It began for more than 200 Presbyterians last Friday with Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. It ended with a visit to Capitol Hill on Monday to lobby Congress for changes in the approach to immigration and refugees.
he theme is set for the 2018 Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day, to be held April 20, in Washington, D.C. The annual day-long gathering at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church provides Presbyterians with the opportunity to engage on major social justice issues. This year’s theme is ‘A World Uprooted: Responding to Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.’
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II is calling on Christian denominations to stand firm on social justice issues and get involved. The Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gave the Sunday morning message to the nearly 1,000 attendees in Washington, D.C.
Every spring, you can count on two things happening in Washington, D.C., the blooming of cherry blossoms and the gathering of denominations for Ecumenical Advocacy Weekend. More than 200 members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) joined other denominations for a weekend of worship, workshops and activism, a few short blocks from the Pentagon.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech that provided the foundation for this year’s theme at Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day. Speaking at the Riverside Church in New York, King provided a connection between the war in Vietnam with the civil rights movement.
Every year, an average of 200 Presbyterians gather in Washington, D.C. for Advocacy Training Weekend as an opportunity to worship, attend workshops and fellowship with other Presbyterians and Christian denominations. But this year’s attendance for Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day is hitting record levels and people are still signing up with less than two weeks to go.