Peace
mongers
Presbyterians
raising voices in opposition to Iraq attack
by
Evan Silverstein, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE
-- October 22, 2002 [posted here 10-25-02] -- From huddling in the offices of U.S. Congressmen
to taking part in 1960s-style "teach-ins," U.S. Presbyterians
are responding to the threat of military action against Iraq.
As
war drums beat louder, members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) are
serving as the voice of the denomination in intensifying national debate
on the proposed U.S. attack.
"We
certainly should be a moral voice" in the debate, said the Rev.
Nancy Howard, a Presbyterian pastor from Indianapolis, IN.
While
Presbyterians say they have no illusions about the threat posed by Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein, many say they believe President George W. Bush
hasn't made the case for a strike against the oil-rich Gulf nation.
Many
Presbyterians are expressing grave concern about possible casualties,
American and Iraqi, military and civilian.
Answering
the Biblical call to be peacemakers, droves of Presbyterians have signed
statements and letters voicing opposition to the contemplated U.S.
attack -- especially a pre-emptive, unilateral attack. Calls for
restraint have come from the PC(USA)'s General Assembly, the General
Assembly Council (GAC) and denominational officials.
Presbyterians
have taken part in peace marches on Washington, lobbying missions in
Congress, and forums inviting people to share their personal views. Some
have sent messages to Capitol Hill or submitted stories to newspapers
urging that peace be given a chance.
"U.S.
military action at this time could contribute greatly to the further
destabilization of the Middle East region," the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel,
the current General Assembly moderator, wrote recently. "Sentiment
against the United States could increase. Militants in some countries
could seize the opportunity to incite people against their
governments."
Pastors
are preaching on the issue of war, many measuring the current situation
in terms of traditional Christian "just-war theory," based on
the understanding that war is an evil, but sometimes a necessary one.
God's
will is not easy to discern for some of the 160 members of Oak Hill
Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO, said the pastor, the Rev. Nancy
Wagner.
The
church is in a historically white middle-class neighborhood known for
patriotism and "strong Protestant work ethic," and nobody
dismisses the threat posed by the Iraqi leader, Wagner said, but members
agonize over Bush's call for war to forcibly disarm Iraq and change its
ruling regime.
"They
want to support the president of the United States," Wagner said,
"yet they're having a very hard time feeling in their hearts that
what he is leading us to is a just thing. So they are really torn, I
think, in their hearts."
Wagner
said her members raise the question during Bible studies, over church
luncheons and in small-group discussions, sometimes prompting emotional
reactions.
Saddam's
tyranny is "a criminal thing that pains Christians across the
board," she said. "I think it hurts Christian people to know
that our sisters and brothers across the world are living in the midst
of this. ... The damage to children that's been done, and all that. It's
a painful thing."
In
the shadow of the Connecticut state capitol, members of Hartford's
politically minded First Presbyterian Church have visited their
representatives in Congress, signed anti-war statements and paid careful
attention to the sermons of their pastor, the Rev. Terry Davis, who
opposes the proposed attack.
"I
think that, largely, people have a feeling that violence is either not a
Christian alternative or is only an alternative of absolute last
choice," said Davis, who argues that a war intended to topple
Saddam is neither "morally nor practically an alternative,"
and opposes any pre-emptive U.S. military action as a possible
incitement of additional attacks by terrorists.
"Engaging
in war with Iraq without the support of the international community, and
without any more provocation than we have . . . will make us less safe,
not more safe," Davis said.
The
Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the General Assembly,
recently has joined other U.S. religious leaders in "statements of
concern" about the confrontation with Iraq.
Last
summer, the Assembly urged caution, and last month the GAC did the same
in a "call to prayer and action" in which it said United
Nations weapons inspections should resume and be allowed to run their
course. It said the United States should avoid acting alone or in a way
that perpetuates the perception that "might makes right."
At
the council's urging, Kirkpatrick and Abu--Akel wrote letters to
President Bush and other government leaders, urging restraint.
Presbyterians
have strongly favored the GAC's statement. Some middle governing bodies,
such as the Presbytery of West Jersey, have endorsed it and encouraged
church sessions to do the same. Some presbyteries have drafted their own
anti-war resolutions.
Other
presbyteries have endorsed statements and letters issued by various
ecumenical faith groups and peace and justice organizations, among them
the National Council of Churches and Churches for Middle East Peace.
The
Rev. Arlene Gordon, interim executive for the Presbytery of Detroit,
said of her presbytery's recent no-Iraq-attack resolution: "It says,
''As Christians we are concerned about the likely human cost of war with
Iraq, particularly for civilians. We are unconvinced that the gain for
humanity would be proportionate to the loss.'"
