This page lists all reports and commentary from January, 2007

Presbyterian Outlook, in its December 25^th issue, published a short article titled "The real Bethlehem," by Erin Dunigan, an Outlook feature reporter. Dunigan’s article takes a painfully realistic look at the situation in Israel, and specifically in Bethlehem, reminding us as Christmas approached that "the little town of Bethlehem" is no sweet Christmas-card place under Israeli occupation today.

You can read Dunigan’s article in Outlook >>

The Rev. Al Sandalow of Seattle, Washington, objected to this view, since on his brief visit to Jerusalem last March he saw no such problems. He wrote:

I’m not a big fan of the wall Israel has built, but I don’t understand how it has affected tourism.

I was in Jerusalem in March. I jumped in a taxi at the Jaffa Gate and was at the Church of the Nativity in less than 30 minutes. That was less time tan the two previous, pre-wall, visits. I know that Israel can close down all the checkpoints, but that seems to happen seldom these days.

Overall, tourism has been down in Israel, and the Lebanon war six months ago has had an effect on people who six months ago decided not to take that trip to Israel they had been planning. Most of the Christian pilgrims who visit Jerusalem make a trip to Bethlehem.

In response, Matt Middleton, a Presbyterian Mission Volunteer who is living and working in Bethlehem wrote this comment:

A privileged American tourist to the Holy Land will rarely notice the injustices found here.

The problem with checkpoints and Israel's separation barrier is not so much that they are closed down for arbitrary reasons, but that travel permits are not being granted to the vast majority of Palestinians.

"Nobody deserves this treatment. Not Palestinians. Not Israelis. Not even dogs." These words of Dr. Nuha Khoury, Dean of Dar Al-Kalima College in Bethlehem, refer to her and her mother's experience of trying to obtain permission from the Israeli Defense Force to enter Jerusalem for Christmas.

Consequently, job losses, in addition to the narrowing scope of tourism in places like Bethlehem, are squeezing the Palestinian economy to its breaking point.

According to Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Pastor of the Lutheran Christmas Church of Bethlehem, $3.5 billion of tourism income is generated annually in Israel/Palestine. Two percent of that enters the Palestinian economy of the West Bank.

A brief visit to the Church of the Nativity will never reveal the reality of daily Palestinian life, nor will the luxury of being able to afford an Israeli taxi disclose the waning quality of life found today in the modern ghetto of Bethlehem.

Matthew Middleton
Mission Volunteer International
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Bethlehem, Palestine

For people committed to the environment, the health and well-being of workers, civil rights, public health and many other elements of public life, a recent directive signed by President Bush is arousing concern.

The New York Times reports that this new directive "gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy."

Marilyn White of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has sent this report:

From Columbus, Georgia, January 29, 2007

The "SOA 16" were tried today, and all were found guilty (except for one 17 year old who had a closed hearing and I have not yet heard the outcome of that).

Four Presbyterians were among the defendants.

Here to support the defendants were their spouses and families. Some other PPF and Presbyterian friends attending the trial were Dwight Lawton, Dick Rustay, Bob Leslie, Anne Sayre, Marilee Blanchard, Ken Kennon, Jane Wood, and me.

Peace, Marilyn White

More details from Marilyn White on why the sentences were shorter this year than in previous years >>

More on the School of the Americas Watch website >>

Read the story on TruthOut.org >>

You can also see this report as originally published in the New York Times, with photos – but you may have to register to see it.

Foreign Policy in Focus ("A think tank without walls") offers a lengthy reflection on the Washington demonstration, and on the possible efficacy of such actions.

The full essay, with links to other good discussions >>

It begins with a lovely vignette:

At Saturday's anti-war demonstration in Washington, my 84-year-old mother slipped as she stepped off a curb and fell backward. A young man in a small knot of anarchists caught her and gently restored her to the vertical. And on we marched. Leave no grandmother behind!

It’s time to Unite For Peace and Justice
January 27^th to 29^th, 2007

This weekend, United for Peace and Justice is hosting a massive demonstration and effort to lobby against the War in Washington D.C. Click here to find out more about that event.

