From the Dean
Dear Friends in Christ,
I have spent considerable time over the past two months in the company of religious leaders from many faith communities in the greater San Diego area. We came together around a shared concern – the continuing war in Iraq – and we are committed to speaking to that issue with a common voice on the third anniversary of the initiation of the conflict. Representatives from the Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Unitarian, and Buddhist religions have, during our time together, expressed our need for fellowship and support in the face of an action that is generally unsupported by the deeper strains of our various traditions. We have also confessed a spirit of timidity that kept us from sharing the teaching of our leaders – historic and contemporary - on the issues of war and peace.
From a Christian perspective, our involvement in Iraq cannot be called “just” because it fails to meet several of the most basic conditions of the Just War Theory (for example, a proportional response to an actual injury; military action used only as a last resort; the absence of commercial interest). In the hope of rectifying this situation, our coalition has put forward three recommendations that we believe support both our troops in the field and the people living in that region: We urge our leaders to begin a phased decrease of U.S. troops from Iraq, formally announce their pledge to refrain from establishing a permanent military presence in that country, and reengage the attempt to internationalize the peace-keeping effort.
All of our work on this crucial topic will come to a point on Sunday, March 19th. I have invited the Reverend Art Cribbs, a UCC minister in San Diego and a leader of the clergy coalition, to preach at our two English-speaking services that morning. Our forum speaker will be Robert Ellsworth, the former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ambassador to NATO, and Republican member of the House of Representatives. At 2:00pm, we will reconvene in the cathedral for a service of interfaith prayers for peace. After worshipping, we will walk in silent procession to the Hall of Nations in Balboa Park and there hear more speakers express their concerns about our current course as well as their hopes for global healing and reconciliation.
And then, because I don’t expect everyone at the cathedral to be in full accord on this matter, I have scheduled a listening session on the following Sunday, March 26th, at 9:15 am in the Fireside Room. I hope you will plan to attend the events of the previous week and that meeting to share any comments you have, positive or negative, about the position I have taken or the platform we have advanced. May we engage one another in a spirit of honesty, clarity, charity, mutual respect, and hope for our common future as a global family. I look forward to your presence and participation.
God’s peace,
Scott+
