wfn.org | Pastor takes up fast for peace

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

April 15, 2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn. 
10-71B{227}

A UMNS Report
By Holly Nye*

When bombs started falling on Iraq, the Rev. Dick Capron, a United Methodist
pastor in Delanson, N.Y., decided to embody his prayers for peace by
beginning a spiritual fast. 

The 54-year-old pastor and pastoral counselor has maintained his fast since
March 19, when U.S.-led forces began the military action to topple Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein. 

"I couldn't see life going on as usual while people are being killed in an
unnecessary action," Capron explains. 

Though his concerns continue, he has chosen Easter Sunday, April 20, as an
ending date for his witness. His fast will have lasted 32 days. "The day of
resurrection is a good time to move forward with life," he says. 

Having read the works of Mohandas Gandhi, Capron believes fasting can
"release a kind of moral energy into the universe." He considers his fast a
spiritual response to the world situation. "It's a way to pray with one's
whole body, not just with the mouth," he says. 

For 10 years, Capron fasted one day a week as a gesture of opposition to
capital punishment. He understands his action to be part of a long tradition
of spiritual fasting. When he discussed his fast with colleagues in a peer
group, he reports, a Korean pastor said, "In Korea we do that sort of thing
all the time."

Capron was moved to begin his fast as he contemplated his frustration at the
outbreak of war. "I had tried to be part of the resistance to this action,"
he says. "But now I had a sense that this was something that human hands
alone could not change, and I needed help. I prayed, 'What can I do?' When
the idea of a fast came to me, I began to pray for strength to see it
through." 

For 18 days, Capron lived on water. Responding to his spouse's concerns about
his health, he began taking nutritional drinks twice a day and eating small
amounts of yogurt.  

Even as the active phase of the war seems to be winding down after the first
three weeks, Capron is clear that the danger to U.S. troops and to Iraqis is
not over. Attacks on occupying forces will likely continue, he believes. 

"As a therapist," he says, "I know that the way to reduce aggression is make
people feel safe." People commit acts of aggression such as suicide bombing
in reaction to feeling overpowered, he says.

Beyond the immediate danger to the lives of civilians and military personnel,
Capron says his fast shows concern for the future consequences of the war.
"What are the long-term effects on the infrastructure, on the environment -
the soil, water and air?" He also wonders about the long-term health effects,
both to the Iraqis and to U.S. personnel. "Innocent people will continue to
be affected," he asserts.

Capron affirms that he supports U.S. troops, and wants to see them return
home safely. He has a nephew serving on a supply ship somewhere in the
region, and is concerned for him and for all those affected by the conflict.
 
Says Capron: "I'd just like the killing to stop."

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*Nye is the communication director for the Troy Annual Conference.

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United Methodist News Service
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