wfn.org | Terrorist attacks shape Church and Society board agenda

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 15, 2001     News media contact: Joretta Purdue 7(202)
546-87227Washington    10-71B{473}

By Joretta Purdue*

HERNDON, Va. (UMNS) - Responses by United Methodists to the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks shaped much of one church agency's semi-annual meeting a
month after the event.

Members of the Board of Church and Society carved time from a packed
schedule to hear several speakers address the subject, and they produced a
statement directed to the denomination's local churches.

The Oct. 11-14 meeting included a worship service on a grassy bank
overlooking the gaping hole in the south side of the Pentagon. Bishop
Beverly Shamana led the service, and two United Methodist chaplains who work
at the Pentagon were also present.

The board's "Statement to the Church on the Terrorist Attacks and the U.S.
Response" begins with an expression of mourning for those who died, words of
comfort for those who experienced loss and a prayer in the face of "anxious
days ahead."

"We claim the teachings of the Prince of Peace, who instructs us to love and
pray for our enemies and refrain from responding to violence with violence,"
the board said. The statement also reaffirms the church's resolution on
"Terrorism," which condemns all acts of terrorism and opposes "the use of
indiscriminate military force to combat terrorism."

The document lists eight activities or initiatives for congregations as they
live out the church's calling to be instruments of service, healing and
peace. It calls on United Methodist congregations to be in prayer, to build
bridges between Christians and those of other faiths, and to offer
hospitality to Arabs, Muslims and others who may experience acts of hatred
or prejudice.

It urges congregations to remember the church's declaration that war is
incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. And it also notes
that the church's ministry is to those who serve in the military and to
those who are conscientious objectors.

The board's statement recommends studying the causes of and working to end
terrorism. It suggests asking government officials to use the United Nations
as a primary venue for multilateral action and for the establishment of the
International Criminal Court. Continued donations to the United Methodist
Committee on Relief are encouraged for Afghan refugees and the victims of
the attacks in the United States.

"It is our firm belief that military actions will not end terrorism," the
statement declares. "As people called to be a visible sign of God's
ever-present love, we know that violence will not bring God's peace."

Board members directed that their statement be widely distributed within the
church. It will be posted on the agency's Web site; reprinted in the board's
magazine, Christian Social Action; conveyed to the church's bishops by
Bishop S. Clifton Ives, president of the board; and sent to conference
editors.

Absences were more than double that of last year's autumn board meeting,
when 10 members were missing for a variety of reasons. This time, 22 members
were absent, and two had resigned before the meeting. Seven people cited a
reluctance to fly or to travel to the Washington area. Many members reported
schedule conflicts. In addition, several people said health problems, either
their own or those of a close family member, kept them away. 

Guest speaker included Bishop C. Dale White, one of the authors of  "In
Defense of Creation," the Council of Bishops' pastoral letter and study on
nuclear disarmament issued in 1986.

"Few United Methodists have noticed that with the General Conference of 2000
the official stance of the church moved from pacifism to a just-war
doctrine," White said.

He explained that Christianity was totally pacifistic during its first
centuries. After Christianity became the Roman Empire's state religion at
the time of Emperor Constantine's conversion, some Christian groups
maintained their pacifism. Contemporary peace churches, such as the Quakers,
Mennonites and Brethren, grew out of the Protestant Reformation.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, "condemned all war as the prime
example of human depravity," White noted. 

"This last warring century has not been an easy one for pacifists," he said.
However, a vigorous form of pacifism continued in the nonviolent strategies
of Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, he added.

The principles of a just war became a way to place controls and limits on
war as a means of solving human problems, White said. Just war requires
respect for the rights of the enemy, protection of noncombatants from direct
attack, and proportionality, he said.

"Unfortunately, under conditions of modern warfare, the just-war standards
have been quickly abandoned," he said, citing the World War II attacks on
cities by both sides of the conflict.  

Nazaneen Jabarkhil Majeed fled Afghanistan with her family after the Russian
invasion in 1979. She was 19. The following year, she opened a school for
Afghan children in her home, a rented house in Pakistan. It has grown to an
educational center with 40 teachers and more than 800 students. She told
church board members about life as a refugee and about her work as an
educator of displaced people.

Another resource person, Michael Hudson, a professor of Arabic Studies at
Georgetown University, warned of the possibility that the United States
would fall into one or more of three traps in the Middle East: a military
trap in the form of getting bogged down in a difficult ground war; a
political trap, in the form of backlash from the Muslim world; and an
ethical trap of possibly targeting innocent populations or making alliances
with regimes that "are not morally commendable."

Hudson said that the most worrisome problem is that Osama bin Laden is a
charismatic leader who has attracted a broad following among educated people
in virtually every Muslim country.

Walter and Marjorie Randolph, volunteers with the United Methodist Committee
on Relief, described the church's aid efforts in the Washington and New York
areas and with Afghan refugees. More than $800 was raised for the "Love in
the Midst of Tragedy" offering (UMCOR Advance No. 901125-3) in one of two
special offerings at the board meeting. The other offering went to the
Children's Ministry Program of the United Methodist Church of Angola.

The board's United Nations Ministry Committee reiterated its call for
President Bush to seek ratification in the U.S. Senate of the treaty
creating the International Criminal Court and the U.N. Conventions on
Terrorism. 

The response to the attacks of Sept. 11 also figured prominently in the
reports of the board president and general secretary (see separate story)
and in two resolutions passed by the board.

"A Call for an End to Hate Crimes Against Our Arab and Muslim Neighbors"
encourages United Methodists to reject bigotry, racism and intolerance and
to learn more about Muslim, Arab and Sikh history, culture and religious
beliefs. Another board resolution supports education for clergy on
psychological trauma and endorses the efforts of the National Conference of
Viet Nam Veteran Ministers and the Sidran Traumatic Stress Foundation to
develop a curriculum. 

The board also passed a resolution supporting universal health care.

Members approved a 2002 operating budget, which includes a plan to spend
down the board's reserves by almost $1 million. The 2001 budget calls for a
reduction in the reserves of $563,000. In addition, the board was informed
that the value of its investment portfolio was down 9 percent as of Sept.
30.

In other business, the board voted to follow the lead of the Oregon-Idaho
Annual Conference in suspending the Norpac boycott for one year, and it
agreed to extend the suspension of the Mt. Olive Pickle boycott because a
mediator has not been recruited yet.

The board agreed to join the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers and the
National Neighborhood Coalition. It also decided to sign on to the global
Alcohol Policy Advocacy Conference Statement, which advocates cooperative
international efforts to work on alcohol problems.  

Board members voted to seek $35,000 from the World Service Contingency Fund
to cover program costs for a consultation on church and society issues next
May. The event is being planned at the request of the Central Conference of
Central and Southern Europe, but participants from the denomination's
Northern Europe Central Conference will also be invited.

# # #

*Purdue is news director of United Methodist News Service's Washington
office.

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United Methodist News Service
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