Peace discernment
Welcome to the Office of the General Assembly’s page for resourcing the discussions of the Five Affirmations for Presbytery Discussion and Vote, approved by the 221st General Assembly (2014). This website is also intended to help Presbyterian Seminaries and Church-Related Colleges and Universities which may have classes or campus ministry groups responding to the Five Affirmations.
“Peace Discernment” is the shorthand phrase for “discerning new directions in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) peacemaking” used since the 219th General Assembly (2010). That Assembly combined elements from 7 overtures and authorized the Peacemaking Program and the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) to develop resources for discernment groups in congregations and presbyteries, and then for an advisory process to test the prayerful thinking of those groups with the larger church. That led to the five affirmations approved for distribution in 2014.
The core of this effort is to respond to what God is asking the church to do in response to terrorism, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and also to the continuing threat of nuclear and other indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction.
The key resources are:
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The congregational discernment study material distributed after the 2012 General Assembly, which summarizes the action taken following the 2010 Assembly
download here -
The 2012 leaders guide, which advised on the process of discernment
download (PDF) -
The full report to the 2014 General Assembly
“Risking Peace in a Violent World” or download the (PDF) -
The 4 page summary of the full report—single paragraphs on each of the five sections of the background rationale received by the Assembly. This comes in three slightly different versions:
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for presbyteries (PDF)
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for seminaries (PDF)
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En Español (PDF)
- in Korean (PDF)
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The Stated Clerk’s December 2014 letter to presbyteries (PDF) (En Español and In Korean)
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The on-line response form is preferred for tabulation and analysis
fill out the form online (PDF) -
For those who require a hard copy (or wish to use one in a meeting, while still sending in the votes and any amendments electronically)
Download the short form (PDF) (En Español and In Korean)
Thank you very much for contributing to this effort to discern the mind of “the Prince of Peace” for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Carl Horton and Rev. Alonzo Johnson, Jr. with the Peacemaking Program.