"I've decided that once the war starts, I'm not going to refill my car with gas until the war is over. It's Lent, and this is one kind of sacrifice I can make to protest this war and the reason we are in it."

—Brethren pastor Debbie Eisenbise, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Photo by David Radcliff — December 2001

Since sending a delegation to Iraq in December 2001, the Church of the Brethren has been active in advocating for an end to economic sanctions and a peaceful resolution of our conflict with Iraq. Through the Write for Life Campaign, Brethren sent some 12,000 postcards to President Bush. Global Food Crisis Fund grants have been made to UNICEF for a vital mother/child health monitoring project and to the Middle East Council of Churches to assist Iraqi Christians in their ministries to their communities.

The General Board of the Church of the Brethren offered a clear statement calling for a nonviolent resolution of the conflict at its October 2002 meeting. Congregations have participated in and given leadership to public peace witnesses. The Washington Office hand delivered letters from the General Secretary and General Board chair to every member of Congress in late fall. The Brethren Witness office has made dozens of presentations on humanitarian conditions in Iraq and the Brethren response to a pending military intervention.

And now our nation has launched war on Iraq.

Photo by David Radcliff — December 2001

More questions that answers seem to loom. Is the world community best served by one nation having the power to exert its will in any situation with little regard for the opinion of other nations? Can the peace and security we all seek be achieved by force, or do Christians believe there are other better paths toward this goal? What is the role of the church as a serving and peacemaking community in a nation seen by many as arrogant and bent on control?

Prayerfully consider the call of Christ and the heritage of the church–and the lives in the balance on both sides of the conflict–in choosing how to make your own response to the current crisis. The following resources are offered to assist congregations and individuals in making their voice heard, in calling on God's wisdom to enlighten and guide us, and in acting as Christians on our principles of service and love.

Photo by David Radcliff — December 2001

"Tell the people of your church that we in Iraq are suffering," pleaded Archbishop Gregorius Saleba of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Prayer for a time of war
Write for Life postcard campaign
Photos for use in congregations and in public witness
Christian Quandary–how to support the people suffering under repression without turning to violence
Responses to war offered by the Washington Office
Global Food Crisis Fund and Emergency Disaster Fund assistance responses to humanitarian relief efforts in Iraq

Additional resources in other locations include:
*Study materials available from Brethren Press (curriculum and books) or the Brethren Witness/Washington Office (six-session study guide Waging Peace, pocket-sized The Peace Book)
*Conscientious objector materials (see Peace and Justice section of Brethren Witness/Washington Office website)
*A variety of peace related worship resources is available at Way of Peace

"The people want peace; indeed, I believe they want peace so badly that the governments will just have to step aside and let them have it."

—Dwight Eisenhower

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

—Mother Teresa