Also, the Network of Spiritual Progressives will be hosting an Interfaith Prayer Service that will take place on Saturday morning as a part of the larger, UFPJ organized events during the weekend.  Click here for more information.  [As we post this, the website of the Network of Spiritual Progressives doesn't seem to be responding.  We hope it will return soon!]

For the Presbyterian group most involved in this event, please visit the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.
 

March 16^th, 2007

7 p.m. - Worship at the National Cathedral with thousands of Christians who are committed to the Prince of Peace!

9:00 p.m. – Candlelight Procession three miles down Massachusetts Ave. to the White House.

10:00 p.m. – Late night/All night witness and prayer vigil at the White House with an opportunity for those who desire to participate in "Divine Obedience" (nonviolent civil disobedience)

There will also be workshops on nonviolence, torture, economic justice, etc. on Friday during the day, and an opportunity for Presbyterians to gather on Saturday afternoon to plan "next steps" on living our faith as peacemakers.

END THE WAR!
SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
REBUILD IRAQ!
SAY "NO" TO TORTURE!
SAY "YES" TO JUSTICE!

Go to www.christianpeacewitness.org to learn more and register online. (Space in the National Cathedral will be limited! Register Now)

There is apartheid in Israel

Shulamit Aloni, the Israeli Prize laureate who once served as Minister of Education under Yitzhak Rabin, wrote an article for Yediot Acharonot, Israel's largest circulating newspaper, in which he describes a new decree banning the conveyance of Palestinians in Israeli vehicles. Such a blatant violation of the right to travel joins the long list of human rights violations carried out by Israel in the Occupied Territories. It's one more proof, he says, that Jewish attacks on Jimmy Carter’s recent book are unjustified, since apartheid is in fact being imposed by Israel on the Palestinians.

He continues: "Apartheid is defined [in the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, to which Israel is a signatory] as an international crime that among other things includes using different legal instruments to rule over different racial groups, thus depriving people of their human rights. Isn't freedom of travel one of these rights?"

Slated for Feb. 23 - 24 in Cambridge, Mass.

The Rev. Erin Swenson, a Presbyterian minister member of Greater Atlanta Presbytery, is featured in a recent Newsweek special report on the first National Transgender Religious Summit, held last weekend at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.

About 65 ministers, priests and rabbis joined in discussing their various denominations’ policies, ways to work within them and ways to challenge and transform them.

USA TODAY traces the ways the term "evangelical" is changing these days, partly through its recent association with conservative Republican politics, partly through the rise of evangelicals such as Jim Wallis of Sojourners, who link their evangelical faith with a commitment to peace and justice, and partly through the growing interest of many evangelicals, including the National Association of Evangelicals, in environmental and other broader concern.    The full article >>

Your WebWeaver wonders: Many progressives believe that we should equally well lay claim to the term evangelical, since we think we are proclaiming and living out the good news of God’s love and grace, rather than what some see as the narrow and often judgmental faith of the "religious right," which has generally claimed the term as its own.

Does the current uncertainty about the meaning of the term offer an opportunity for progressives to invite open conversation with conservatives about what the "label" means, and who may legitimately claim it as theirs?

Jane Hanna, former President of the Witherspoon Society, sent us this article with this comment:

I think this article is particularly important because what he has written is true, and perhaps not obvious to many of our fellow citizens. Our nation has gone in entirely the wrong direction to think for a minute that our security and well-being can be assured through military power. Our brains and economy would more likely create a safe world if used to assure food, safe water, health care, education, healthy environment and hopeful future for all, [rather] than by developing death-dealing, environmentally destructive weapons that enrich the few at the expense of the rest of humanity. How could we possibly imagine that programs designed to kill other people and destroy their communities would assure safety and security for a nation using its treasure in such a way!

Barnes writes:

We have built a military to fight armies in countries which mass their troops along battle lines. We are prepared to fight World Wars I and II better than we ever did before. But this is a new world and we have been preparing for the wrong war. We cannot change the government (or that is, the source of moral authority) in Iraq or Afghanistan or in Cuba or Venezuela or Russia or China, with the tools that we have been relying upon this last 50 years. They are the wrong tools. We have wasted our treasure and the lives of our young on the wrong strategy.

