Church Offers Sanctuary For Anti-War Soldiers
Troops refusing Iraq duty get a haven
The First United Methodist Church of Tacoma has said they will offer sanctuary to any soldier who does not want to go to Iraq for reasons of conscience. The administrative council of the church voted last weekend to open their doors to soldiers, after a Fort Lewis Army officer, Lt. Ehren Watada, said he thought the war in Iraq was illegal.
Is it just me or is this war beginning to have a very Vietnam-like feel to it? A pointless, wasteful, senseless war being waged by a President without a clue as to how to gracefully extricate himself without falling on his political sword. Meanwhile, Americans begin to recognize what their sorry excuse for a President has done and continues to do in their name, and abandon him and his failed policy in droves. Some Americans are beginning to take action to express their anger and disillusionment with a policy that seems to be accomplishing nothing except the meaningless and pointless slaughter of our sons and daughters.
TPRS is my means of taking action. It’s not much, but it gives me a means of expressing my anger and disillusionment. The good folks at The First United Methodist Church of Tacoma are doing their part to express their dismay, and I have to applaud them, because they’re taking far more risks then I am.
This is the sort of Christianity that I admire, because these folks are living their beliefs and willing to assume the risks that come with it. In recognizing that their are soldiers at nearby Ft. Lewis who may have legitimate reasons of conscience for opposing the war in Iraq and/or refusing to deploy, they are opening their doors to provide sanctuary to soldiers opposed to a war they view as both illegal and immoral.
The 300-member congregation’s administrative council voted last weekend to open its doors beginning this Saturday after 1st Lt. Ehren Watada announced that he thinks the war in Iraq is illegal and that he has sought to resign his commission.
A statement from the church on Wednesday said that service members “who are unable to deploy to combat areas for reasons of conscience” can find protection behind its doors.
“Our initiative was because of Lieutenant Watada’s gesture and a clear sense that we have, as a reconciling congregation, deeply involved in justice issues throughout the city, that any war, particularly this one, is inconsistent with Christian teachings,” the Rev. Monty Smith said Wednesday night.
Smith said the church stands “in solidarity” with others who hold similar social-justice convictions. The church essentially is providing a protective space and resources to those contemplating whether to resist deployment to Iraq, he said.
We should all have the moral strength and the courage of conviction displayed by the members of The First United Methodist Church of Tacoma. These fine folks not only believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, they’re actually living them. If all Christians could see their way clear to live the teachings of Christ in this manner, support for this illegal and immoral war would crumble immediately. No more “staying the course”, no more “real Americans don’t cut and run.” The members of The First United Methodist Church of Tacoma understand that their God is not a mean-spirited, vindictive, and war-like Supreme Being. He is a loving, compassionate, and non-violent God, whose love and compassion extends to ALL people. These so-called “Christians” could learn a thing or two about the REAL meaning of Christianity from the members of The First United Methodist Church of Tacoma.