Adopting
the anti-war resolution was an important step for Detroit presbytery,
according to the Rev. Neil Cowling, pastor of Kirk of Our Savior Church
in Westland, MI.
"We're
a presbytery that has within its bounds more Middle Easterners than any
presbytery in the United States," Cowling said.
The
Detroit presbytery also joined with others Presbyterian entities as
sponsors of "Interfaith Listening" programs exploring the
theological traditions of Christianity and Islam.
National
Capital Presbytery, the Presbytery of The Western Reserve, and the
Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, among others, have adopted similar
resolutions or attached their names to statements opposing Bush
administration plans to attack Iraq.
"There
are a number of people in the presbytery who are very concerned about
going to war in Iraq and ... about the U.S. not going by itself,"
said the Rev. Liza Hendricks, general presbyter of the Presbytery of The
Western Reserve, which has 54 churches and 16,000 members in
northeastern Ohio, including Cleveland.
Since
the statement was approved on Sept. 23, Hendricks said, one church
session has adopted a similar declaration, and several congregations
have participated in a peace forum and presbytery members are being
urged to join in a peace demonstration in Washington, DC, on Oct. 26.
Hendricks
said one pastor wrote a letter published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer,
explaining the "just-war theory" and arguing that the current
situation doesn't fit the bill.
The
anti-war movement has reached the campuses of some Presbyterian-related
seminaries, including Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ;
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, and Columbia
Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA.
Students
and other observers packed a meeting room at Princeton on Oct. 16 for a
"teach-in" on war issues titled, "Attack Iraq? No!"
"The
purpose of the teach-in is to lift up the just-war tradition as the
standard for Christian ethical reflection on the war being planned by
the Bush administration," said the Rev. George Hunsinger, a
Princeton theology professor who helped organize the event. "I
think this is an issue that should unite all Presbyterians, and all
Christians. I think there's increasing concern in the Christian
community about a first-strike war."
Louisville
Presbyterian Theological Seminary has called off classes on Oct. 23 so
that students and faculty members can attend a teach-in headlined
"Clouds of War: Responding to the Tension Between the U.S. and
Iraq." The program will explore the implications of a pre-emptive
strike.
At
Columbia Theological Seminary, an ad-hoc committee of five faculty
members and one student has been organized to consider how the seminary
should respond to the situation, said the Rev. Mark Douglas, a Christian
ethics professor and committee member.
The
group recently drafted a statement opposing war with Iraq. It is not an
official seminary communication, but it has been signed by about 130
faculty members, students and staff. Douglas described it as a
"public testimony on war" and a "call for individuals,
churches and other religious bodies to substantively engage in
discussion on matters of war and peace as they relate to the Christian
faith."
"I
think, just like anyplace else, we are struggling to discern the way God
is acting right now," Douglas said.
The
committee has held a community forum on the Iraq situation; three more
are planned. One of the seminary deans, Douglas said, has set aside a
lunch period for faculty discussion of the issue.
Officials at
PC(USA) headquarters in Louisville have compiled a host of Iraq-related
worship and educational resources. They're available at a special Web
site: www.pcusa.org/iraq.
"It's
an effort to nurture and equip folks as they seek to engage in this
critical issue of our time," said the Rev. Mark Koenig, associate
for resources and publications in the Peacemaking Program, which
provided some of the materials.
The
Washington Office has added information on "Confronting Iraq"
to its own Web site ---- www.pcusa.org/washington.
An online "meeting" called "Iraq and Churches" was
created last month on the PC(USA)'s computer conferencing and
information system, PresbyNet ---- www.pcusa.org/presbynet.
To help Iraqi
civilians, Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance (PDA) recently announced that 33,250 "Gift of the
Heart" school kits are being sent to Iraq through its partner,
Church World Service (CWS).
That
effort, a collaboration of several church-related groups, is a follow-up
to an emergency and humanitarian relief program PDA has been involved in
since the end of the Gulf War. Last year, it provided $160,000 worth of
sewing and health kits, as well as $10,000 to help buy bed sheets for
hospitals.
St.
Johns Assyrian Presbyterian Church, in Turlock, CA, has two
Presbyterian-church partners in Iraq. The Rev. George Shabaz, its
pastor, said talk of war has brought fear that his congregation of about
170 members, many with roots in the Middle East, could become a target
for criticism or reprisals in the event of war.
"They're
concerned, and they're praying, and they have fear," he said of his
congregants. "They ... don't want to say anything that would hurt
themselves in this country or hurt people (in the Middle East). We're
quiet about it."
Shabaz
said his members are not now in touch with their Iraqi partners ---- one
in Baghdad, one in Kirkuk ---- for fear that Iraqi officials will act
against them.
"We
are afraid," he said. "We don't want to put them in jeopardy.
... It's best not to say anything here against the (Iraqi) government,
especially publicly."
