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National Council of Churches - 36 Communions of Faith Joining Hands and Voices to Express the Love of Christ

Christian Vocation Remains Peace

The commencement of the U.S.-led war against Iraq has not changed our vocation as Christians to be peacemakers. Throughout the past months churches have risen to this high calling. We have witnessed for peace and Candlelight vigils across the U.S., Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America lit the early evening skies on March 16.shared our understanding of the biblical basis for peacemaking. In this arduous task, we have taken comfort and strength in the words of Jesus who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

In this same passage, Jesus tells his followers, "You are the light of the world," and teaches us to let our light shine before others. In the gloom of war, let us be guided by the light of faith and let it shine forth through our words and actions. Here are several things that individuals and faith communities can do to give light at this time:

  • Keep open the doors of our houses of worship so that all who wish may enter for prayer.
  • Pray.  For the safety of our troops.  For the people of Iraq, especially the children, that they may be protected from harm and the multiple injustices of war.   For all the people of the world who will be put at risk by the uinintended consequences of this war.  Pray God's guidance for our leaders.
  • Keep a candle burning for peace on every altar, and encourage our members to keep a light of some kind shining in the windows of their homes and offices.
  • Show special concern and care for family members of U.S. forces on active duty.
  • Speak for peace.  Read statements for peace aloud in your churches, circulate them in your parish, and speak out individually and together as a community of faith.
  • Reach out to all your neighbors, especially Muslims and persons of Arab and Southeast Asian ethnicity who increasingly are threatened by acts of hatred and racial profiling. Defend our nation’s ideals of religious freedom and racial justice.
  • Take a collection for "All Our Children," an ongoing campaign to raise funds for health assistance for the children of Iraq, already in peril due to 12 years of trade sanctions and thus all the more vulnerable in war. The campaign is co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches, Church World Service and several other organizations, and has been endorsed by Jimmy and Rossalyn Carter. Send contributions c/o: Church World Service, All Our Children, Account #6801, P.O. Box 968, 28606 Phillips St., Elkhart, IN 46514. Credit card donations/more information is available at www.churchworldservice.org

We who have worked so hard to avert a pre-emptive war against Iraq mourn for all the lives now threatened -- indeed, already lost -- by the failure of their leaders to find alternatives to war.  May God bless all our efforts to bring light into a world under the shadow of war.

See also:

This candlelighting vigil was in the PhilippinesThis vigil was at the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada

 6,800 Candlelighting Vigils Held in 140 Countries; Concert, Rally Draw 4,000+ to Lincoln Memorial
On Sunday, Mar.16, the National Council of Churches joined with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Win Without War coalition to sponsor a global candlelighting vigil that stretched around the world, with 6,800 reported services scheduled in 140 countries at 7 p.m. local time.  In Washington, D.C., at the same hour, NCC's General Secretary Bob Edgar addressed more than 4,000 participants who had gathered in a drizzling rain at the Lincoln Memorial to express their oppostion to an invasion of Iraq.  Folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary were featured at the rally.  Click here for photos from various countries. 

White House Answers 'No' to Jan. 30 Letter Asking Bush Visit, Signed by 50 U.S. Church Leaders
The White House replied Mar. 5 to decline a Jan. 30 request "of utmost urgency" signed by 50 U.S. church leaders for a face-to-face meeting with President Bush about his plans for war.  Read church leaders' letter.

NCC Delegations Complete Five-Nation Round Of Visits With Pope, Key European Leaders
NCC leaders, in Moscow March 4-5, concluded a series of five visits with European leaders, pressing their conviction that Saddam Hussein can be disarmed without war.  During their final tour, the delegation met with four Russian government officials and with Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kalingrad.  Earlier NCC delegations met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, the French Foreign Ministry in Paris and Pope John Paul II and the Vice President of Italy's Parliament in Rome. To read more, click these links:  Berlin | Paris | London | Rome

New York City Cathedral Hosts Interfaith Dialogue
Now that the United States government has begun military action against Iraq, the attention of Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders will turn from averting the war to winning the peace. One group already fostering discussion of the issues Winning the Peaceis New York's Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Amsterdam and 113th Street. Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., an interfaith panel will include Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches and  former U.S. Congressman;  The Right Reverend Mark Sisk, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York; Sheikh Tosun Bayrak, The Jerrahi Order of America, and Rabbi Arthur Waskow of The Shalom Center.  The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Cathedral Forums on Religion and Public Life and the Congregation of St. Savior, in cooperation with the NCC and other groups. For more info:  212-316-7474 or cbreyer@cathedralnyc.org .

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