wfn.org | Stated clerk, moderator send GAC statement on Iraq to U.S. political leaders

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7455 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

02-October-2002
02380

Stated clerk, moderator send GAC statement on Iraq to U.S. political leaders

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - As requested by the General Assembly Council (GAC), Presbyterian
Church (USA) General Assembly stated clerk the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick
moderator the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel have written to U.S. political leaders
expressing the Assembly's desire that restraint be exercised in contemplated
military action against Iraq.

In their September 30 letter, Kirkpatrick and Abu-Akel also commended to U.S.
political leaders the GAC's Sept. 28 "message to the church and the nation"
on the situation in Iraq.

The complete text of Kirkpatrick's letter and the GAC's statement, which was
sent to President Bush, Vice-president Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser
Condoleeza Rice, Attorney General John Ashcroft and all members of the U.S.
Congress:

Office of the General Assembly			
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk					     
		    September 30, 2002

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your leadership over the past year in the wake of the tragedy
and pain our nation experienced as a result of the attacks on September 11,
2001. How grateful we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to
gather together in our respective faith communities to worship God, to mourn
our loss, and to affirm the God-given gift of hope. We especially give thanks
for the privilege of living in a country led by individuals who believe that
each life is sacred and deserving of basic human rights.

As Presbyterians we believe and confess that God has called the church to the
mission of God's message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. We believe
that we are called to follow the pattern of Jesus in our lives and in our
actions. We believe that God has created the peoples of the earth to be one
family, recognizing each person as a beloved child of God. As the church, we
are called to practice the forgiveness of enemies and to commend to the
United States and to all nations, as practical politics, the search for
cooperation and peace. This search requires that nations pursue fresh and
responsible relations across every line of conflict, even at risk to national
security, to reduce areas of strife and to broaden international
understanding.

Witnessing to these beliefs, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), through its
2002 General Assembly, calls on the United States government to exercise
restraint in its contemplated military action against Iraq. We commend to you
the attached "Message to the Church and the Nation," adopted by our General
Assembly Council on September 28, 2002, which contains a summary of the
General Assembly actions.

We respectfully believe that unilateral military aggression such as
preemptive strikes or forceful overthrowing of sovereign governments will not
address the underlying issues that contribute to violent responses such as
terrorism. We applaud and expect the United States to respect international
law and treaties and to reflect respect for all human life in every country.
We request that the United States work in partnership with the United Nations
in the quest to control any buildup of weapons of mass destruction through a
regional weapons inspection and control initiative. 

Know that we continue to pray for you. May the God of peace be with you and
with all of us.
				

The Reverend Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick		  The Reverend Dr. Fahed
Abu-Akel

Stated Clerk of the General Assembly		  Moderator of the 214th
General Assembly  

MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH AND THE NATION
A Call to Prayer and Action

As members of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), we have been elected to provide leadership to our denomination and
instructed to implement the decisions of our General Assembly. Those
decisions not only establish direction for the church's mission at home and
around the world, but also guide our witness in society. In response to that
mandate and to the international crisis involving Iraq, we offer this word to
our church and to our government out of our own concern for peace and on
behalf of our many church partners around the world who are deeply concerned
about our government's new doctrine of pre-emptive military action and its
possible impact on the people of Iraq. Our message is grounded in the
Scriptures, our Confessions, and the actions of previous General Assemblies.

1. We are called to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). The Bible is
clear that God has created us all with the potential to use our gifts for
either good or evil. It is also clear that "all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God" (Romans 3:23); therefore, no person or nation dare indulge
in self-righteous condemnation of others. If the leaders of Iraq, the United
States, and every other nation would allocate their resources to the
well-being of their own people and of the community of nations, rather than
to the instruments of war, and would refrain from the withholding of economic
resources in ways that further damage those who are already poor, God's
vision of shalom/salaam/peace would be much nearer to reality for all. 

2. We are called by our Lord Jesus Christ to his ministry of reconciliation.
Our Confession of 1967 makes clear that this is not simply about
relationships among individuals, but has practical meaning for relationships
among nations.

