wfn.org | Episcopalians: Episcopalians respond to beginning of war with Iraq

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March 26, 2003

2003-067

Episcopalians: Episcopalians respond to beginning of war with 
Iraq

by James Solheim

(ENS) As the American-led offensive against Iraq began, 
Episcopalians joined Christians around the world in praying for 
a quick end to the war and the safe return of troops. In the 
meantime church doors across the nation are open, candles are 
lit, and voices raised in earnest petitions for peace. 

Writing to Episcopal and Anglican bishops, Archbishop of 
Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a statement, "We have entered 
on a time of acute suffering for some and of anxiety for all 
peoples and nations round the world." He called for church 
leaders to pray that "the military action now being undertaken 
may help to bring about a more stable future for the whole 
region, with justice for all." He expressed special concern for 
the Christians of the Middle East that they and their neighbors 
of other faiths "will find the strength and vision to go on 
working for a shared future of understanding and respect." 

Williams also urged prayers for "those in the front line of 
conflict and their families" and the clergy who serve as 
chaplains, "charged with pastoral responsibility for men and 
women on active service." In a special letter to military, he 
said, "You stand in a long and honorable tradition of Christians 
bearing witness to the love of Christ in hard and dangerous 
places." 

Meanwhile, a joint statement by Churches Together in Britain and 
Ireland (CTBI), which represents all mainstream Christian 
churches, and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said 
resorting to war reflected the "collective failure" of both 
faith communities. 

"In this time of crisis and deep disappointment, it is vitally 
important that, despite the occasional unhappy use of 'crusade' 
language by some American political leaders, none should see the 
conflict as one between faiths," the statement continued. 

Defeat for humanity 

"What we feared and labored to avert has happened," said the 20 
senior leaders of Middle East churches--including Bishop Riah 
Abu el-Assal of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East--in 
a statement released March 21 by the Middle East Council of 
Churches. They pledged to continue their efforts to limit the 
expansion of the war, "spare innocent civilians, and bring to a 
halt as quickly as possible." They also called for international 
aid to help the victims of the conflict. 

Riah said he fears that the outbreak of war in Iraq could have a 
devastating effect on the Christian presence in the Middle East. 
"We had the Gulf War in the 1990s which caused many Iraqi 
Christians to leave or emigrate and now. God forbid, with 
another war in Iraq, we will put an end to Christian presence 
throughout the Middle East," he explained. 

He said that many Muslims believed that the latest conflict was, 
in fact, a modern day equivalent of the Christian Crusades that 
"caused a lot of harm to Christian presence in Jerusalem and 
throughout the Middle East." He said that many in the region see 
the war as one "where Islam is targeted, where Muslims are 
targeted." 

World Council of Churches General Secretary Konrad Raiser said 
that the attack is "immoral, illegal and ill-advised," arguing 
that the war "will only confirm and aggravate stereotypes and, 
in many parts of the world, add to an image of the West marked 
by colonialism and crusades." 

Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
Jerusalem and Jordan warned, "It is clear that this war in Iraq 
is going to fan the flames of hatred and extremism around the 
world. We urge you to pray for our broken humanity." He added, 
"My heart is bleeding when I see the work of war destroying the 
image of God in human beings. Every drop of blood is too 
precious to be spilled and wasted." Echoing the words of Pope 
John Paul II, he said that "war is a defeat for humanity." 

"In the midst of these horrific events, our prayers are with our 
brothers and sisters in the Middle East," said a statement from 
Churches for Middle East Peace, an ecumenical coalition working 
for peace in the region. "We pray that the leaders of our nation 
and the nations of the world will have compassion and wisdom." 

Fear and division 

"We are deeply concerned that this should not be seen as a 
conflict between Christians and Muslims," said Bishop Clive 
Handford, Anglican bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf and president 
of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. He pledged 
himself to support efforts "to do all in our power to combat the 
forces which would seek to polarize our faiths," and said that 
resolution of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is 
a crucial component in the search for peace in the region. 

Other international leaders also responded. "War happens when 
dialogue, talks and human dealing fails," said Anglican 
Archbishop Robin Eames of Ireland. "It marks the failure of 
humanity to succeed in reaching agreement by other means. 
History has taught us that lesson in Ireland." 

"The advent of war has brought fear and division into our 
community," said Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia. 
"It is right to remember that the government is God's agent set 
over us for our good and that our military personnel are obeying 
the lawful authorities." 

"I ask for your prayer for an anxious world, uncertain as to 
what has been unleashed, frightened by its possible 
consequences, and at risk in ways that we do not yet know," said 
Archbishop Michael Peers, primate of the Anglican Church of 
Canada. "As we journey in Lent towards the place where the power 
of death and the power of life face one another on the cross, 
may we have grace to trust the One whose voice speaks our name 
on the day of Resurrection." 

The rush to war 

Leaders of the National Council of Churches said they were 
praying "for the men and women of the armed forces of both 
sides, facing grave dangers in a mission not of their making". 

