Providence Presbytery (South Carolina) sends overture calling for steps
toward peace in IraqThe following overture, which will
be numbered OVT 107, was approved by the Presbytery of Providence on March
18, 2010. It calls for steps toward peace, including withdrawal of
U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August 31, 2010, and all U.S. armed forces
and defense contractors by December 31, 2011, and aid to refugees and to
returning U.S. veterans. [3-31-10]
Providence Presbytery
meeting at Van Wyck South Carolina Presbyterian Church on March 18, 2010,
overtures the 219th General Assembly to:
A) Pray for
1)
the churches in Iraq – the Reformed/Presbyterian Churches in Basrah,
Baghdad, Mosul, and Kirkuk; the Chaldean Catholic,the Armenian Orthodox and
Catholic, the Assyrian, and the Greek Orthodox Churches – as they strive to
survive and witness during the chaotic period of rebuilding their nation and
their churches;
2)
all who grieve, both Iraqis and internationals, because of lost loved
ones and those who have suffered from the hostilities;
3)
all Iraqis that they may rebuild a nation that promotes the highest
potential of all its citizens and responds to the continuing special needs
of those who are displaced or refugees from warfare;
4)
all refugees, both internally and externally displaced, who have
often been forced from their homes by fear and threats of violence, that
they may soon be able to resume their lives in safety and health.
B)
Commend:
1.
the agencies of the General Assembly Mission Council for making
available members of our partner churches in Iraq to inform us about their
churches’ life and witness, at national gatherings such as the Big Tent and
the Presbyterian Women’s Triennium, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s
International Peacemakers, and the Iraq Partnership Network; and we urge the
GAMC to continue by these and other means to inform us about the life and
witness of our partners in Iraq, the ways in which we may support them, and
ways in which our partners may help us better understand our mission; *
2.
Presbyterian Women for designating the Kindergarten and Child Care
Center and Primary School Development in Kirkuk, Iraq as a recipient of the
2010 Birthday Offering grant;
3.
Congregations and
individuals that have special ministries with Iraqi refugees,
recognizing the connection between spiritual and other human needs.
C) Direct the
GAMC to empower and equip presbyteries and congregations as they
respond to the spiritual and material needs of Iraqi refugees arriving in
the United States, including increased collaboration between Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance and the office of Middle Eastern Congregational Support
to provide a holistic approach to this outreach ministry; and also direct
the GAMC to work proactively with our regional partners as they respond to
the ongoing needs of Iraqi refugees in the host countries in the Middle
East. *
D) Urge the GAMC
to continue to provide spiritual and psychological services for those now or
previously in military service related to Iraq, as well as to those now or
previously resisting military service in Iraq for reasons of conscience. *
E) Direct the
Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy to study and report, from
a perspective of Reformed theology and practice, the relationship between
the expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic
conditions in the U.S., including those who benefit from these expenditures
and those sectors that are disadvantaged. *
(*These assume no additional budget is needed, and that
the activities will reflect the priorities of the General Assembly.)
F)
Direct the Stated Clerk to call upon the church
1 - to pray
for the effectiveness of our national leaders in making peace;
2 - to
encourage presbyteries to develop linkages between their congregations and
agencies that assist in the relocation of Iraqi refugees in the USA;
3 - to commend
the US government
for its responses to the massive Iraqi refugee
situations;
for taking steps to return troops from combat;
for giving support to returned troops and
their families;
for giving political and economic support
toward rebuilding Iraq as an independent nation;
for taking necessary steps to protect
non-combatant Kurdish and other civilians in Northern Iraq from Turkish and
Iranian military action that has resulted in damage to property and persons
in that region;
4 - to urge
the US government to maintain its commitments to:
a) withdraw
all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August 31, 2010;
b) withdraw
all U.S. armed forces and defense contractors from Iraq no later than
December 31, 2011;
c) ensure
that the U.S. not establish permanent US military bases in Iraq;
d) make
available sufficient U.S. funds for the repatriation and resettlement
of Iraqi refugees and for the post-war reconstruction of Iraq;
e) reduce
the time that it takes to process refugees coming to the U.S.; and
f) ensure
that sufficient funds are provided for medical and psychological
treatment of returning military personnel.
G) Direct the
Stated Clerk to send this overture to the Synods and Presbyteries and
Churches in the most practical manner as soon as possible, requesting their
concurrence and active participation in these ministries, especially in
association with ecumenical and interfaith partners.
Rationale
“Greetings from [Iraq] in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you for your concern and follow-up on our church
situation in [Iraq}, and also I would like to thank all brothers in faith
who support us and pray for our safety. … Due to the occupation of Iraq in
2003 which resulted in loss of security, our country is considered [to be]
the highest in number of orphans. … We need your prayers, so that God may
give us enough strength to stand with these difficult circumstances.”
This is typical of the greetings from Iraqi
Presbyterians, who live in the spirit of Paul's words: “as dying, and see -
we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet
possessing everything.” (II Cor. 6:9-10 NRSV) We note with sadness that
“killing” has taken place with one elder deliberately killed and another,
who had been deliberately shot and later threatened, fleeing the country.
Half of the Iraqi Christians have become internally displaced or refugees;
they are among the several million whose lives have been terribly disrupted.
Yet those who remain persevere with worship in
their sanctuaries where possible or in their homes, with programs for
children, youth, and women, and with community activities such as prison
visitation, kindergartens for children with families and for orphans, a
radio station, and a medical clinic.
The suffering includes other Christian
churches, as well as all other Iraqis, and those who have served with the
military forces. Concern for those who grieve and for those who will spend
their lifetimes with painful memories and physical and psychological
challenges will need to be expressed as long as we live.
The refugees, who languish in the host
countries in the Middle East, and those who find new beginnings in the US,
will continue to need our attention for generations to their spiritual,
psychological and physical needs. More coordination among GAMC offices and
presbyteries and congregations will increase the caring and advocacy
ministries that we are committed to provide, both in the host countries and
in the US. Because processing refugees takes from 18 to 8 months, whatever
we can do to encourage the government to speed up the process is worthwhile
advocacy on their behalf.
Previous studies related to Iraq, most
recently “To Repent, to Restore, to Rebuild, to Reconcile,” received by the
218th General Assembly (2008) and commended for study, have a solid basis in
Reformed theology and practice, citing, for instance, the linkage between
peace and justice in the Confession of 1967. To bring these up to the
present, a study relating U.S. expenses for war to economic justice would be
very helpful.
Commitments and agreements with Iraqis have
been made during the previous and current Administrations; public support
for them on behalf of both the Iraqi and the U.S. military forces is
advisable and necessary.
At the end of 2009, of the $52.8 billion
allocated for reconstruction, $39.54 billion has been spent, with half of
that going for security needs and not reconstruction or development. As this
funding is anticipated to end by 2014, it is appropriate to call for a level
of funding that will overcome much of the destruction caused by the war,
similar to the Marshall Plan following WWII.
This overture
brings up-to-date the overture on Iraq adopted by the 218th General Assembly
(2008), which states, for instance, in paragraph 5: Call upon the United
States government to develop and implement a lasting peaceful solution,
responsibly bringing the troops home;
and reaffirms the call of
the 216th General Assembly (2004) for the United States government to engage
with the international community through the United Nations and other
international agencies to cooperate with the government of Iraq in providing
security, peacekeeping forces, and funding the rebuilding of the country.
For more information from someone in the Presbytery,
contact Larry Richards.
219th
General
Assembly