Statements & Resolutions
Statements
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Pennsylvania Council of Churches Statement on Escalating Violence in Israel – Palestine
Pennsylvania Council of Churches Statement on Escalating Violence in Israel/Palestine (October 10, 2023) “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it… He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate…
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Tyre’s Life Mattered
Download pdf version The murder of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers while being beaten 80 yards from his home is an affront to the entire human family. Not only were Tyre’s human rights violated, so was his humanity. Michelangelo’s masterpiece, “The Creation,” etched upon the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, depicts God touching…
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A Statement Concerning the Racially-Motivated Mass Shooting in Buffalo, NY on May 14, 2022
Once more a racially motivated young man has authored a manifesto and killed ten people and wounded others at a Tops Grocery Store in Buffalo. To quote the NY Post, “A “heavily armed” white teenager clad in military-style tactical gear slaughtered ten people Saturday in a “racially motivated” mass shooting he live-streamed at a Buffalo…
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A Statement Following the Derek Chauvin Conviction
How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? —Psalm 137:4 (NRSV) The Pennsylvania Council of Churches remains in prayer for the people of Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and the nation following the Derek Chauvin murder conviction for the death of George Floyd, and the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police. We…
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A Statement on Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; A Response by the Pennsylvania Council of Churches
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. —John 13:34 (NRSV) In June 2020 we issued “A Pastoral Call to Dismantle Racism & End Violence Against People of Color.” This statement: recognized the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on…
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A Statement Calling for a Peaceful 2020 Election
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. –Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) While Americans have always had their differences based on political preferences and how we work to progress the ideal of “liberty and…
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Pennsylvania Council of Churches’ Statement on 6/18/20 Supreme Court DACA Decision
By: Sandy Strauss The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.—Leviticus 19:34 In a 5-4 ruling on Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that the Trump Administration…
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A Pastoral Call to Dismantle Racism & End Violence Against People of Color
I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.—Acts 10:34 (NRSV) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.—John 13:34 (NRSV) The COVID-19…
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A Pastoral Statement at a Time of Global Pandemic
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.—1 Peter 5:10 (NRSV) We are living in times that test our spirits, patience, and energy. Nothing in ministerial training has prepared leaders for…
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A Statement on Separation of Families at the Border
Download as a pdf document at https://www.pachurches.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Family-Separation-Statement-6-18.pdf. A Statement on the Separation of Families at the Border For the LORD your God… executes justice for the orphan and widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. –Deuteronomy 10:17-19…
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A Call for Solidarity with Our Neighbors Impacted by Hurricane Harvey and Flooding
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… —2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NRSV) The Pennsylvania Council of Churches grieves with our sisters and brothers who have suffered the loss of life, shelter, possessions and security in the wake of Hurricane…
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A Statement on the Events in Charlottesville, VA and Addressing Ideologies of Hate
For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this. — Esther 4:14 (NRSV) The Pennsylvania Council of Churches…
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Pennsylvania Council of Churches Condemns Violence and Vandalism Against Jewish and Muslim Communities
The Pennsylvania Council of Churches is deeply saddened and condemns the violence and vandalism aimed at our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. We grieve the hate and fear that provokes a fear of the “other”—persons who are different—and leads to engaging in this kind of reprehensible behavior. We call on all persons of faith…
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A Statement of Action on the Berks County Residential Center
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. –Hebrews 13:2 (NRSV) For the LORD your God… executes justice for the orphan and widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in…
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A Statement and Lament on Racism and Violence
A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more. –Matthew 2:18 (NRSV) The Pennsylvania Council of Churches grieves the overwhelming anger, hatred, and violence that has become a near constant scourge in our communities, our country, and the world—exemplified…
Resolutions
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A Resolution Supporting Reparations for Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Pittsburgh
Download a pdf version A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING REPARATIONS FOR BETHEL AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF PITTSBURGH WHEREAS: Prophetic voices throughout the ages have called upon those in power to show justice to the those who have been “othered” and are the most vulnerable in society: the prophet Amos exhorted the people of Israel to “Hate…
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Handgun Violence Resolution
Pennsylvania Council of Churches Resolution on Legislation in Pennsylvania to Prevent Gun Violence WHEREAS: A rising tide of handgun violence affects all corners of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: to wit, in the year 2006 Philadelphia endured more than 400 homicides, the vast majority committed with handguns, the highest total since 1997; Harrisburg’s per capita rate…