In affirming the Dallas invitation, the members of the National Committee recognized that the PPF has itself been a key part of the movement of the spirit that has led to this moment. Since responding to a call from the Iglesia Presbyteriana de Colombia (IPC) in the fall of 2004, the Peace Fellowship has been a primary partner in recruiting, training, and deploying a cadre of more than fifty nonviolent “accompaniers” to Colombia to “see and be seen” in the midst of the violence being experienced by our sister church there. Each of those volunteers has gone as a short-term mission worker of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), under the coordination and direction of the IPC.
Anne Barstow, a member of the PPF National Committee who has provided much of the initiative for the accompaniment project, has pointed out that “this all-volunteer project would never have been possible if it had been the sole responsibility of the world missions staff of the PC(USA), nor would the PPF have had the resources to carry on the work entirely by ourselves. Every step of the way we have depended on the long-term relationships established by PC(USA) mission co-workers with our counterparts in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia.”
“It’s no secret that there has been a history of mistrust among the various mission agencies of the church here in the U.S.,” said Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Executive Director Rick Ufford-Chase. “This is an attempt to lay the foundation for closer coordination, cooperation and collaboration, and to admit that no individual body is fully capable of capturing the breadth of the task of living and sharing the good news of the Gospel in a world of so much suffering.”
The invitation recognizes the ways in which the possibility of new partnerships and new expressions of mission are multiplying across the church. Diverse organizations that include the world missions program of the General Assembly Council, the groups historically validated as partners by the GAC, Mission Networks, individual presbyteries and churches, and independent organizations like the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship were all represented at the Mission Consultation. International partners also had a seat at the table as sixty persons from very different backgrounds sought to find a way to recognize and embrace the somewhat chaotic and energetic spirit of mission that is a sign of renewal in the church in the U.S. and an expression of the vitality in PC(USA) partner churches and organizations around the world.
The invitation makes three commitments clear. First, Presbyterians will continue to do mission in a way that honors the wisdom of our international partners. Second, Presbyterians will not waver in their commitment to support long-term mission workers and the invaluable relationships and experience they offer. Finally, they will re-establish trust in one another, and recognize that God is at work in all expressions of Presbyterian mission, whether generated within the mission agency of the General Assembly or initiated by any of the many PC(USA) churches or sister organizations committed to participating in mission in a way that honors our Reformed theological tradition.
In joining with such a wide and diverse body of partners to affirm the Dallas invitation, the PPF National Committee stressed their own commitment to “continue to live Jesus’ radical call for nonviolence, peacemaking, and justice ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ They welcomed the opportunity to stand with all other Presbyterian Partners in nurturing the continuing wave of interest in mission in its most holistic sense within the United States, to the United States from partner churches around the world, and with those same partners in their own countries, as we boldly seek to live the Good News of the Gospel.”
