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October 5, 2002            

Bush, Cheney Among 8.4 Million U.S. United Methodists Called to Prayer Over War; President of United Methodist Bishops Counsels Bush to Avoid ‘Preemptive Strike’ 

SPRINGFIELD, IL. – In a pastoral letter to 8.4 million United Methodists in the United States, including President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops said the U.S. should act with restraint in dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. 

“A preemptive war by the United States against a nation like Iraq goes against the very grain of our understanding of the Gospel,” wrote Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher of Springfield, IL, urging the president to rethink his war strategy. 

 “Preemptive strike does not reflect restraint and does not allow for the adequate pursuit of peaceful means for resolving conflict. To be silent in the face of such a prospect is not an option for the followers of Christ,” she wrote. 

Christopher wrote there is no question Hussein is “in gross violation of numerous United Nations resolutions,” and commended the president for calling the international body to accountability to enforce them and urged him to use peaceful means to settle the crisis. 

In asking United Methodists to join in prayer for fellow United Methodists President Bush and Vice President Cheney, Christopher wrote, “Jesus rejects the violent response to evil… [and] moves the standard even higher by urging us to love our enemies.” 

After consulting with the council’s officers, Christopher distributed the letter to the 68 United Methodist bishops around the world Friday night, urging that it be read or distributed during Sunday’s worship services. Christopher quoted positions taken by the General Conference declaring, “war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject war as a usual instrument of national policy and insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them.” 

Christopher urged United Methodists to follow up their prayers with phone calls and letters to the “leaders of nations… letting them know of your deep concern.” The letter also has been sent to members of the U.S. Congress. 

Text of Bishop Christopher’s letter follows: 

Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
 Sharon A. Brown Christopher
President of the Council

October 4, 2002

Dear United Methodist Sisters and Brothers in Faith:

As the president of Council of Bishops, I write to you with a sense of urgency about the present perilous state of our world. I do so because 1) the Gospel of peace needs to be heard; 2) our United Methodist Social Principles offer guidance, and 3) our General Conference expects the Council of Bishops to "speak to the Church and from the Church to the world."

Nothing could be clearer than that the Gospel of Christ is a Gospel of peace. Jesus rejects the violent response to evil. "He who takes the sword will perish by the sword." Jesus, speaking to us about a new way of living, proclaims that peacemakers are blessed and that "they will be called children of God."  He moves the standard even higher by urging us to love our enemies and "pray for those who persecute you." Paul tells us that we are not to return evil for evil, but are to "overcome evil with good."

Our General Conference, on the basis of these Gospel teachings, declares:    

"Some nations possess more military and economic power than do others.  Upon the powerful rests responsibility to exercise their wealth and influence with restraint....  We believe war isincompatible with the teachings and example of Christ.  We therefore reject war as a usual instrument of national foreign policy and insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them."

Without question, Saddam Hussein is in gross violation of numerous United Nations resolutions, and President Bush is to be commended for calling the United Nations to accountability on this score. The United States and the United Nations should take the steps necessary to ensure compliance.

But a preemptive war by the United States against a nation like Iraq goes against the very grain of our understanding of the Gospel, our church's teachings, and our conscience.  Preemptive strike does not reflect restraint and does not allow for the adequate pursuit of peaceful means for resolving conflict. To be silent in the face of such a prospect is not an option for followers of Christ.

There is no question that President Hussein's demonstrated behavior leaves any thoughtful person horrified by his treatment of his own citizens and the citizen's of Iraq's neighboring countries. However, ours has been historically a church seeking peace, justice, and reconciliation. Even as we acknowledge the need for military action as a means of self-defense demanded by highly unusual circumstances, our primary allegiance is to what we understand the basics of the Gospel of Jesus Christ require of us– grace, mercy, peace, justice, and love.

So, I call all of us to prayer. Pray for the leaders of the nations, many of whom bear the name of Christ, that they may truly be led by the spirit of Christ as crucial decisions are made. Write and phone them, letting them know of your deep concern. Especially lift your prayers for United Methodists President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, that they may truly seek the will of God in Christ as they make awesome decisions of life and death, war and peace.

In Christ,
Sharon A. Brown Christopher