No arms reduction treaty at Christmas? NCC asks senators to get the spirit

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

The NCC's Kinnamon offers some pastoral advice
to senators who think Christmas is no time to reduce arms

Washington, December 15, 2010 -- With perhaps unintended irony, two 
U.S. se nators have declared that Christmas is not the time to move 
toward peace by  reducing the number of nuclear arms in the arsenals 
of the United States a nd Russia.

But the general secretary of the National Council of Churches and 
several h eads of NCC member communions have sent the lawmakers a 
gentle reminder tha t the Prince of Peace is the reason for the 
season.

Senators Jim Demint (R-S.C.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have both declared 
their  intention to delay ratification of the Strategic Arms 
Reduction Treaty (Ne w START II) during the lame duck session of 
Congress. Observers suspect the  senators may be taking the stand for 
partisan reasons, but each has declar ed that Christmas is not the 
time to support arms reduction.

"You can't jam a major arms control treaty right before Christmas," 
Demint  said in an interview with Politico, calling the whole thing 
"sacrilegious."
"What's going on here is just wrong," Demint said. "This is the most 
sacred  holiday for Christians. They did the same thing last year - 
they kept ever ybody here until (Christmas Eve) to force something 
down everybody's throat . I think Americans are sick of this."

Earlier,  Kyl complained that efforts by Senate Majority Leader Harry 
Rei d (D-Nev) to get the Senate to ratify START II as well as pass 
other legisl ation was too much at Christmas time.

"It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader 
laid out , frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without 
disrespecting  one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and 
the families of all t he Senate, not just the senators themselves but 
all of the staff," insisted  Kyl.

But Kinnamon sent the senators a peaceful admonishment that they have 
overl ooked the true spirit of Christmas.

"If anything this time of year should be an encouragement for our 
leaders t o work harder for peace on earth in response to God who 
wills peace for all ," Kinnamon said. "Peace is major theme of the 
Advent season and celebratio n of Christmas.  The National Council of 
Churches looks forward to being  able to celebrate ratification of 
this treaty to reduce nuclear stockpiles  and improve verification.  
Any delay would be contrary to our commitment  to peace on earth."
        
Last month the general assembly of the NCC and Church World Service, 
meetin g as a Centennial Ecumenical Gathering in New Orleans, 
unanimously adopted  a call to ratify the treaty. Kinnamon and CWS 
executive director and CEO, t he Rev. John L. McCullough, sent copies 
of the statement to U.S. senators.  See 
www.ncccusa.org/news/101118starttreaty.html

Meeting today with the heads of several NCC member communions, 
Kinnamon sai d several other leaders endorsed the call to senators to 
recognize that the  Christmas season is indeed the appropriate time 
to support measures for pe ace.

The leaders include the Rev. Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general 
secret ary, Reformed Church in America; Bishop Serapion of the Coptic 
Orthodox Chu rch in North America; the Rev. Michael Livingston, 
representing the Interna tional Council of Community Churches; the 
Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, president  of the Moravian Church Northern 
Province Provincial Elders' Conference; Sta n Noffsinger, general 
secretary of the Church of the Brethren; Presiding Bi shop Mark S. 
Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Rev.  
Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA); 
Presiding B ishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church; 
and Dick Hamm, exe cutive director of Christian Churches Together.

Kinnamon and the heads of communion also reminded the Senate that the 
theme  of peace at Christmas time is unmistakable in scripture.

The song of the angels on the night Christ was born makes it clear 
that the  word on high is "Peace on Earth," Bishop Serapion said, 
citing Luke 2:14.

The Prophet Isaiah declares the coming of a messiah called, 
"Wonderful Coun selor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of 
Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

"In this advent season we anticipate the birth of the Prince of Peace 
and h ear the good news to 'fear not,'" said Noffsinger. "The theme 
of 'fear not'  calls us to a world freed from these weapons that are 
based on the respons e of fear."  

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of 
Christ  in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical 
cooperation among Chri stians in the United States. The NCC's 37 
member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and Living Peace 
churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 
646-853-4212 ( cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org