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March 30, 2006
Opposing the War, Supporting the Troops
by Faithful Progressive
FP is a member of a unique partnership church that includes ELCA and UCC churches. Three years ago, our congregations held a vigil just as the war in Iraq began. It was a public service--in full view of the very busy street in Madison which our churches call home. The service was highlighted by prayers and the placing of crosses and stones, symbolizing the human cost of the war. I remember the very distinctive and slightly spooky sound of the stones pounding the crosses into the ground...echoes of the pain and grief of wars past and present, as well as of the crucifixion itself.
Three years later, and as this post suggests, there is little to show for thousands of deaths on all sides. Since then, our churches have kept busy supporting the troops--even as many of us have continued to oppose the war. As the article below relates, we have sent thousands of books and other items to help ease the strain on our troops. As my friend and pastor, The Rev. Jeff Wild, makes clear in this article, there's certainly no contradiction between opposing the war and supporting the troops.
The article is mainly about a service planned for this Sunday: Wild says the special service Sunday evening will be "an expression of sorrow, sadness and outrage about the circumstances surrounding the war," but one that's "framed in the context of a public worship service that's biblically grounded, especially in the Old Testament."
Maybe this can be a model for other religious groups to consider--maybe religious leaders will lead us into a more serious and honest discussion of what it means to be a super-power, and what it means to support our troops.
Lamenting the war in a supportive way
Though Wild won't be giving a sermon, he acknowledged in an interview this week that he's angrier than ever about the war and says he takes no satisfaction at having predicted in an interview with this reporter three years ago that the war would become a disaster.
"In fact, I'd say it's even worse that I thought it would be," he says, "what with the kinds of torture being sanctioned by members of the Bush administration down the chain of command right to the soldier on the field....To me, it's just so upsetting."
Not surprisingly, Wild believes the U.S. military should get out of Iraq as soon as possible. But beyond that, "We need to redefine what it means to be the greatest country in the world," he says. "We need to move away from this idea that we have the most powerful army and can do we as we please, to becoming a more humanitarian nation that respects the human rights of all people."
And what better time to ponder that, Wild suggests, than the three-year anniversary of a war that appears to have no end? "It's a significant event," he says. "It shouldn't just pass us by and go unnoticed."
Posted by Faithful Progressive at March 30, 2006 10:24 PM
Comments
Not sure that Wild "makes clear" in the linked article that supporting the war and supporting the troops are 2 different things, even though I agree with him. It's more storyline, not rationale.
Good post, however.
Posted by: JP at March 31, 2006 11:25 AM
Hello JP.
I think this says it all:
From linked article:
I don't know why some people say it has to be one or the other. I don't see any reason why that has to be the case," says Wild, the Lutheran pastor at Madison Christian Community on the far west side....But his critics may be surprised to learn that Wild's congregation has gone beyond the "empty rhetoric," as he puts it, and shown its support for our troops in a very big way.
In the last eight months, they've shipped about 90 boxes of coffee, candy, DVDs and assorted other goods to U.S. soldiers in Iraq, an effort that's been funded by private donations and the church's "treasury of love," said parishioner Brad Spencer, who has coordinated the whole thing.
And they've joined forces with Peter Fribley, a retired Presbyterian pastor and former Army chaplain, and have sent an astounding 27,100 books - or about 6 tons - to U.S. troops over the last three years.
"If we were anywhere else but Madison, I doubt we could have pulled this off," says the 72-year-old Fribley, who notes that each book bears a sticker that says "Whoever you are and wherever you are, you are being prayed for."
"Churches have donated, individuals have donated, libraries have donated. And Half-Price Books has given me carloads of books," he says, adding that he hasn't sought publicity "because that's not what this is about."
Wild says the special service Sunday evening will be "an expression of sorrow, sadness and outrage about the circumstances surrounding the war," but one that's "framed in the context of a public worship service that's biblically grounded, especially in the Old Testament."
And while the idea for the service is widely supported by the church's 450 parishioners, Wild says, he's also hoping to attract a large number of people from throughout the Madison area - particularly since "to my knowledge there are no other congregations or church communities that are doing anything like this."
Posted by: FP at April 1, 2006 04:08 PM
There's a term for this. I think it's "cognitive dissonance."
Posted by: The Joker at April 1, 2006 04:09 PM
Show your love for God, Don't vote Republican. When you start a war how can you say I suport the troops when you are geting them killed,is that Republican lodgic
Posted by: Monte Schlarman at April 1, 2006 11:32 PM
It's been 14 years since I was last in Madison, but I do still keep in regular touch with the relatives. How come the Episcopal Church there isn't in on this parternship?
I was pleased to see that ELCA and UCC are in partnership, at least in Madison. You sure wouldn't find that here in southwestern Virginia, but then we only have one, 13-member UCC congegation in a fairly out-of-the way town. And the ELCA churches hereabouts is so conservative that I can't figure out their quarrel with the one Missouri Synod Lutheran Church.
Oh - I get it! I'm thoroughly guilty of what FP's article is talking about -- dividing people into standardized groups of religious affiliation.
Posted by: Cathie at April 2, 2006 12:26 AM
