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Church and Society lifts up for
the congregation many of the cutting edge mission opportunities and
issues facing our world today and helps the church to remain a safe
place to discuss, debate, and learn. In the past, the Church and
Society committee has helped to develop support for a men’s halfway
house shelter, helped the congregation study the issue of
homosexuality, sponsored our church’s involvement in the community’s
World AIDs Day celebrations, provided information and awareness on
issues of Peace with Justice, sponsored Earth Day and increased our
understanding of environmental stewardship. Click on this link General Board of
Church and Society to find more information about national efforts.
Another informational site is the National Council of
Churches.
Actions taken by the Church & Society Committee
in response to those issues identified by the congregation:
The Natural World:
- Sponsored a Wednesday program speaker on water issues and
created a bulletin insert addressing availability and sustainability.
- Produced a Wednesday program on low water usage planting,
and planted a replacement tree in the PUMC parking lot.
- An environmental presentation, John Muir Chautauqua–Doug
Hulmes of Prescott College – proceeds donated to the Central
Arizona Land Trust.
- Designated last October as Energy Awareness Month, with the
following activities:
- An informative talk by Arizona Corporation Commissioner
Kris Mayes.
- An on-site visit to the APS Solar Energy Site.
- Energy audit information provided for the church and
for families.
- Worked with the youth of PUMC in weather-stripping and
weatherizing homes.
- Researched and published a brochure on Prescott Recycling
Information.
- Researched local opportunities for a guided educational
hike, providing information to the Church Youth program.
The Nurturing Community:
- Produced an in informative newsletter article on The
Faithful Care of the Dying.
- Working toward family support within church and community,
nurturing people of all generations to feel connected and cared for.
The Social Community:
- Mental Health Awareness
- Sponsored two newsletter articles on mental health,
working with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
- The Right to Health Care
- Created a bulletin insert and newsletter article in May
for Cover the Uninsured Week.
- In September hosted a Wednesday evening interactive
discussion Healthcare Coverage: The Methodist Perspective.
- Hosted a community-wide informational and awareness
forum with a panel of experts in September – Is There a Healthcare
Crisis? A Community Forum.
- Created a bulletin insert for Healthcare Justice
Sabbath in September 2006.
The Economic Community:
- Sponsoring the work of the Coalition for Compassion and
Justice, www.YavapaiCCJ.org,
founded originally by the PUMC Church & Society Committee
as the Interfaith Coalition for Compassion and Justice, and continuing
to serve the community through its programs:
- Open Door – serving the homeless and those
living in poverty, opening doors to self-sufficiency.
- Home Repair – helping low-income homeowners to
remain in their homes by restoring them to safe and healthy conditions.
- Circles of Support – providing effective and
ongoing support for families in poverty who wish to join the mainstream
of life.
- Advocacy – for systemic change of conditions
leading to poverty, hunger and homelessness.
- Addressed the issues of Corporate Responsibility in
conjunction with Healthcare Justice.
The Political Community:
- Sponsored a Community Forum on Immigration Issues in May,
basic freedoms and human rights.
- Follow-up conversations on Immigration, illegal immigrants,
and migrant workers.
- Support N.A.I.C. (Northern Arizona Interfaith Council) for
advocacy.
- Distributed voting information and early-ballot initiative
forms.
- Sponsor a monthly Sunday School class “Conversations with
Dave,” discussing political issues in the news and the responsibilities
of people of faith, including the Methodist Perspective.
The World Community:
- In 2005, highlighted The National Day of Action for
Darfur, created a bulletin insert for Peace With Justice Sunday
about the Darfur crisis, continuing to inform about the ongoing crisis
and recommended actions.
- For the June 2006 Peace With Justice Sunday produced
a flyer on world poverty for the Sunday bulletin, and distributed
handmade Peace Candles at the end of the service.
- Continue to research and inform on worldwide hunger and
poverty issues.
Ongoing Church & Society Committee projects
include a variety of recycling projects, environmental projects,
promoting the UMCOR Coffee Program for Fair Trade Organically Grown
Coffee use within the church and general use through sales, and
interfaith support within our community.
The United Methodist Church is involved in many issues of both
local and global impact. For further information, go to the United
Methodist General
Board of Church and Society and/or United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Contributions can be made to UMCOR
either through their web site or through PUMC in a regular offering
envelope.
Our Social Creed
We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children,
youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to
improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of
all persons.
We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the
glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the
protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a
trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and
in the elimination of economic and social distress.
We dedicate ourselves to peace throughout the world, to the
rule of justice and law among nations, and to individual freedom for
all people of the world.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s Word in
human affairs and gladly accept our commission to manifest the life of
the gospel in the world. Amen.
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