wfn.org | Episcopalians: War and peace issues important on General Convention agenda

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

June 13, 2003

2003-134

Episcopalians: War and peace issues important on General 
Convention agenda

by Jim DeLa

(ENS) As a post-war Iraq emerges, church leaders at this 
summer's General Convention will tackle a resolution that 
attempts to define when war can be justified and may offer some 
advice to the Bush administration on how to handle one of the 
world's other hot spots: North Korea.

The church has taken a stand against armed conflict as early as 
1931, when the convention passed a resolution stating that "war 
as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible 
with the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Indeed, two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 
the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church issued a pastoral 
letter urging Christians to "wage reconciliation" by calling 
church members to "open our hearts and give room to God's 
compassion," striving to be instruments of God's peace in a 
troubled world.

Before the recent war in Iraq, the Episcopal Church joined other 
mainstream Christian denominations in on-the-record opposition 
to war in general, and to war in Iraq in particular. 

In the days leading up to the start of "Operation Iraqi 
Freedom," church leaders were directly critical of President 
George W. Bush's policy on Iraq. Last October, the Executive 
Council unanimously endorsed letters by Presiding Bishop Frank 
T. Griswold and the House of Bishops decrying plans to invade 
Iraq, saying they found the strategy of a pre-emptive strike "to 
be an unacceptable form of action for Christians who are called 
by Christ to be peacemakers."

Once the shooting started, the church mobilized by urging 
prayers for a swift end to the conflict and offering support to 
American troops in the field. 

Here are a few legislative items to watch at General Convention: 

Just War: One resolution (A033) before this year's convention, 
submitted by the Standing Committee on Anglican and 
International Peace and Justice Concerns, urges the endorsement 
of "just war" principles, a set of generally accepted moral and 
legal guidelines used to justify armed conflict. Those criteria 
include: that lethal force can be used only to correct a "grave 
public evil"; that care must be taken to protect civilians; to 
use no more force than is necessary; and that war can only be 
waged as a last resort.

In its report to convention, the committee does not attempt to 
decide if the recent war in Iraq met the guidelines but rather 
argues that each person must discern whether to participate or 
not in war through "deep reflection and prayer."

Northeast Asia: The peace and justice committee is also offering 
a resolution (A036) urging nonconfrontational U.S. policy and 
diplomacy aimed at peaceful reunification of the Korean 
peninsula. "The damage done by President Bush's axis of evil' 
rhetoric is extensive and regrettable," the committee wrote in 
its report.

Other resolutions from the committee include one urging the U.S. 
to give Korean citizens more access to legal redress of 
grievances and compensation for victims of misconduct by U.S. 
personnel, as well as damages from weapons testing and pollution 
(A037); and another resolution encouraging Episcopal colleges 
and schools to offer peace and justice studies, as well as 
training for careers in nongovernmental organizations and civil 
society (A038).

Other scheduled activities relating to war and peace issues 
include:

"An Evening of Conversations:" Wednesday, July 30, 7-9 p.m. A 
series of panel discussions with time allotted for audience 
participation on various topics. The "war and peace" panelists 
include Bishop George Packard, suffragan for the Armed Services, 
Healthcare, and Prison Ministries; the Rev. Stephen Holton, 
founding member of the Episcopal-Muslim Relations Committee; the 
Rev. Kristina Coppinger, a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force 
Reserve; Deborah Stokes, social work administrator with the Ohio 
Department of Health; and the Rev. Daniel Appleyard, active in 
Christian-Muslim relations in Detroit.

Reception sponsored by Episcopal Peace Foundation and The 
Witness magazine: Saturday, Aug. 2 from 4-6 p.m., at Gethsemane 
Episcopal Church, Minneapolis. Dr. Margaret Lawrence will be 
honored with the EPF Sayre Peace Award. Tickets are $40.

The Witness will give its Spirits of Justice Awards at the same 
meeting. Bishop Barbara Harris will receive the William 
Stringfellow Award and Tom B.K. Goldtooth will receive the 
William Spofford Award. Barbara Ramnaraine will receive the Vida 
Scudder Award and Voices in the Wilderness, a network for 
nonviolent education and action, will rreceive the William 
Scarlett Award.

EPF Nonviolence Workshops: "From Violence to Wholeness" 
workshops will be offered Thursday, July 31 and Wednesday, Aug. 
6, from 1-5 p.m., at Gethsemane Episcopal Church near the 
Convention Center. Fee: $10 a session.

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--Jim DeLa is director of communications for the Diocese of 
Southwest Florida and is managing editor of the ENS news team at 
the 74th General Convention in Minneapolis.