NEW YORK — January 18, 2007 – The National Council of Churches in the USA (NCC), a long-standing critic of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, has criticized President George W. Bush’s call for additional U.S. troops to be sent to the region.

"Sending more troops is not a change in policy, nor is it even a change in strategy; it is more of the same," the NCC said in a statement about the president’s declaration that he wants to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by 21,500.

David Grossman, who lives near Jerusalem, is the author of The Yellow Wind, a report on life in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He gave this speech at the annual memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin, November 4, 2006, in the presence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Speaking as an Israeli "whose love for this land is tough and complicated, but nevertheless unequivocal," he calls his people face the reality of their current situation, and to change their stance toward the Palestinian people.

New Orleans - January 18, 2007 – The Rev. George and Kathy Todd, Presbyterian pioneers in urban ministry at home and abroad, were named winners of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA) John Park Lee Award at a luncheon in their honor Jan. 13 during the association's 2007 social justice biennial conference here.

Shannon O’Donnell reflects on her first-hand encounter with the Israeli occupation of Palestine

There is an elephant in the middle of the Middle East. It gets smaller and smaller with each passing day. It is not officially recognized by the world, although everyone knows about its existence.

What am I talking about? The country in which I now live: Palestine.

I am going to tell you some ugly truths that I have discovered during my time here. Words you probably are not familiar with: "Nakba" and "Occupied Territories."

The rest of her essay >>

Moral blankness in fiction and in reality  

Bobbie Giltz McGarey, pastor in the Southwest Oklahoma Presbyterian Parish, looks at Christmas from an unusual angle: seeing it as she visits a leper colony and a children’s home in India. 

Peacemaking Update -- 13 January 2007

Among the many events and resources listed are:

Echoing the material shared here yesterday by Bruce Gillette, this morning’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published in one of the cities most important in the life of Martin Luther King, and most transformed by his witness, carried an editorial pointing to the courage shown by King as he took a stand against the war in Vietnam. It is written by Cynthia Tucker, the editorial page editor.

Excerpts >>                         The full essay >>

Martin Luther King, Jr., Presbyterians and Iraq

Bruce Gillette, Presbyterian minister and frequent contributor to this site, has just sent a very helpful compendium of thoughts and resources for our reflection and celebrations on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.  He points us to many of King's speeches and writings, as well as to a rich set of Presbyterian resources. 

Just one sample:

It is time for all people of conscience to call upon America to return to her true home of brotherhood and peaceful pursuits. We cannot remain silent as our nation engages in one of history's most cruel and senseless wars. During these days of human travail, we must encourage creative dissenters. We need them because the thunder of their fearless voices will be the only sound stronger than the blasts of bombs and the clamor of war hysteria. Those of us who love peace must organize as effectively as war hawks. As they spread the propaganda of war, we must spread the propaganda of peace.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., February 27, 1967

From FaithfulAmerica:

"What part of 'Blessed are the peacemakers' don't they understand?"
Bob Edgar, Middle Church

President Bush is expected to announce on Wednesday an escalation of troops to Iraq. The President is calling it a "troop surge." Yet experts warn that the President's actions amount to an act of desperation, and that as proposed, the increase in troops amounts to little more than putting more American "targets" in lethal crosshairs of an Iraqi civil war. Moreover, the American people and the new Congress have stated overwhelmingly that they do NOT want to escalate the war. They want to END it!

We join our friends at Win Without War who, immediately following the President's announcement, will call for a national grassroots response that will take place within 24 hours, at 7pm on the following day, to say "NO!" to the President.

This means that on Thursday people across the country are coming together in a variety of events to tell both the President and Congress that Americans do NOT want more troops in Iraq. Can you attend one of these events?

