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World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153   +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 
For immediate release - 03/11/2004

 PASTORAL LETTER TO MEMBER CHURCHES IN THE US

In relation to the US presidential election on 2 November 2004, the WCC
general secretary Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia has written to the WCC's US member
churches to assure them of the encouragement and support of the churches
worldwide as "the choice of the US president is of great concern not only
to the people of the USA but also to people across the world".

In his letter Kobia states: "We do not ask whose side God was on in this
election. Rather, like Abraham Lincoln when he confronted a divisive war,
we seek to be found on God's side.  We pray that all people of faith may
discern with the help of  God's Spirit what is good for the world" and that
churches can act as a "churches offer a moral and spiritual compass for
their community, their nation and the world".

The full text of the message is given below:

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Grace to you and peace in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I am writing to you, the member churches of the World Council of Churches
(WCC) in the United States of America, on behalf of your extended church
family around the world.

We ask God's grace and peace for you and for the person who will finally be
chosen as leader of your country.  We send this letter to encourage and
support you in these important times, and to renew our fellowship in the
unity of the Holy Spirit and in the bonds of peace.

The choice of the US president is of great concern not only to the people
of the USA but also to people across the world.  Though we are confident
that God's Holy Spirit, the advocate and comforter, is with us, many people
in the world today confess to feeling afraid for the future. People feel
fear of terrorism, fear of old struggles newly re-branded as terrorism, and
fear of fear itself in the service of great power.

Yet this letter is not about fear.  It commends God's all-embracing grace
and peace to you, in faith and with goodwill.

Know that we stand with you, as sisters and brothers, in the hope that only
God can give.  That hope reminds us that fear is no match for the
recognition of God's presence in our lives which sustains our faith.  We
can look with confidence to the days ahead because there is far more that
unites us as people of faith than separates us as citizens of a divided
world. We are all members of Christ's body.  Nothing - no terror, no fear,
no lie - can ever separate us.

We do not ask whose side God was on in this election. Rather, like Abraham
Lincoln when he confronted a divisive war, we seek to be found on God's
side. We pray that all people of faith with the help of  God's Spirit may
discern what is good for the world.

Many people have watched the US closely in recent months, with great
interest in how churches shape a powerful nation's stance toward the world.
The harsh claims that make most of the headlines, that invoke the judgement
of a partisan god, have provoked deep concern around the world.

How different it is, however, when churches offer a moral and spiritual
compass for their community, their nation and the world.  They are a voice
for the good of all, and are seen as such.  They love the whole world; they
pray for God to bless the lands of others. People far and near - especially
our cousins of other faiths - await such signs from all of us.

As fellow citizens of the world, we wish you peace. Half a century ago,
with US leadership, an international community convinced of the need for
change, gave birth to the United Nations, to the UN Charter, to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the Geneva Convention, and much
more. The shared purpose then was to secure peace and promote human
security. At that time, churches and their members added greatly to the
process and did not go unheard. They served as a moral conscience for their
time.

Today, too, people all over the world recognize what the US can offer. By
being a country open to newcomers of different cultures and creeds. By
trusting the rule of law. By supporting democracy and the freedom of
speech. By being ready to take action when the international community,
through the United Nations, asks for US participation and leadership. By
being generous to those in need. By addressing the root causes of poverty
and social injustice, within the US as well as globally. As churches, we
are asked to be involved and contribute to such political directions.

The WCC member churches in the US have been active in forming the mind of
the ecumenical movement throughout its history. As a worldwide family of
more than 340 churches, we share with each other and with the wider world
the privilege of living for a purpose deeper than economic success and
working for goals greater than national security.

On this third day of November, 2004, we pray that we may answer the
challenges before us in faith and in love, together.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
WCC General Secretary

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153  +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org 

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more
than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.