Young Adult Engagement Report

Washington Report to Presbyterians, Spring 2015

The PC(USA) Office of Public Witness this month is releasing a new “Young Adult Engagement Report, 2012-2015,” in which we review the fruits of the last three years of ministry to and with youth and young adults. We made this commitment in 2012 as a result of the (then) new Mission Work Plan commitment to ministry to and with young adults. Through three projects, the OPW reports having engaged with over 5,000 youth and young adults in the three-year period. These programs are: 

1. A Justice Model for Service Learning
2. Seminars to Build Advocates for Justice
3. Conferences and Outreach

The overwhelming conclusion is that the is ministry is a blessing to the work of the OPW, which will renew its commitment to providing educational and experiential learning opportunities for youth and young adults. 

The full Report is available online at http://bit.ly/YAReport.

Newest Washington Report to Presbyterians

The newest Washington Report to Presbyterians is being mailed this week.  

Download your digital version here.

Scroll down for included topics in this issue.

This issues's topics include:

• A Lenten Call: Petition to Reduce Gun Violence
• Welcome to Advocacy Training Weekend
• Compassion, Peace & Justice Training Day
• Ecumenical Advocacy Days
• Meet our Spring Interns and Emerson Hunger Fellow
• God is Love: A Statement on Gun Violence
• Presbyterians for Food Justice
• Middle East Report
• Witnesses to AIDS
• and much more!

Download the full publication here!

Apply for the Internship for Public Witness

Presbyterian Church Office of Public Witness Internship and Summer Fellows Program

Washington, DC

The Office of Public Witness (OPW) in Washington, DC, is seeking applicants for its Internship for Public Witness Program.  The OPW believes that formation of servant leaders and advocates is vital to the public policy ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  The Internship for Public Witness seeks to provide substantive, formative work and guidance for persons seeking experiential learning and vocational discernment in the church and in the public square.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so apply now!  The OPW is currently seeking applications for Summer 2012 (full time from June- mid August) and Fall 2012 (usually part time from September - December).  Please submit application form, resume, and cover letter to opw.intern.info@pcusa.org. For more information about our Internship Program and to download the application form, please visit http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/washington/internship/. 

Update on the Federal Budget: What’s Ahead for the Social Safety Net

As part of his work at the OPW this summer, Beatitudes Society Summer Fellow Chris McCain discusses proposals for the FY2012 federal budget and their potential implications for programs that support poor and vulnerable populations.

On preparing and sharing his presentation, Chris writes:

As a moral document, the federal budget expresses the values and priorities of the American people. In the current debt-ceiling negotiations, both Congress and the President have proposed plans that, to varying degrees, would make significant cuts or changes to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and other programs that serve low-income and vulnerable populations. For the most part, if any of these changes are passed, many people would experience a decrease in benefits or a complete dis-enrollment from programs they depend on for their livelihoods.

As a person of faith who seeks to heed Jesus' call in Matthew 25 to pay particular attention to "the least of these" in our midst, I am very concerned that the forthcoming deficit reduction package would place disproportionate burdens on those who can least afford it -- the poor, sick, disabled, and elderly. To whatever extent possible, we must not allow this to happen.

In this presentation, I explain and examine the social implications of some of the basic proposals that have been suggested by Democrats and Republicans. From the budget proposal introduced by the GOP and passed by the House of Representatives to possible changes to the Medicaid program which serves poor and disabled persons, I discuss several ideas that may make their way into a final compromise bill. While I firmly believe that reducing the long-term deficit is essential for our country's fiscal health and an important step toward stabilizing and growing the U.S. economy, it is critical that it be done morally and responsibly.

The fight over the federal budget will not be over anytime soon. Even if Congress meets the August 2, 2011, deadline to increase the national debt ceiling, the debate over the size and scope of the federal government will continue. To that end, I encourage you to contact your senators and tell them that the health and well-being of our brothers and sisters, as well as future generations, depends on essential investments and that a deficit reduction deal must include new revenues from those in society who can afford to pay.

Click here to download a PDF of Chris's PowerPoint presentation.