Moment for Mission Archive

My name is Sue Spears. I am now the chairperson for the Peace and Social Justice Network.

I have served on the P&SJN committee for many, many years. My participation is one of the special reasons I stay very attached to Rutgers outside of the religious worship and celebration.

It is a very important part of my continued Stewardship to Rutgers. And whether you think so or not, a great number of you are already strong supporters, observers and participants in the P&SJN here; so when I say we, I mean all of us.

There are several specific areas that the Rutgers P&SJN has been operating, year after year, inside and outside the Rutgers Church. We continue to direct Stewardship efforts here.

- The Network plans and schedules the Moment for Mission, a mainstay part of every Sunday service at Rutgers. We inform congregants about many local to global, peace and social justice issues, and we ask for your help.

- We organize and stage the Bread for the World writing of letters for world wide food issues at a Rutgers service: write a letter the next time.

- The network represents Rutgers Church in Upper Manhattan Together, an organization founded by the Industrial Areas Foundation. This organization includes concerned congregations and community organizations working for the social improvement in all our neighborhoods. We've gone to meetings and public rallies. Join us.

- We have presented P&SJ seminars and forums for Rutgers and the neighborhood. Most recently, Representaive Gerald Nadler spoke about what's next in Iraq; a minister from South Africa spoke about an integrated congregation in South Africa. Previously we had forums about eliminating the Third World Debt and Fighting AIDS in Africa.

- The P&SJN has helped with Thanksgiving at Euclid Hall for more than 10 years now. Come see me after the service or call Rutgers to volunteer this year.

- We started the food and money collection at Rutgers to support the assistance program at Broadway Presbyterian Church, called Broadway Community Inc. It is program for the poor and homeless.

- The Lena McPhatter-Gore Youth Theater Program was planned and started by the Peace and Social Justice Network.

- We have started, supported and managed a liason with a sister church in the Northern Natal Presbytery in South Africa.

A description of our Peace and Social Justice Network efforts are on the Rutgers Church Web site; some of the information I've presented to you was stolen from there.

Read about us again on the Web. Volunteer for P&SJN events, do a Moment for Mission, plan to attend a Upper Manhattan Together meeting; come sit on the acting committee. Help to define and immerse yourself in P&SJ issues that all of us want to make and keep alive at Rutgers Church and in the surrounding community and world as our Christian responsiblity.

I would like to close this with a silent prayer in support of Rutgers P&JN efforts....