wfn.org | ABCUSA: Delegation Joins 'Religious Leaders' Action Days on Iraq'

["SCHRAMM, Richard" <Richard.Schramm@abc-usa.org>]

American Baptist News Service (9/26/02)--Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III,
executive director of American Baptist National Ministries, led a delegation
of American Baptists to Washington, D.C., yesterday to meet with senators
and congressional leaders and urge them to pursue peace, not war, with Iraq.

Specifically commissioned by and representing American Baptist General
Secretary Dr. A. Roy Medley during the National Council of
Churches-sponsored "Religious Leaders' Action Days On Iraq," Wright-Riggins,
along with the National Ministries delegation, joined ecumenical partners
and other Christian leaders in calling for moderation and restraint with
respect to Iraq.  

The National Ministries delegation comprised the Rev. Aundreia Alexander,
director of Socially Responsible Investing and Ecology; Valoria Cheek, Esq.,
house counsel; and the Rev. Dwight Lundgren, director of Reconciliation
Ministries. NCC General Secretary the Rev. Robert Edgar led Wright-Riggins
and the delegation in visits and conversations with government leaders.
Additional participants in the NCC group included Bishop C. Christopher
Epting, ecumenical officer for the Episcopal Church; Jim Winkler, general
secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society; and members
from the groups Pax Christi and Network (a national Catholic social justice
lobby).

The daylong action provided delegates with opportunities to discuss their
concerns in the offices of Senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska) and Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Congressmen Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.),
Joseph Hoeffel (D-Pa.) and others. 

"I believe that our visits and perspectives were greatly appreciated and
generally heard by our senators and congressional leaders," Wright-Riggins
said.  "Ever since Sept. 11, 2001 prophetic and sensible Christian voices in
our society have been strangely silent. The shock we suffered one year ago
created such a tension between our national, and natural, tendency toward
patriotic retribution and our Christian commitments toward peace and justice
that our vocal cords were rendered temporarily paralyzed. Fortunately we
have found our voice.  Now we are clearly voicing a message that says the
riches and power of the United States should be dedicated not only to
combating terrorism, but to a global war against poverty and oppression to
counter the root causes of terrorism."

In her visits to government leaders Alexander underscored humanitarian
concerns, namely the current plight of the Iraqi people and the likely
consequences of war.  Citing a May 29, 2002 UNICEF report that one in eight
Iraqi children die before their fifth birthday, one in three Iraqi children
suffer from chronic malnutrition and one-third of all Iraqi children do not
attend school, she questioned the United States' intentions to address the
humanitarian issues that would arise following a war likely to destroy the
societal infrastructure and cause many civilian causalities.

Cheek was particularly concerned with issues of international law as it
relates to U.S. actions regarding Iraq.  She emphasized to government
leaders that the United Nations is the internationally accepted authority
and the only practical means for averting this crisis.	"President Bush's
commitment to work with the United Nations Security Council is welcomed,"
Cheek said.  "Yet I can't condone insisting that the U.N. precisely
implement U.S. policy.	That is not what international cooperation is all
about. We need to slow down and work through the U.N., which we helped found
nearly 60 years ago." 

While making no apologies for the despicable policies of Saddam Hussein,
Lundgren registered his concerns that "unilateral war against Iraq could
have the likely result of increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle
East, thereby making American citizens more vulnerable to terrorist attack."

Consistent with American Baptist policy statements and resolutions,
Wright-Riggins urged congressional leaders to vote "no" on congressional
authorization of military force, while emphasizing that whatever Congress
does, it remains incumbent on the United States to work through the U.N.

Additional information on events and initiatives related to the "Religious
Leaders' Action Days on Iraq" can be found on the National Council of
Churches of Christ Web site-www.ncccusa.org.

02ABN140 

American Baptist News Service: Office of Communication, American Baptist
Churches USA, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851; (610)768-2077; fax:
(610)768-2320; www.abc-usa.org; richard.schramm@abc-usa.org