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MISSION STATEMENT

We need to understand and respond to God's call:
     To know the things that make for peace,
     To help make shalom and salaam -- peace with justice -- a reality.
     To express a sense of urgency and obedience to God through prayer, study, and action.

To serve as leaders by helping to establish alternatives to human injustice,
     violence, and fear in the community through the local churches.
To unite with others in interfaith coalitions to work for social, economic,
     racial, and ecological justice and peace.
To facilitate communications concerning peace with justice activities in local churches,
     districts, Board of Church & Society, and California-Pacific Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Eight Steps in the Process of Deciding to Become a PWJ Covenant Congregation

1. Start the process and begin to work with a small group in your church.
2. Establish an ongoing relationship between your group and the Conference PWJ program using a $500 grant.
3. Explore a list of PWJ issues that could be used to carry out a comprehensive PWJ ministry.
4. Develop a process for introducing these issue into the life of your church as the Covenant Congregation program .
5. Design a plan for involving members to work on behalf of PWJ efforts in your church, community, nation, and world.
6. Bring a proposal to become a PWJ Cov Con to your Administration Church Council and celebrate your congregation's decision to become a PWJ Cov Con with a special worship service of commitment.
7. Maintain an active PWJ program and use the PWJ Sunday to celebrate God's shalom/salaam/shanti "for a faithful, just, disarmed, and secure world".
12/05

     PWJ Covenant Congregations
   Communications

*** OTHER UMC CONFERENCES' PWJ LINKS:
   www.cswt.ppjr.org/#PwJ -- E PA Conf - UMC, Church and Society Work Team
   www.eocumc.com/socialjustice/socialjusticelinks.htm -- E OH Conf, Social Justice
   www.umcswtx.org/bcs/04bcs.htm -- SW TX Conf, Board of Church & Society

* : Peace With Justice Sunday
in your church's Worship Service. Info: www.umc-gbcs.org/pwj
"Pacifists love America" UMC video-stream

* Jun: Cal-Pac Annual Conference, PWJC Booth, Redlands University, CA

***08/08/08 Nuclear Test Site and deposit dump Demo
Testing ended! www.NevadaDeserExperience.org Tel: 702-646-4814

*** 2004 JOURNAL, Rules and Policies I-27 AJ.
Peace With Justice Committee -- 16 members [#628.2. The Discipline]
Membership on the Peace with Justice Committee shall include a representative from each of the eight districts, the Conference PWJ Coordinator named by the Conf Board of Church and Society, the Conf PWJ Educator selected by the Conf PWJ Committee, a youth representative at large, a young adult representative, and 4 members at large nominated by the Conf Nominating Committee. Since 7/1/05.

* The Gen Conf 2004 urges churches to:
1. Advocate with the US Administration & Congress to implement the "Peace inthe Middle East" -- UMC Resolution # 40992: see www.cmep.org/Alerts/2004July2.htm
2. Provide financial support to the Palestinian people through contributions to the Gen Brd of Glob Mini;
3. Support, and participate in, the work of international peace & human rights organizations to provide protection for Palestinians & Israelis seeking nonviolently to end the occupation.
4. That the GBGM, working together with the GBC&S and interfaith organizations, to develop advocacy packets for use in local congregations to promote a just and lasting peace & human rights for all in the Holy Land.
5. Tell Congress to end all military aid to both Israel & Egypt.

*                           A Peace With Justice Covenant Commitment
                                  by Harris UMC, Honolulu, HI
The Covenant

God, you have appointed our Lord Jesus Christ as mediator of a new covenant. Give us grace to draw near with fullness of faith and join us in a perpetual covenant with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the old covenant, God chose Israel to be a special people and to obey the law. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by his death and resurrection, has made a new covenant with all who trust in him.

As one people, we now seek to live out our new Peace With Justice Covenant. As members of Harris United Methodist Church, we are involved in mercy ministries here on O'ahu and in various parts of the world, joining others in providing comfort and support to those who are homeless; to seniors with special needs; to youth in need of guidance; to those who are in prison; and to survivors of war and of nuclear arms testing.

We now strengthen our efforts to bring change in systems which oppress people so that they too can enjoy the freedom to be whole persons. We confess our faith in God and pray for direction to do this. Like Jesus, as he began his special ministry, we declare:

       "The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. God has anointed us to bring good news to the poor.
       He has sent us to proclaim release to the captives, to recover sight to the blind,
       to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)

We ask that you make us responsible stewards of peacemaking. May it come to pass as your prophet Amos proclaimed so long ago, "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." (Amos 5:24)

We, the members of Harris United Methodist Church, covenant to pursue peace and justice in our congregation and community.
We pledge to live out this covenant faithfully and to support The United Methodist Church in its ministries of justice and peace.

Signed in Sunday Morning Worship, October 19, 2003
Delores Glover, Chair, Commission of Church and Society
Gary Barbaree, Senior Pastor

Submitted to Peace With Justice Committee, Conference Board of Church and Society, California-Pacific Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church.

When you're at peace with God, you accept the things you cannot change. God's peace within us can be expressed by learning to love our enemies, which rids us of fear (John 14:27.)
While killing our enemies creates more hatred toward the killers, we learn to come together to support each other by humanizing our enemy!
We shall share our food and drink with our enemies (Romans 12:20-21.)

What kind of peace? Only a just peace is lasting -- a righteous peace.

Peace through strength and blind obedience to law is a police state.
A world with fair laws bring justice in courts -- a just peace!

Prevent war with nonviolent peace actions -- alleviate the root causes.
Then there'll be no reason to revenge -- vengeance is God's (Hebrews 10:30.)