"We who have worked so hard to avert a pre-emptive war against 
Iraq mourn for all the lives now threatened by the failure of 
their leaders to find alternatives to war," said General 
Secretary Bob Edgar, and Elenie Huszagh, the president of the 
NCC, in a joint statement issued after US President George W. 
Bush announced that military strikes had begun. 

In recent months, Edgar has been among the foremost critics of a 
"rush to war" against Iraq, and, with other US Christian leaders 
also critical of military intervention. In a message to 
churches, Edgar called on congregations to keep their sanctuary 
doors open to all who wished to enter for prayer, to keep a 
candle burning for peace on every altar and to "reach out" to 
Muslims. 

Christians are also responding with compassion to the 
humanitarian crisis provoked by the war. Episcopal Relief and 
Development (ERD)has partnered with the Middle East Council of 
Churches to provide critical assistance to those seeking 
shelter, food and other essentials and helping through the MECC 
to stock relief distribution centers for those Iraqis displaced 
by the war. Church World Service (CWS), the relief and 
development agency of the NCC, announced its intention to 
accelerate its long-standing relief services to the people of 
Iraq while voicing concerns over the humanitarian toll of the 
war. 

"This is not a moment for triumphalism, but for humility and 
repentance," said the CWS board in a statement. "The people of 
Iraq must be given hope that there are alternatives to both 
dictatorship and war." 

In Rome, where Pope John Paul II has made repeated calls for a 
peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis, the pontiff dedicated a 
dawn Mass in his private chapel to peace. 

In a statement, the Vatican said on Thursday that it "deplored" 
Iraq's failure to accept UN resolutions and "regretted" that 
negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis had been 
interrupted. 

Earlier this week the Vatican had warned that "whoever decides 
that all the peaceful means made available under international 
law are exhausted assumes a grave responsibility before God, his 
conscience and history." 

Resources for parishes 

Across the Episcopal Church, local parishes addressed the fear 
and anxiety through special services and open discussions in the 
search for peace. 

In a service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York 
City the day the bombs started to fall in Iraq, Bishop Mark Sisk 
urged the congregation to "pray for protection against war's 
greatest threat--its attack on our souls. Let us pray always 
that our hearts not be hardened, that they not be hardened 
against the distant enemy or the stranger in our midst. Let us 
pray that we not become inured to the price that others pay on 
our behalf--or to the price that we are asked to pay in liberty 
for liberty." 

In a vesper service that drew over a thousand people, retired 
New York Bishop Paul Moore returned to the pulpit at the 
cathedral and warned that the divisions surrounding the war 
"will lead to a terrible crack in the whole culture we have come 
to know." 

Many dioceses used their Web sites to provide peace resources 
for parishes. In Chicago, the site includes a wide range of news 
stories, events, liturgical materials and commentary. Bishop 
William Persell urged clergy and lay leaders to "provide a 
non-anxious presence in the midst of people who are fearful, 
angry, depressed, even despairing" and "stay connected to 
everyone, those who agree and especially those who disagree with 
you." A 24-hour vigil was organized by the Episcopal Peace 
Fellowship and the American Friends Service Committee. 

The Web site in the Diocese of Southwest Florida included a 
variety of suggestions--and some ideas on addressing the moral 
implications of military action, including "A Primer on 
War--Pacifism and Just War Tradition." The Diocese of Los 
Angeles offered panel discussions on war and peace in different 
locations around the diocese. Bishop John Bruno said in a 
statement, "We need to be ready at the conclusion of this war to 
rebuild Iraq and make it a place of peace, tranquility and 
justice. We have an obligation to the innocent for, as Howard 
Zinn says, 'There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of 
killing innocent people.'" 

Many Web sites included the recent pastoral letter from the 
House of Bishops, written on the eve of the first bombings. In a 
letter written to his diocese from the meeting, Bishop Herbert 
Thompson of Southern Ohio called on parishes to make lists of 
military personnel for prayers and "remember to support the 
families of those who have been called up for service. Do not 
let criticism of our nation's military go unchallenged." 
(Bishops in Oregon and New Jersey made similar suggestions.)

Thompson also urged the parishes "to seek ways to reaffirm our 
solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith and 
the Muslim faith." In case of emergency, he noted that Bishop 
George Packard's office has information on "What to do when 
disaster strikes," as well as other resources on the Web site 
for the Office of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies.

------

For more resources, see these other diocesan web sites: 

Connecticut: http://www.ctdiocese.org/bishop/iraq.htm 

Fort Worth: http://www.fwepiscopal.org/War%20in%20Iraq.html 

Massachusetts: http://www.diomass.org/ 

Michigan: http://www.edomi.org/iraq2003.asp 

Minnesota: http://www.episcopalmn.org/ 

North Carolina: http://www.episdionc.com/hob.htm 

Ohio: http://www.dohio.org/iraq/ 

Pennsylvania: http://www.diopa.org/diopa/ 

South Carolina: http://www.edusc.org/ 

Utah: http://www.episcopal-ut.org/ 

Vermont: http://www.dioceseofvermont.org/ 

Washington: http://www.edow.org/peace/middle_east.htm

--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service.