UCC GMP issues statement following US/Israel attack on Iran, calls on elected officials to ‘reject war’

The United Church of Christ’s General Minister and President/CEO, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson issued a statement Saturday condemning the bombing of Iran by the United States and Israel, and urged people of faith to continue to call on elected officials to reject war. 

“We call for an end to the abuse of government might that is poured out on people who are not the ones making decisions yet bear the brunt of the ensuing violence, casualties of actions they do not support,” said Thompson in the statement.

The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979, the Associated Press reported.

In a video announcing the “major combat operations,” Trump told Iranians that “when we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Read the full statement below.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Hegemonic power is on full display in our world. Authoritarianism is on the rise along with a collective amnesia as leaders of nations lurch down paths of violence and war that have been traveled before with consequences of death, trauma, and hatred against neighbors.

Absent in these days are higher virtues, holy virtues of love and restraint, and the sacredness of the power of the Holy Spirit to act in love and kindness as we seek justice for all. Instead, power which is flexed is the unholy trinity of deceit, domination, and destruction.

The bombing of Iran by the United States and Israel, with diplomatic talks ongoing and progressing toward the stated aims, is the epitome of this evil and is strongly condemned.

The United Church of Christ calls on the United States and the Israeli governments to bring to an end the dropping of bombs which is killing children and innocent persons.

We call on Christians to act from the power of God with courage and a love that rejects fear of the powers and principalities of our day that would have us cower to hegemonic power.

We call for an end to the abuse of government might that is poured out on people who are not the ones making decisions yet bear the brunt of the ensuing violence, casualties of actions they do not support.

We urge people of faith to call on leaders to return to diplomatic efforts and to reject war as a tool for peace.

We pray for a lasting peace, a deep peace which is more than the end to violence and brings about a just world with flourishing for all, remembering also in our prayers other parts of the world where wars and civil unrest persist.

Giver of life, how you must grieve at the callous infliction of death and destruction, the easiness with which people choose the path of violence when you have shown us a better way through your love for all humankind. We remember the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who said, “They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. They acted shamefully; they committed abomination, yet they were not ashamed; they did not know how to blush.” In these moments, we cry out for peace, while leaders who do not know how to blush choose bluster, bombast, and bombs.

We pray for your intervention and a settling of your Spirit on the hearts of those which are now set on the path of domination: turn them back to the path of life. We pray for your intervention in the midst of our fear, that we persist in your truth with courage as we seek peace and justice for all. Protect those who are now in harm’s way and send your healing spirit to each one afflicted by acts of violence. Show us a way where there appears to be no way, a peace where there is now no peace, a path to restoration of community and a just and lasting peace.

Amen.

Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson
General Minister and President/CEO
United Church of Christ

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