Members finding many ways to back up Assembly's call for restraint

by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service

EDITOR'S NOTE -- February 5, 2003 [posted here 2-8-03] -- Mark Koenig of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program staff gathered much of the information for this story.

LOUISVILLE -- On Feb. 2, the half-dozen kids in the elementary Sunday school class at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church here busied themselves scooping half-cups of rice into plastic baggies. When that was done, each child meticulously wrote the following letter:

Dear President Bush: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them." -- Romans 12:20. Please send this rice to the people of Iraq. Do not attack them.

The kids then addressed padded mailers, put the stamps on, and tucked the letters and bags of rice in to be mailed to the President.

Similar scenes have been played out in Presbyterian churches from coast to coast as Presbyterian individuals, congregations, presbyteries and General Assembly (GA) officials have sought ways of dissuading the U.S. government from going to war in Iraq.

Presbyterian Peacemaking Program (PPP) officials in Louisville have been inundated with reports of anti-war activities in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Sunrise Presbyterian Church in Miami has adopted a program of advocacy that includes prayer, education and action. Email addresses and phone numbers are provided in each week's worship bulletin and in frequent email notices, enabling people to share their views with the President, Senators and Congressmen. The church encourages participation in peaceful public demonstrations and, with a number of active and reserve military members in the congregation, the Sunrise Church is offering a number of free services to service personnel, ranging from weddings to marriage enrichment classes. All ministries to military personnel and their families, including counseling by the licensed psychotherapist on the church's staff, are offered without cost.

In the expectation of a war with Iraq, Sunrise has informed its members that the congregation is to gather for worship on the evening following the day of the attack.

The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly, and the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, the GA moderator, this week sent a pastoral letter to the church, outlining the latest developments in the campaign to force a special GA. In the letter, they also called on Presbyterians to work for peace, promote understanding and pray for all who would be in harm's way in event of war. Kirkpatrick and Abu-Akel said they hope their pastoral letter will be read from every PC(USA) pulpit on Feb. 9.

Philadelphia Presbytery adopted a resolution on Iraq last week that echoes the concerns expressed in a resolution adopted last fall by Albany Presbytery.

Philadelphia Presbytery urged President George W. Bush "to exercise restraint by giving United Nations inspectors time to work, by intensively seeking alternative, peaceful means of achieving his announced objectives, through consulting seriously with other Arab nations and with other member states of the United Nations."

In its statement, Albany Presbytery affirmed "our commitment to peacemaking, and our insistence that every avenue of diplomatic resolution of issues related to Iraq be explored in order to avoid warfare, and that political rhetoric of saber-rattling be minimized in this time of tension." It urged all in the presbytery to communicate their personal reflections to U.S. officials.

Last summer's 214th General Assembly adopted a statement urging restraint on the part of the U.S. and a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

A number of seminaries and colleges have conducted special educational events around the impending war. McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, for instance, held a "Day of Dialogue" in December in which students and faculty gathered to worship and discuss the situation.

Presbyterians coast-to-coast have participated in marches, demonstrations and vigils. In Albuquerque, activities on Jan. 18 included a rally at the gates of Kirtland Air Force Base ---- home to a Stealth bomber squadron -- and a march downtown and to the University of New Mexico campus.

Silent vigils have become weekly occurrences on street corners in Louisville, and Presbyterians have joined in large rallies in Washington, New York and San Francisco. Presbyterians in Pacific Presbytery reported a turnout of 15,000 for a Jan. 11 rally in Los Angeles that was backed by PC(USA) churches there.

More than 35 U.S. city councils have adopted resolutions opposing war. Many of those resolutions -- in Kalamazoo, MI, Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore -- were advanced by councils of churches with strong support from Presbyterians. The resolution backed by Presbyterians in Cleveland was adopted unanimously on Jan. 27. A complete list of city council resolutions is available at a Web site: www.citiesforpeace.org.

Presbyterian organizations including the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association have been active in peace activities. The executive committee of the Witherspoon Society sent a letter to President Bush on Jan. 27 in which it said it was "joining with myriad voices in the faith community: Methodist Women, the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Council of Bishops, Pope John Paul, the New Mexico Conference of Churches, the National Council of Churches and the scores of individuals and congregations in our denomination as well as others that have taken the courageous step of questioning the efficacy of this impending war."

A great deal of information and resources for Presbyterians about Iraq is available at the PC(USA) Web site, www.pcusa.org/Iraq .