Tired and weary-eyed from four weeks of travel, strange food and nonstop itineraries in a foreign country but bolstered by their faith and a powerful sense of accomplishment, the 2018 Peacemakers gathered together one final time at Laws Lodge on the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary campus. Seven of the 10 peacemakers met for two days of conversation and a debrief session to talk about their experiences with congregations, students and other organizations over the past month before heading back to their respective homes.
While they come from different generations and different continents, Ravo Vonialiosa and Lucy Janjigian are both shaped by histories of hardship that nurture their passion for peace and justice.
They say their commitment was strengthened last year after they encountered one another through a travel study seminar sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, a ministry supported through gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering. Participants in the seminar visited Madagascar, an island nation 250 miles off Africa’s eastern coast. Due to years of unsustainable development practices and government instability, the Malagasy people suffer from poverty and malnutrition.
On the eve of the International Day of Peace, nine peacemakers from around the world arrived in the U.S. to begin their three-week visit to presbyteries, congregations, universities, men’s and women’s groups, theological institutions and other groups across the country. On Wednesday morning, they gathered at Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s national offices in Louisville to participate in a chapel commissioning service. After two days of orientation, each will travel separately across the country to share their peacemaking vision and experiences with their American audiences as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s International Peacemakers program.
While they come from different generations and different continents, Ravo Vonialiosa and Lucy Janjigian are both shaped by histories of hardship that nurture their passion for peace and justice.
Nearly three-quarters of Haitians live on less than two dollars a day; hunger and poverty are daily challenges, as are political turmoil and violence. Despite these obstacles, Fabienne Jean, coordinator of the Hands Together Foundation of Haiti (FONDAMA), works diligently every day to fight for the most vulnerable of those living in her homeland.
The Rev. Alex E. Awad, a peace and justice advocate and former missionary with the United Methodist Church, will speak to U.S. audiences this fall as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’sInternational Peacemakers initiative. He’s served in Israel/Palestine as an educator and pastor for more than 30 years and will speak about his experiences in the Holy Land, the conditions faced by Palestinians under occupation, the impact of Israeli settlements, and the role of the church in ending the current injustices found in his homeland.
Las congregaciones presbiterianas en los EE. UU. podrán conocer los retos y éxitos de la labor de la iglesia en Venezuela este otoño a través de la visita de la moderadora del Sínodo de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Venezuela en septiembre. La Reverenda Zulema García es pastora del Presbiterio Occidental de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Venezuela. Además de servir como pastora durante 13 años, García también es la moderadora del sínodo.
Presbyterian congregations in the U.S. will be able to learn about the struggles and successes of church work in Venezuela this fall when the moderator of the Synod, Presbyterian Church of Venezuela visits in September. The Rev. Zulema Garcia is a pastor of the Western Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela.
The horror of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is still fresh for Jerome Bizimana Nkumbuyinka. That’s when more than 800,000 people were slaughtered by perpetrators over a 100-day period following the assassination of the country’s president.
Nearly 30,000 refugees live in or near Thessaloniki, a port city in Greece. Manolis Ntamparakis has made it his calling to help them. He is the director of social action for the Naomi Ecumenical Workshop for Refugees, a nonprofit organization founded two years ago.
