[NCC News] Faithful America members urge end to war in Iraq
Washington, D.C., March 20, 2007--Thousands of members of FaithfulAmerica.org, the online community of the National Council of Churches USA, are urging their Members of Congress to take the moral step to end the war in Iraq.
"The moral imperative to end this horrendous war should far outweigh any political compromise," says the FaithfulAmerica.org letter to Representatives.
"As you debate the options before you, I ask that above all you recognize your moral obligation to place peace above politics," says the FaithfulAmerica letter. "Anything less than a total commitment to ending this war as quickly as possible amounts to complicity in war. I ask you to set aside political compromise and embrace the high purpose of pursuing peace," says the letter.
In an email alert [see below] to his membership, Vince Isner, director of FaithfulAmerica.org, called attention to an expected vote in the House of Representatives on a bill that has brought out a "lot of political wrangling and dealmaking...in an effort to get passage of a bill that already the President has promised to veto."
"We people of faith and conscience must once again remind our elected leaders in Washington that as they seek political solutions, this war is simply immoral and that any action that delays its end for political reasons is simply not acceptable," said Isner.
The email alert was sent to the nearly 105,000 online members of the advocacy website.
The NCC is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and traditional peace churches. These 35 communions have 45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.
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[Complete text of the FaithfulAmerica.org alert]
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
This week the U.S. House is taking up a bill that, if passed, will call for a pullout of troops from Iraq by the fall of 2008. A lot of political wrangling and dealmaking have gone into this debate in an effort to get passage of a bill that already the President has promised to veto.
All of this is unfortunate because every day the war is allowed to continue, more and more lives of soldiers and innocent civilians are lost. Lamenting this fact, last Friday at the Christian Witness for Peace at the Washington National Cathedral the Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, described our political logjam.
"Congress...by its action or its lack of action, has proven to be totally morally inept to intervene and too politically compromised to act with real conviction," said the Rev. Dr. Warnock to more than the 3,000 peace witnesses gathered there. "More than ever America needs our moral witness," he said.
We people of faith and conscience must once again remind our elected leaders in Washington that as they seek political solutions, this war is simply immoral and that any action that delays its end for political reasons is simply not acceptable.
Simply put, neither the White House nor Congress has begun to lead our nation in the way of peace to which the prophets and sages of the world have called us. Anything less than a total commitment to ending this war as quickly as possible amounts to complicity, and we seek your help in leading our leaders back to the high purpose of pursuing peace.
We urge you to write to your representative today and remind him or her of the moral imperative to end this horrendous war. While we cannot argue one way or another as to the merits of this bill or that amendment, we can and do acknowledge that peace is too precious and life too dear to waste one more hour seeking anything less than a swift and complete end to this nightmare.
Dr. Warnock last Friday warned that the wrong question is being asked. It is not about whether America will lose the war but rather whether "America may well lose its soul." It is up to us, people whose faith informs our values, to speak up and demand the best of our elected officials in this most trying of times.
Blessings to you, Vince Isner FaithfulAmerica.org
Letter to Member of Congress:
The war in Iraq must end. No matter what measures are before you, and no matter what the President threatens to do, I call upon you first to recognize and then to respond to the simple fact that we are engaged in an immoral war and that it must end swiftly. What's at stake here is our very own national soul. We are in danger of losing our national soul in the continued prosecution of this unjust war.
Thus far neither Congress nor the White House has committed to lead our nation in the way of peace to which the prophets and sages of the world have called us. As you debate the options before you, I ask that above all you recognize your moral obligation to place peace above politics. Anything less than a total commitment to ending this war as quickly as possible amounts to complicity in war. I ask you to set aside political compromise and embrace the high purpose of pursuing peace.
The moral imperative to end this horrendous war should far outweigh any political compromise. While I cannot argue one way or another as to the merits of this bill or that amendment, I can and do acknowledge that peace is too precious and life too dear to waste one more hour seeking anything less than a swift and complete end to this nightmare.
Sincerely, FaithfulAmerica.org Member
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FaithfulAmerica.org contact: Vince Isner, 202.481.6929, visner@faithfulamerica.org. NCC News contact: Dan Webster, 212.870.2252, NCCnews@ncccusa.org. Latest NCC News at www.councilofchurches.org.
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