{"id":1093,"date":"2019-08-22T21:51:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T21:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=1093"},"modified":"2019-09-25T18:41:50","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T18:41:50","slug":"peace-global-witness-a-special-invitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2019\/08\/22\/peace-global-witness-a-special-invitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace & Global Witness: A Special Invitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christ invites<\/h4>\n

Most of us don\u2019t get any mail except for what? Bills and junk. But once in a while, now and then, a pretty envelope, perhaps hand-addressed and with something nice inside, is nestled among the coupons and ads and utility bills.<\/p>\n

An invitation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something different, and it feels good. It feels good to be invited.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sometimes the church talks about the work we do as an obligation or a duty. We start thinking about the sign-up sheets, the time requirement, the money…\u00a0 But we should try to remember \u2018invitation\u2019 instead. Every time we are asked to give of ourselves, our time, our talent and our treasure, it helps to think of it as an invitation to imagine and be a part of God\u2019s reign on earth.<\/p>\n

Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, invites us to the table. And not just us, but Christ\u00a0 invites, and we open doors to believers from all over the world. We even\u00a0 profess that believers from every time and place join us. At this table we proclaim that Christ joins us into one body despite our differences. Christ invites and our doors open to the broken, the hurting and the survivors of violence\u2014those who suffer, as he\u00a0 suffered, to be nourished by his compassion. Christ invites, and our doors open to all those who work for reconciliation and advocate for God\u2019s justice, which makes for peace.<\/p>\n

RSVP ‘yes’<\/h4>\n

\"\"Christ invites, and we also offer ourselves to the pursuit to end violence and bring about reconciliation through the Peace and Global Witness Offering. Through our gifts, we offer a healing hand to women experiencing abuse, here in this country and\u00a0 in places like Guatemala, even as we seek to remedy the structures that create their vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Our giving offers a word of peace to those incarcerated here and those crushed by civil war in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our offering draws together those who were once at war, creating opportunities for veterans from this land to return to Iraq and build relationships that offer a start to healing and understanding.<\/p>\n

It is one of the ways we RSVP \u2018yes\u2019 to Christ\u2019s invitation and offer, as the words in\u00a0 2 Thessalonians say, \u2018peace, at all times, in all ways.\u2019 At Christ\u2019s table, and in these gifts, we are invited to believe those words. But for peace to truly be offered \u2018at all times, in all ways\u2019 we will start at THIS time and in THESE ways. If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.<\/p>\n

Let us pray<\/h4>\n

Christ invites, and our doors open\u00a0 to believers from all over the world,\u00a0 and from every time and place. Christ invites, and our doors open\u00a0 to those all those who work actively\u00a0 for reconciliation and\u00a0 advocate for God\u2019s justice, Christ invites, which makes for peace. Amen.<\/p>\n

Join us<\/h4>\n

For more information and resources related to the Peace & Global Witness Offering<\/span>, visit\u00a0presbyterianmission.org\/peace-global.<\/a>
\n<\/u> This post is based on the Minute for Mission script which can be found on our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0as a\u00a0script<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please give generously to the Offering:<\/p>\n