Overture on discernment and innovation in peacemaking
The Stony Point Presbyterian Church moves the Presbytery of Hudson River to refer the following proposed overture to the 222nd General Assembly (2016) asking it to do the following:
1. Celebrate with gratitude and joy the completion of the six-year discernment process initiated by the 219th General Assembly in 2010 to “seek clarity as to God’s call to the church to embrace nonviolence as its fundamental response to the challenges of violence, terror, and war” and to “identify, explore, and nurture new approaches to active peacemaking and nonviolence.”
2. Call upon Presbyterians at all levels of the church to employ the understandings and insights gained by this process to meet the challenge of the 219th General Assembly to respond to and prevent violence on the local level, the national level, and the international level through prayer, direct action, and advocacy; and to address sexism, racism, and other patterns of oppression as tasks of peacemaking and justice seeking.
3. Recognizing that discerning God’s will is an ongoing task, commit to continue to seek clarity as to God’s call to the church to embrace nonviolence as its fundamental response to the challenges of violence, terror, and war; and to continue to explore and nurture new approaches to active peacemaking and nonviolence as the peacemaking witness and ministry of the church grows.
Rationale
In response to several overtures on peacemaking, the 219th General Assembly (2010) initiated a six-year process of church-wide discernment on peacemaking. Congregations, presbyteries, seminaries, colleges, and conferences have participated and responded. This overture asks the 222nd General Assembly to continue the process of discernment and innovation as an ongoing and essential part of peacemaking programs at all levels of the church.