| Bishop May dialogues with nations political leaders By Erik Alsgaard UMConnection Staff Washington Area episcopal leader Bishop Felton Edwin May participated in a discussion group at the Pentagon the morning of Dec. 18, discussing Afghanistan, terrorism and a possible war with Iraq. Bishop May, invited by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, was part of small group of religious leaders who gathered for two hours at the Pentagon. Others in the group included Chuck Colson; the Rev. Frank Grisswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; and Clarence Newland, a dean at Howard University in Washington, D.C. I am convinced, more than ever after this meeting, that The United Methodist Church needs to revisit and restudy the document, In Defense of Creation, said Bishop May. This document is our churchs gift to the world for peace. In it, youll find a careful implementation and interpretation of the just war theory. In Defense of Creation: the Nuclear Crisis and a Just Peace was the Council of Bishops response to the threat of nuclear war, released in 1986. Bishop May, soon after Sept. 11, urged the Council to look anew at the text, inserting the words terrorism or terrorists for nuclear war throughout. The two-hour meeting began with a discussion on relief efforts and reconstruction in Afghanistan. Bishop May raised the question of the drug cartel in that country being the de facto government. Department of Defense officials said that this was, indeed, a significant problem. The market for drugs produced in Afghanistan is Europe and the United States, said Bishop May. Unless were willing to deal with the whole thing, any relief or reconstruction we do in Afghanistan may go for nothing. The bishop also raised the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, poverty and lack of education in Africa and other countries. Until these issues are addressed, he said, well perpetually generate more terrorists. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz gave a brief report to the group on the war on terrorism and the situation with Iraq. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld joined the group for the last 10 minutes of the meeting, after being at the White House all morning. It was fascinating to be with people who are carving out policy that affects the lives of literally millions of people, said Bishop May. The meeting caused me to urge United Methodists to rediscover who we are, to begin to articulate our position on war and to look seriously again at In Defense of Creation. The president of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher of Springfield, Ill., wrote a pastoral letter calling for restraint with Iraq in early October. The letter asks for United Methodists including President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to join in praying for peace. A pre-emptive war by the United States against a nation like Iraq goes against the very grain of our understanding of the Gospel, Bishop Christopher wrote. More recently, Win Without War, a movement of people who oppose a pre-emptive war against Iraq, held a press conference Dec. 11 to outline their agenda. United Methodists on hand included Jim Winkler, General Secretary at the General Board of Church and Society; and the Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. United Methodist News Service contributed to this story. | 
Login/Register to leave comment