Pal Craftaid, a ministry of compassion and justice to and with Palestinians, was founded in 1993 as the result of a Presbyterian Peacemaking Program trip to Israel/Palestine by the Rev. Elizabeth (Liz) Knott shortly after her retirement as executive of the Synod of Alaska Northwest. At that time, it appeared that a solution to the issues of Israel/Palestine were close and that she would import Palestinian olive wood sculptures and needlework from artisans on the ground and sell them at churches until peace happened. For the first 15 years, Liz and her close friend Connie schlepped boxes and suitcases everywhere, selling and interpreting the issues in the region. All profits from the sales were returned to partner organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
We see headlines every day from nations around the world telling us about crisis and conflict — and stories of people living in and overcoming extraordinary circumstances.
Participants in this month’s Presbyterian Peacemaking Program travel study seminar in Rwanda saw much more than memorials to the genocide 25 years ago when between 800,000 and 1 million people were killed by their neighbors in a period of 100 days.
If you Google “Sandy Hook,” the search engine’s “People also search for …” menu offers these grim options: 2012 Aurora shooting, Stoneman Douglas High School, Columbine High School massacre, 2014 Isla Vista massacre, Orlando nightclub shooting.
And it could go on.
“What do you think?” Rob Fohr, director of Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), asked after surveying the multi-room warehouse packed with household supplies.
“I think there’s a lot to do,” replied Carl Horton, coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s 2018 Korea Travel Study Seminar concluded Friday with discussions on the group’s work over the last 11 days and plans for incorporating gained knowledge into Presbyterian contexts.
The island of Jeju off the southern coast of Korea holds a history that is tragic and painful to its residents. Located on the sea and air routes between the Pacific Ocean, Japan and China, Jeju held an important role as a port and defense position as various nation states vied for power over the Korean Peninsula.
Set in the backdrop of a historic thaw of tensions between North and South Korea, the 2018 Presbyterian Peacemaking Travel Study Seminar begins today in Seoul, as eight participants tour important sites and meet with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partners engaged in the peace process. Mission co-workers Hyeyoung Lee and Kurt Esslinger, along with Carl Horton, coordinator for mission with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, will guide the group over 11 days as they continue to learn, experience, worship and reflect on continued peacemaking and reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.
Presbyterians interested in learning about conflict and reconciliation, from both an active and historical perspective, have an opportunity to do so by participating in one of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s travel study seminar series upcoming in Spring 2019. Reconciliation Work in Rwanda: Healing the Trauma of the Genocide is scheduled for March 11–23, 2019, and Ukraine and Russia: Peacemaking on the Front Line is scheduled for April 22 – May 6, 2019. The due date for applications is November 15 for the Rwanda seminar, and December 15 for the Ukraine-Russia seminar. After those dates, applications will be considered if space remains available.
