CHICAGO, Nov. 10 ---- A teach-in on defining "Pillars of Peace for the 21^st Century" held during the National Council of Churches (NCC) General Assembly meeting encouraged the church to influence global thinking on international peace today as it did during the World War II era.

"The historic document ‘Six Pillars of Peace,’ prepared by our predecessor body, the Federal Council of Churches, shaped global thinking on international peace in the midst of World War II," said the Rev. Dr. Rodney Page, Director of the NCC’s Church World Service and Witness Unit. "Today it is our fervent hope that once again the churches – through the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA – may speak prophetically to the requirements of peace rooted in justice as we prepare for the 21^st century in an age of unprecedented conflict, complex emergencies and global economic turmoil."

Just as the first document was visionary and influential in bringing about the founding of the United Nations, teach-in participants stressed that a new document is needed to address the challenges of the post Cold War world and to envision the role of the United Nations in the 21^st century.

"Pillars of Peace for the 21^st Century" addresses the following concerns:

• an international political framework for collaboration
• international economic accountability
• a comprehensive international legal system
• liberation and empowerment
• conflict resolution and building a culture of peace
• human dignity and rights
• protection and preservation of the environment

"The current pillars of peace policy statement on the United Nations, to receive a first reading at this General Assembly meeting, was developed by the NCC’s International Justice and Human Rights Program Ministry Committee," explained Ms. Mia Adjali, who chairs that committee. "In partnership with The Stanley Foundation, we held three consultations in New York, Chicago and San Francisco which led the statement to this place."

Following the first reading this week, there will be a year of study and reflection before bringing the policy statement back for a second reading at next year’s General Assembly, Ms. Adjali said. A study guide and video will be available at the beginning of 1999 to engage local congregations in the nationwide process of examination.

"The Stanley Foundation is interested in partnering with denominations during this time of reflection and study to engage leaders and congregations in the process," said Ms. Joan Winship, Vice-President of The Stanley Foundation.

Throughout the teach-in, participants were encouraged to make connections between their local communities and the international context. Smaller groups took up individual pillars and developed action planks and principles drawing on local situations and faith-based values and ethics.

The Rev. Angelique Walker-Smith, Executive Director of The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis (Ind.), illustrated such connections when she told of the peacemaking that goes on in her city. "Within 48 hours of every violent death (in Indianapolis), congregations gather to offer prayer," she said. "These local witnesses on the street corner can witness to the global community. My hope is that the localization piece will be key, and we will be pragmatic and develop action plans."

"The makers of the original pillars in the 1940s understood that they had to be taken to the grassroots," said Patricia Rumer, Director of Community Programs at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. "As we understand the ways that ‘we the people’ have changed with the ‘NGOization’ of world decision-making, which includes us in the religious community, we can each of us take ownership for how we participate in this process."

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