By Roger Scott Powers

In May, I was privileged to serve as an election observer in the Philippines. I was one of 86 people from 11 countries to participate in the People’s International Observers’ Mission (PIOM), which was convened by a coalition of Philippine religious and human rights groups, including the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

by Leslie Scanlon
Presbyterian Outlook

Presbyterian minister James Atwood knows what it’s like to be shut down on the issue of gun violence.

A while back, while visiting a congregation in a community with multiple victims of a mass shooting, Atwood raised the question of how churches can get involved. “We shouldn’t be talking about that here,” one man responded hotly. “That’s a political issue, and it’s not appropriate for the church.”

That question – exactly how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should respond to the gun violence that claims 30,000 lives a year in the United States – will be put directly to the 219th General Assembly when it meets in Minneapolis in July. The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) is asking the assembly to consider a 20-page report from a study group that “challenges our society’s fatalism and numbness in accepting the highest gun death rates in the world.”

Roger Scott Powers

We travel today,
fanning out across this vast
archipelago.

All praying to God
for free and fair elections
in the Philippines.

Filipinos smile,
masking fears of violence,
coercion and fraud.

Hoping for the best,
these strong, determined people
will go to the polls.

Exercise their right
to self-determination,

A great video of a great event!

Thank you to Andrew Patterson for his wonderful videography work!

By the Rev. Matt Lang, election observer in the Philippines, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

On Saturday morning we had a press conference with several members of the media. Each participant was asked to give a brief statement about why they were in the Philippines as an election observer and what they expected.

God of compassion,
hold the people and the leaders of the Philippines
gently in these last days before the election.
Fill hearts and guide spirits
so that the leaders and people turn from violence.
Grant courage to nurture relationships
that have long existed
so that faint sparks of hope might be fanned into brilliant light.
May they honor, respect, and care for one another.

Encourage your presbytery to host an International Peacemaker this fall.

International Peacemakers are individuals from our partner churches who are engaged in peacemaking ministries. The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program arranges for them to visit the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to share about their work seeking justice and pursuing peace in the name of Jesus Christ.

By the Rev. Shannan R. Vance-Ocampo

I need to confess to you this morning that it was very hard for me to not get depressed, deflated, and dejected this past week. So much of what went on in the world around us, let alone the individual suffering I know about in people’s lives as a pastor left me feeling this week as though I was out of emotional and even spiritual steam. Like many of you I find myself watching the increasingly negative information about the catastrophic oil spill that continues without an end in sight with horror.