Please go here to learn more >>

Events are springing up all over the country, but there's always room for more. If you don't see an event in your area, you can host your own. They're easy and we've done most of the legwork for you -- compiling an event kit that is chock full of information, tips, and tools (including posters) to make each event a success. Click here  to host an event this Thursday -- and be sure to advertise it to all your friends and neighbors.

One more thing - Your ONLINE actions make a difference also. Please take a moment to sign the "Mandate for Peace" petition that already has more than 30,000 signatures! To sign the petition, click HERE >>

Finally, whatever your faith tradition, we ask you to pray for, meditate upon, and lift up PEACE. With more than 3,000 of our soldiers dead, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi innocents dead, wounded, or displaced, we who love peace MUST do all we can to stop it. For the first time in more than six years we have a Congress who is willing to stand up to the President on this horrendous war. Let's give them the support they need to stop this latest reckless act of aggression and begin the peacemaking process.

PS: Care about minimum wage? We thought so! TODAY is a crucial national call-in day urging the House to lift the minimum wage! A vote is expected soon and you can help!  All you need is right here >>

It's Not the Dream, It's the Vision in the Context of Reality

On January 15, 2007, America will celebrate the birth, death, and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We will hear those powerful words, 'I Have a Dream.' What many of us don't realize is that Dr. King was no dreamer. He was a visionary, not some abstract thinker or philosopher. He was a prophet and a true revolutionary.

Thus begins an essay by Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Producer/Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "On With Leon" on XM Satellite Radio Channel 169, Producer/Host of the television program "Inside the Issues With Wilmer Leon" and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, DC.

About a month ago we posted a note from Rita Nakashima Brock, inviting people to join in an on-line discussion of the "Social Creed" that is now in the drafting process.

She has just sent out another invitation, which we’ll pass along here, since this drafting of a new social creed is something we in Witherspoon support enthusiastically.

America's Holy Warriors

Chris Hedges, the former New York Times' Mideast Bureau chief, warns that the radical Christian right is coming dangerously close to its goal of co-opting the country's military and law enforcement.  He begins:

The drive by the Christian right to take control of military chaplaincies, which now sees radical Christians holding roughly 50 percent of chaplaincy appointments in the armed services and service academies, is part of a much larger effort to politicize the military and law enforcement. This effort signals the final and perhaps most deadly stage in the long campaign by the radical Christian right to dismantle America's open society and build a theocratic state. A successful politicization of the military would signal the end of our democracy.

Looking deeper behind the crimes of Saddam Hussein

Robert Fisk revisits the circumstances that resulted in Saddam Hussein's rise to power, and asks, "Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability."

Dear Doug King:

Congratulations on the new Global Engagement program ! I attended a Sabeel Conference in Denver last fall, and have become an ardent supporter of their work. I'm glad Presbyterians are supporting them and giving them wider publicity ... their voice needs to be heard!

Hallelujah! God Bless!

Bill Lancaster, associate for mission of Foothills presbytery in Greenville, S.C., is publishing in Outlook his analysis of the Constitutional Amendments that are going to the presbyteries for their consideration and action.

Only eight proposed amendments to the Constitution have been sent to the presbyteries for ratification, but one of them, called Amendments A, is a revision of the entire Chapter XIV of the Book of Order. The amendments booklet has been mailed to presbyteries and is available online at www.pcusa.org/generalassembly/amend.htm

There is some history to the flags in churches. One does not typically find national flags in churches overseas. In the United States the practice seems to have developed during the Taft administration when the world was heading toward WWI. Franklin Roosevelt issued a statement requesting churches to have the flag placed in churches as we entered WWII. My memory is that this was done reluctantly and at the advice of and pressure of Secretary of War Stimson. The cross on the Christian flag is one inch taller than the eagle on the American flag.

Denverite Stanley Anderson's finances came into question after he pledged $150 million to the Presbyterian Church.

Eric Gorski, Denver Post Staff Writer, reports that Denver businessman Stanley Anderson will not meet a self-imposed deadline to fulfill a record $150 million pledge to the Presbyterian Church (USA) by the end of November but reports "all is progressing well" despite lingering questions about his finances.

The full article>>
An earlier report in the Denver Post, during the 1960 General Assembly >>