Inspired by Micah 6:8, “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God,” the Social Justice Ministry at FPCPA is committed to acting out our faith by working for positive change in our community and throughout the world.

We take seriously the call of Jesus to “feed the hungry and clothe the naked.” We also take seriously Jesus’ call to identify, challenge, and change the systems of injustice in our world.

We affirm that nonviolence and peacemaking are essential to our faith in God’s reconciling work in Jesus Christ, as written in our commitment to being a Peace Church.

Click here for some photos from recent events.

EVENTS

WHAT DOES BEING A PEACE CHURCH MEAN – A FIVE-WEEK SERIES OF DISCUSSIONS

Thursdays, February 23 to March 23

6:30 to 8 pm

Zoom

Register HERE

Please take the Inventory of Conscience prior to the first session. It takes about 10 minutes and should be taken before Feb. 23. It will help people understand what pacifism means.

Take the survey HERE

Led by Rev. Geoff Browning
With guest speakers: Rev. Mark Davidson and Rev. Ben Daniel

In 2016 First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto became a “peace church,” an official designation of the Presbyterian Church, USA. We were the first peace church in the denomination; now, there are four others. But what does being a peace church mean? Come join the discussion with our 5-week series, starting Thursday, Feb. 23, and led by former member and current parish associate, Rev. Geoff Browning.

Feb 23rd – The Inventory of Conscience Survey Presenter/Host: Rev. Geoff Browning

March 2nd – Nonviolence in the Teachings of Jesus Presenter/Host: Rev. Mark Davidson

March 9th – Nonviolence in the Early Church Presenter/Host: Rev. Mark Davidson

March 16th – Nonviolence in the Epistles Presenter/Host: Rev. Mark Davidson

March 23rd – Can War be Just? Presenter/Host: Rev. Ben Daniel  

Our church has provided guidance and education for many conscientious objectors in our congregation. These are young men who are required by law to register for selective service on their 18th birthday and include Joshua Ching, Chris Iyer, Alex Iyer, Jay Henderson, Jeremy Mineau, and others.

Biographies of speakers

Ben Daniel

Ben Daniel is the pastor of Montclair Presbyterian Church in Oakland and is a writer whose spiritually grounded, left-leaning social and political commentary has appeared in a wide variety of publications globally. He is the author of Neighbor: Christian Encounters with “Illegal” Immigration (Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), The Search for Truth About Islam: A Christian Pastor Separates Fact from Fiction (Westminster John Knox, 2013), and Thoughtful Christianity: Faith and Action in the Way of Jesus (Westminster John Knox 2015).

Mark Davidson

J. Mark Davidson retired in 2019 after 21 years at the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill, NC, and 40 years serving the PCUSA in campus ministry and pastoral ministry. Mark’s parents were Presbyterian mission workers in Lebanon in the 1960s, and those experiences left within him deep imprints of service to the vulnerable and the riches of the multicultural and interfaith community. In addition to degrees from Davidson College and Princeton Seminary, Mark has a master’s in Peace and Justice Studies from the Quaker seminary, Earlham School. of Religion. He also did post-graduate study in political theology and Christian social ethics at SMU. From 2010 – 2016, Mark chaired our denomination’s Peace Discernment Process, a 6-yr renewal of our vision of peacemaking, featuring a focus on nonviolence. The Presbyterian peace churches came out of that process. Mark.is a member of the Peace Church Working Group and the author and designer of the 3 Bible studies in the Peace Church curriculum. He’s happily married, and has four adult children, and has twin granddaughters. In addition to being a spiritual director and a retreat leader,  Mark loves to hike and bike, play jazz piano, and make stained glass.

Geoff BrowningGeoff Browning is a Presbyterian minister and former campus minister at Stanford University where he taught classes on liberation theology and led student trips to Central America. He is a Parish Associate at First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, one of the first churches in the PC(USA) to declare itself a Peace Church. He also served as the Peacemaking Advocate for the Presbytery of San Jose for many years and he is the host of the Benders of the Arc podcast.

RISE AGAINST HUNGER

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Rise Against Hunger after worship

We’re packing 10,000 meals for the hungry on Sunday, March 26, 2023, after worship service. Please be a part of this fun event to measure and pack dried ingredients for our hungry neighbors (most likely shipped to Asia). Rise Against Hunger started 25 years ago to help communities around the world. In addition to packing dried food, you’ll work with other members and enjoy some music (maybe even dancing). We’ll also serve lunch. For more info, contact cynthiachinlee@gmail.com.

NEWS

We, along with members from All Saint’s Episcopal, recently began our fourth IM4HI accompaniment, this time for José María (Chema), an asylum seeker from Nicauragua. IHe is currently studying English at Sequoia Adult School, and looking for work. If you have any jobs for him, please contact Pat Kinney.

In June, we packed 10000 meals for Rise Against Hunger, which will distribute to refugees. We hosted Hotel de Zink in July, providing food and shelter for ~15 unhoused adults, and will do the same for Heart and Home Collaborative in February. In August, we participated in the San Jose Pride Festival, helping to staff an interfaith booth.

We prepared a statement in support of our denomination’s statement of complicity with and repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. Session passed it in May 2021. For more details, see https://www.fprespa.org/session-passes-a-statement-on-the-doctrine-of-discovery/

What We Do: A SAMPLING OF SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY WORK AT Fpcpa

• Accompany asylum seekers, with the help of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. Click here to learn more about accompaniment.
• Support Cool Planet, a working group at First Pres addressing the issues of climate change and environmental justice.
• Collect food donations every Sunday for the Downtown Streets Team Food Closet.
• Organize monthly letter-writing to legislators on social justice issues such as hunger, climate change, and immigration policy.
• Promote and attend monthly interfaith Peaceful Presence services organized by Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice.
• Host an annual Rise Against Hunger event where we to pack meals for refugees around the world. As a Hunger Action Congregation, we educate our congregations about hunger issues.
• Host Hotel de Zink every July, providing shelter and meals for unhoused adults.
• Form a team for the annual Church World Service CROP Hunger Walk that also benefits the Ecumenical Hunger Project.
• Raise funds for the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, which connects workers and employers in a safe and supportive environment.
• Work with More Light Presbyterians to support members of the LGBTQIA+ community in our denomination and society.
• Partner with organizations such as Puente de la Costa Sur in Pescadero, a resource center that serves immigrant workers and others on the South Coast, and Youth Community Service, a local organization that works with underprivileged youth.
• Offer financial support to nonprofits whose goals align with ours. Click here for a list of organizations to which we donated in 2021.

Join Us!

Our committee meets monthly, alternating between 11:30 am on the second Saturday of the month and noon on the second Wednesday. Currently, we’re meeting by Zoom. We’d love to have you join us. If you have questions, please contact the Session member for Social Justice Ministry or admin@fprespa.org.