NOTE: Photographs will be available with this report.
By Carol Fouke-Mpoyo*
Worshipers
march from the National Cathedral in Washington to the White House in a
call for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis. An estimated 3,200
people filled the cathedral to pray for peace. A UMNS photo by Ryan
Beiler/Sojourners. Photo number 03-25, Accompanies UMNS #030, 1/23/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Robed
clergy lead a peaceful vigil from the National Cathedral in Washington
to the White House carrying a message of peace. From left are: Dean
Nathan Baxter, Washington National Cathedral; the Rev. Jim Wallis,
executive director and editor of Sojourners and convener of Call to
Renewal; the Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, Episcopal bishop of
Washington; the Rev. Bob Edgar, top staff executive of the National
Council of Churches; and the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and
president of the United Church of Christ. . A UMNS photo by Ryan
Beiler/Sojourners. Photo number 03-26, Accompanies UMNS #030, 1/23/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
The
Rev. Bob Edgar challenges worshipers at the National Cathedral in
Washington to imagine "that the kind of time, creativity and money that
are being poured into preparations for war against Iraq were being
poured instead into the challenge of ending poverty in the United States
and around the world." Some 3,200 people filled the cathedral to pray
for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis. Edgar is the top staff
executive of the National Council of Churches and a United Methodist
clergyman. A UMNS photo by Ryan Beiler/Sojourners. Photo number 03-24,
Accompanies UMNS #030, 1/23/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
WASHINGTON (UMNS) - An estimated 3,200 people
filled the National Cathedral Jan. 20 to pray for a peaceful resolution
of the Iraq crisis. Afterward, worshipers marched down Massachusetts
Avenue to the White House, bearing candles and "War Is Not the Answer"
placards.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prayer Service for Peace
and Justice focused on the connection between war and poverty. The
theme of the service was inspired by the words of the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr., spoken in the cathedral 34 years ago, when the Vietnam War
was at its height. During his last Sunday sermon, just four days before
he was assassinated, King challenged the country to "find an
alternative to war."
"Imagine that the kind of time, creativity
and money that are being poured into preparations for war against Iraq
were being poured instead into the challenge of ending poverty in the
United States and around the world," said the Rev. Bob Edgar, staff head
of the National Council of Churches and a United Methodist clergyman.
"Martin
Luther King Jr. was right - war diverts attention and resources from
the needs of impoverished people, especially the children. War is an
enemy of the poor."
The ecumenical service was co-sponsored by
the National Council of Churches, Children's Defense Fund, Episcopal
Diocese of Washington and Call to Renewal and Sojourners. Leaders of at
least 24 denominations, faith-based organizations and religious orders
participated.
Bishop Felton Edwin May, of the United Methodist Church's Baltimore-Washington Conference, read a Scripture passage.
The
service's three segments - "for peace," "for the eradication of poverty
and racism" and "for the world" - each included readings from King's
last Sunday sermon, March 31, 1968. Each segment also included
Scripture, prayer and a brief reflection.
"Most gracious God ....
(H)elp us today to remember that our gathering in this cathedral is not
a time for demonstration," said the Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane,
Episcopal bishop of Washington, in his reflection on "for peace," which
he offered in the form of a prayer.
"Help our nation, its
leaders and the leaders of Iraq and other nations that would use
violence as a threat or means to accomplish their ends to understand
that we are living in a new global age, where war is no longer an option
in settling disputes.
"Most gracious God," he continued, "help
us as a nation to use the richness of our wealth, technology, medical
research and agricultural abundance as the new 'weapons of mass
rebuilding' in our war against violence, poverty, disease, famine and
the feeling of hopelessness that billions of people on this planet now
experience. May we seek to remove from our language once and for all the
phrase 'weapons of mass destruction!'"
The Rev. Jim Wallis,
executive director and editor of Sojourners and the convener of Call to
Renewal, reflected on "for the world." "Today," he said, "we pray to God
and plead with our national leaders to avoid the destructiveness of war
and find a better way to resolve the very real threats involved in this
conflict with Iraq. We believe that is possible, and we believe we can
still stop this war before it starts.
"From this National
Cathedral and then in our candlelight vigil at the White House," Wallis
said, "we appeal to President George W. Bush today, not in anger but in
hope, to a fellow brother in Christ, to heed the words of the prophets,
the words of our brother, Martin Luther King Jr., the words of Jesus,
the prince of peace - to win this battle without war, to transform our
swords into plowshares, and, yes, to persevere in disarming the world of
weapons of mass destruction - all of them, including our own - but
without the killing of more innocents."
Marian Wright Edelman,
president of the Children's Defense Fund, offered the reflection on "for
the eradication of poverty and racism."
Organizers of the
service pointed out that, by most accounts, war with Iraq would cost at
least $100 billion - at a time when domestic spending is facing a large
cut. That $100 billion, they note, is three times the amount spent by
the federal government on K-12 education. It is also enough money to
provide health care to all uninsured children under age 5 in the United
States for the next five years. # # # *Fouke-Mpoyo is the communications staff person for the National Council of Churches.
Korean News
