Washington anti-war rally draws United Methodists
Jan. 29, 2007
NOTE: Photographs available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
WASHINGTON (UMNS)-United Methodists were among tens of thousands of protesters who gathered on the National Mall to send a message to Congress and President Bush to end the war in Iraq.
The large turnout Jan. 27 demonstrates "the tide has turned to peace," said Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, based in Washington.
"We were out in the street to help Congress remember that this Congress was elected to bring an end to the war. We were also out there to tell the president that the escalation of the war is exactly the wrong thing to do," he said.
The church agency has called on Congress to oppose Bush's decision to send 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq by withholding funds to escalate the war. Instead, the board urges increasing diplomatic efforts to end the war that has killed more than 3,000 U.S. service members and an estimated 35,000 Iraqis.
The Rev. John Copenhaver, a United Methodist pastor and professor at United Methodist-related Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., said he participated in the protest to "put some starch in the backbones of members of Congress."
"The people spoke emphatically in November for a change in course in Iraq," said Copenhaver, referring to elections when Democrats won control of Congress. "By change we didn't mean an escalation or troop surge. We meant reduction. We meant bring our troops home."
Copenhaver said he wants Congress to cut spending for the war, while his wife, Marsha Childs, said "too many lives have been lost." Both are members of Stephens City (Va.) United Methodist Church.
In response to the rally, the White House issued a statement affirming the president's unwavering support of the right to free speech. "He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq, and the new strategy is designed to do just that," said spokesman Gordon D. Johndroe.
The administration says additional troops are needed for the war in Iraq to succeed, and that failure in Iraq would undermine the war on terror.
The anti-war demonstration was noisy but peaceful. "As we marched up Constitution Avenue toward Capital Hill, the crowd filled the street from side to side and went on forever," Winkler said. "There was a wonderful spirit."
Before the rally, Winkler and other United Methodists participated in a worship service at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, around the corner from the United Methodist Building.
The protest was organized by the group United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of 1,400 local and national organizations.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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