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Church members show support for soldier refusing deployment
Aug. 14, 2007
A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Some United Methodists are rallying in support of Army Lt. Ehren Watada, 28,
who has refused deployment to Iraq because he feels the war is “morally
wrong” and “a breach of American law.”
He faces charges of missing troop movement, conduct unbecoming an officer
and contempt towards officials. A native of Hawaii, Watada is currently at
Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Wash.
A vigil and rally will be held at the gates of
Fort Lewis on Aug. 16, the date of the pre-trial hearing for Watada. Members
of Peace
House, a United
Methodist church, and Epworth United Methodist Church will participate, according
to the Rev. Barbara Bellus, Epworth’s pastor. Both congregations are
in Portland, Ore.
Supporters of Watada are asking for letters of support and prayers, Bellus
said. Three United Methodist bishops have written letters in support of Watada.
“ This letter is being written in support of you from one born and raised
in Hawaii, where there is a diversity of cultures and people, and a deep appreciation
for all of creation and all persons,” said Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata
of the denomination’s Portland (Ore.) Area. “Along with much of the rest of the nation, I have been observing with
great interest and concern the media accounts of your decision to challenge
the legality of the current war being raged in Iraq,” he continued.
“I perceive in your actions a courageous questioning of the role of
the military in our world and a willingness to act on the basis of what you
believe to be ethically right. As a bishop of the United Methodist Church,
I affirm our church’s stance on peace and war and applaud your willingness
to balance your call to duty with your innermost thoughts and core beliefs.”
In becoming the first military officer to refuse
an order for deployment to the Iraq war, Watada has stated, “It is
my conclusion as an officer of the Armed Forces that the war in Iraq is not
only morally
wrong but a horrible
breach of American law. As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately
unlawful as well, I must, as an officer of honor and integrity, refuse that
order.” Bishop Roy Sano, executive secretary of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops, addressed his letter to Watada’s mother,
Carolyn Ho.
“I was inspired by the brave step your son took in refusing to be deployed
to Iraq,” he wrote. ”In the United Methodist Church, we do not
take civil disobedience lightly, but when necessary for conscience sake, we
approve it in our Article of Faith and Social Principles. In addition, I want
you, and above all your son, to know that 109 United Methodist bishops signed
a statement of conscience concerning the war in Iraq.”
The statement, signed in November 2005, said in
part: “As elected and
consecrated bishops of the church, we repent of our complicity in what we believe
to be the unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq. In the face of
the United States administration’s rush toward military action based
on misleading information, too many of us were silent.”
United Methodist Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, who
leads the church’s Los
Angeles Area, also wrote a letter of support for the lieutenant. “I commend
you as one who has taken a courageous and difficult stand to publicly make
known a position you have come to believe in opposition to a particular war.”
Swenson cited Paragraphs 164, “About military service,” and 165, “About
war and peace,” from the denomination’s lawbook, the 2004 Book
of Discipline, which she said were the “underpinning of our support for
you.”
Paragraph 164 states in part: “We support and extend the church’s
ministry to those persons who conscientiously choose to serve in the armed
forces or to accept alternative service.”
“We believe war is incompatible with the teaching and example of Christ,” states
Paragraph 165.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville,
Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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