Peace memos - January 11, 1999

1. Sanctions and Bombing of Iraq

Undoubtedly, the recent bombings of Iraq was a cause for sadness over the Christmas season. It is painful to know that the sanctions lead to more human suffering than even the bombings, albeit less visibly. I fear that the bombings will be continued. You may wish to save this sheet and use some of the resources for enabling our prayful and prophetic responses.

• Richard McCutcheon, a professor at Menno Simons College in Winnipeg, and has done extensive work on the war and sanctions against Iraq. In a recent article, he worries that the barrage of information and images connected to the recent bombings (in relation to President Clinton’s impeachment, etc.) "obscures the human subject" and leads us away from "true compassion for the human being." We become bystanders to acts of violence, but with so much information out there, we are not able to process true horror of the messages. His prayer is that we find within ourselves and our communities the means to counteract "moral indifference." (Article published in Catholic New Times, January 10, 1999)
• The Prime Minister and other M.P.s can be contacted by writing to them, c/o House of Commons, Ottawa, K1A 0A6. Sample letters and other articles are available for the Mennonite Church Canada Peace & Justice Office.
• The Mennonite Church Peace and Justice Committee webpage has some good suggestions for creative ways to respond. Go to http://peace.mennolink.org/, then to "Iraqi Relations."
• One of their suggestions is to collect, dedicate and send gauze to our political leaders as a symbol of our desire to "bind up the wounds" caused by sanctions and bombing and because sanctions make basic medical supplies, such gauze, a rare commodity in Iraq. For example: At the Houston Mennonite Church, each person was handed a piece of gauze as they were given a bulletin. After a time of silence and words of lament, members were invited up to the worship table to offer their gauze and sign a letter. A prayer of confession followed. The gauze was latter mailed to President Clinton.
• Included in this mailing is a sheet with liturgies and readings for use in responding to conflict in Iraq, and may be adapted for other situations.

2. Hurricane Mitch and International Debt

There has been much in the secular news and the church press about the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch and how so many N. Americans have responded compassionately. Another factor to consider as Honduras and Nicaragua work to rebuild is that these nations owe $4.2 billion and $6 billion respectively to foreign creditors.

A Nicaraguan ecumenical group reports that the assistance received by that country so far is equal to what Nicaragua must pay every 20 days to service the debt. Not only is the debt repaid many times through interest, but conditions placed on the countries by creditors often lead to a weakening of medical care and education, destruction of the environment, and less land available to produce food for local people. Since 1982, $2 trillion has been transferred from Southern countries to Northern creditors.

There is currently a worldwide call for the cancellation of the world’s poorest debt, called Jubilee 2000. Canada’s Finance Minister, Paul Martin, has made statements giving some support to this idea. The Mennonite Church Canada is a part of the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative which is working at this campaign in Canada. This issue requires study, and resources are available at the Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre. Please commit this concern to prayer. The forgiveness of debts, in spirit of Leviticus 25 and the Lord’s Prayer, is a way to respond to human tragedy of Hurricane Mitch in a sustainable way.

3. Christian Peacemaker Team delegations

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a related organization of the Mennonite Church Canada, sends regular 2-week delegations to Chiapas, Mexico and Israel/West Bank to support local violence reduction efforts. Delegations learn about the situation from local people, monitor human rights abuses, engage in public witness and report to congregations in N.America. Please consider participating in a delegation, or encourage a member of your congregation to do so. Upcoming delegation dates:

• Middle East: Feb. 3-15, Apr. 13-25, May 26-Jun. 7, Aug. 1-14
• Chiapas: Feb. 13-24, May 21-Jun. 3, Aug. 1-13

More information is available from Christian Peacemaker Teams, Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680-6508 tel:773-277-0253, fax 773-277-0291, peacemakers@cpt.org , http://www.cpt.org/

4. Liturgy and Prayers for Responding to Bombing and Sanctions in Iraq

This is a liturgy of lament followed by a prayer of consecration, was written by Leo Hartshorn, pastor of Bethel Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA (December 1998). It intended for a gauze dedication ceremony during the Advent season. I invite you to adapt it and use it with gauze as a symbol of our desire to "bind up wounds."

We gather during this season of joyful celebration of Christ's birth
We come together to praise the God of all nations and peoples
We worship God, who has reconciled us and made us one
We sing praise to the Christ, who is our peace
With sorrowful hearts we acknowledge the rage of nations
With contrite spirits we lament the destruction of life in Iraq
from sanctions, which cut off life-saving resources to the people
from cruise missiles, which destroy people along with buildings
As a people we lament quick military solutions to complex problems
We lament our nation's support of political expedience over moral discernment
We confess complicity in our national sin through complacency
We repent of our trust in weapons of war over weapons of the Spirit
We shall seek to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God
As we remember the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes,
the child who would become Prince of Peace,
the one who would bind up the wounds of all peoples,
We offer these gauze strips to our [leaders]
as a prophetic symbol of life, peace, and healing to the nations
We pray God's will to be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.

Prayer of Consecration

Giver of life and hope, we offer these gauze strips as a symbol of life, peace, and healing for the nations. May they serve as tangible reminders of our prophetic role to speak the truth to power, to offer mercy instead of mayhem, and to heal the wounds of war. May they prick the moral conscience of our national leaders to reconsider the use of destruction as a means of quelling the possibility of destruction. As strips of cloth bound the body of the Christ child, so bind our hearts to the Galilean's side and the neighbor far away. Consecrate our lives to the doing of works of kindness, deeds of mercy, acts of healing, and following, against all odds, the winding way of the crucified and risen Christ. Amen.

A Prayer, written by Janeen Bertsche Johnson, February 16, 1998

Holy God, you have declared yourself merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We wait, God, for the showers of your mercy and grace to fall on your world. Hold back warring words. Turn leaders and peoples to Christ's way of peace. Break the cycles of injustice. Protect those who are the targets of violence and oppression. We pray for the shalom of our world: (space for spoken prayers from the community). Holy God, hear our prayers. (prayer may continue for other concerns of the community and church).

compiled by Jeremy Bergen, from the Mennonite Church Peace & Justice Committee Website