell and live out your good story in a world of need. In the name of the Great Storyteller, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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