In each time and place, there are particular problems and crises through
which God calls the church to act.God's reconciliation in Jesus Christ is
the ground of the peace, justice, and freedom among nations which all powers
of government are called to serve and defend. The church, in its own life, is
called to practice the forgiveness of enemies and to commend to the nations
as practical politics the search for cooperation and peace. ...Reconciliation
among nations becomes peculiarly urgent as countries develop nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons, diverting their manpower and resources from
constructive uses and risking the annihilation of mankind. Although nations
may serve God's purposes in history, the church which identifies the
sovereignty of any one nation or any one way of life with the cause of God
denies the Lordship of Christ and betrays its calling. (Book of Confessions.
9.43 and 9.45)

3. We are called to be peacemakers. Our General Assembly declares that "the
church's faithful obedience to its calling means active participation in the
formation of the values and beliefs of our society. It means seeking peace in
the personal and social relationships of our culture and exercising our
citizenship in the body politic to shape foreign policy" (Peacemaking: The
Believers' Calling).
 
4. We are called as Presbyterians to consider prayerfully the policies of our
General Assembly as a basis for our Christian witness as United States
citizens. The following are the central affirmations of recent General
Assemblies regarding Iraq:   

The 214th General Assembly (2002) took the following action relative to Iraq:

"Based on our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Commitment to Peacemaking, the
214th General Assembly (2002):

1.	reaffirms actions of previous General Assemblies calling for the
lifting of economic sanctions; and 

2.	urges the United States government to exercise restraint in its
contemplated military action against Iraq." 

The two previous actions that called for the lifting of economic sanctions
were taken by the 210th and 212th General Assemblies (1998 and 2000). These
actions included the following public policy provisions that called for:

1.	the ending of all economic sanctions against Iraq that make it
difficult or impossible for essential items to reach the people of Iraq (The
212th General Assembly further called "upon the United Nations to lift the
sanctions immediately and upon the United States government to abandon its
insistence on continuing them.");

2.	the maintaining of safeguards, such as military sanctions, that are
designed to prevent the government of Iraq from acquiring or developing the
means of mass destruction, in such a manner as not to prevent the delivery of
items mentioned above; 

3.	comprehensive efforts by the United Nations, the United States, and
the governments of the Middle East to remove all weapons of mass destruction
from that region, as part of the worldwide effort to eliminate such weapons
and end their development; 

4.	the government of Iraq to redirect its resources from developing and
deploying instruments of destruction to enterprises that will benefit the
Iraqi people; 

5.	all parties involved to actively and wholeheartedly seek a negotiated
solution based on diplomacy and not violence, peace and not war. 

In light of the foregoing affirmations and the guidance of our General
Assembly, the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

1.  Calls upon all Presbyterians to

-pray for the leaders of the United States, Iraq, and the members of the
United Nations, that they may receive the wisdom that leads to peace, not
war, and that results in renewed commitment to use their great resources for
the alleviation of poverty, hunger, and disease, and the rebuilding of the
lives, communities, and nations that already have been destroyed by war;
 
- pray that Saddam Hussein will cooperate fully as United Nations weapons
inspectors prepare to re-enter Iraq and will stop the oppression of his own
people and threats of violence against neighboring states;

-pray for all who are fearful over the prospect of war, especially the
families of all who will be placed in harm's way in the event of military
action, whether covert or in open warfare;

- pray for the Iraqi people who have been not only victimized by a repressive
government, but also devastated by more than a decade of destructive and
ineffectual economic sanctions;

- urge restraint on the part of our own government by communicating to each
one's Congressional representatives the policies of our General Assembly, and
especially our desire for negotiated solutions to international problems
rather than the resort to military violence.

2.  Calls upon our President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, Secretary
of Defense, National Security Advisor, Attorney General, and Congressional
leaders to:

- speak in ways that encourage peace, rather than war, and refrain from
language that seems to label certain individuals and nations as "evil" and
others as "good;"

- oppose ethnic and religious stereotyping, affirming the value of all United
States citizens and others around the world who embrace the visions of peace
found in Islam and other faith traditions;

- guard against a unilateralism, rooted in our unique position of political,
economic, and military power, that perpetuates the perception that "might
makes right," and sets us over against the larger community of nations;

- allow the decisions of the United Nations regarding the return of weapons
inspectors to Iraq to run their appropriate course without undue pressure or
threats of pre-emptive, unilateral action in the meantime by the United
States against Saddam Hussein or Iraq;

- end the economic sanctions, which have been an ineffectual weapon against
Saddam Hussein but have done untold damage to the Iraqi people, especially to
the children.

3. Commends to individuals and groups this call to prayer and action and the
resources on the PC(USA) Web site (www.pcusa.org) as a help in determining
how God is leading each to respond to this international crisis. 

September 28, 2002

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