wfn.org | BPFNA board expresses opposition to military force in Iraq

[bpfna@primeline.com (Baptist Peace Fellowship)]

FORT WORTH, Texas-The board of directors of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of
North America has issued a statement opposing the use of military strikes
by U.S., Canadian or other allied forces against Iraq.

The board unanimously approved the statement during its annual meeting with
BPFNA regional leaders, held here February 19-21. The statement urged U.S.
President Bill Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair to support United Nations' diplomatic dialogue as
a means to ensure Iraqi compliance with U.N. resolutions addressing weapons
stockpiles, instead of threatening the lives of millions of Iraqi citizens.

The statement said "We pray that a just and peaceful resolution to this
conflict will result before blood is shed and innocent lives are lost. We
affirm the calls to diplomacy made by religious organizations around the
globe, including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Canadian Council of
Churches, and U.S. National Council of Churches. We believe, with them,
that a military option only compounds the current suffering of the Iraqi
people and that steps should be taken to facilitate direct humanitarian aid
to the most vulnerable."

In the days following the BPFNA board's meeting, Executive Director Ken
Sehested spoke of the "hopeful initiative" by U.N. General-Secretary Kofi
Annan in his diplomatic mission to Iraq.

"We congratulate General-Secretary Annan's negotiated agreement with
Baghdad and pray that this hopeful initiative will lead to a de-escalation
of hostilities," Sehested said. "But we urge our constituency throughout
North America to continue expressing their opinions to elected officials
and to continue educating members of their congregations."

The BPFNA board's statement called on its constituency to write their
elected leaders encouraging them to support U.N. diplomatic initiatives.
The board also called churches to prayer and fasting for peace in the
Middle East and urged them to protest publicly should military strikes
occur.

In other news, the board heard from its publications committee on plans to
produce a book celebrating the 20th anniversary of Baptist Peacemaker, the
organization's quarterly journal; the 15th anniversary of the founding of
the BPFNA; and the dawning of a new millennium.

The book will include material spanning the publication's entire history.
^From 1980-1989, Peacemaker was published by a group of Southern Baptist
pastors, seminary professors and students at Southern Seminary who
organized and hosted the first "Southern Baptist Convocation on Peace in a
Nuclear Age" in 1979. The BPFNA began publishing the journal in 1990. A
tentative date for publication of the book is the fall of 1999.

In addition, the board took another step in a multi-year reorganization
effort by expanding the roles and responsibilities of the chairpersons of
each of its eight committees. In 1995 the board adopted a structure that
called for more ownership of the group's work by the board and other
leadership working in conjunction with the staff.

"Our hope is that this change will increase dialogue between our committees
so that all of our board members will feel an increased connection to and
support for each part of our work," said board president Steve Hammond.
Hammond is co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Oberlin, Ohio.

The board also welcomed a new member, Wendy Scott, of Wilmington, Delaware.
Scott will serve on the board's development and finance committee. In 1997
Scott joined AIDS Delaware, a state AIDS service agency, as assistant
director of public affairs and community relations. Prior to that, she was
assistant director of the Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy.

Founded in 1984, the BPFNA is a network linking Baptists involved in
justice and peace issues throughout North America. Its board of directors
is composed of members affiliated with 12 Baptist conventions and five
racial/ethnic groups in Canada, the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. The
organization has no official sponsorship of any convention. Its primary
purpose is to encourage greater Baptist involvement-at local, national and
international levels-in justice and peace concerns and to help clarify
understanding of such involvement as essential to Christian discipleship.

For more information contact:
Ken Sehested, Executive Director, or David Teague, Associate Editor
Phone: 704/456-1881
Fax: 704/456-1883
Internet: bpfna@primeline.com
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