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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodists together |
November/December 2006 |
Evangelical coalition urges Darfur intervention
By Bill Fentum
"… stop the genocide affecting 'the least of these' in Darfur."
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Only aggressive action by President George W. Bush can end the horror of genocide in Sudan's Darfur region, says Evangelicals for Darfur, a U.S. evangelical coalition that includes leading voices of both liberal and conservative movements.
The group published an open letter Oct. 18 to Bush in full-page ads in major newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. Group leaders also held a press teleconference that same day.
"We beseech you to act on your faith and do the right thing by leading the world to stop the genocide affecting 'the least of these' in Darfur," the 24 evangelical leaders urged Bush in the letter. "Ending the atrocities will require your personal leadership in supporting the deployment of a strong U.N. peacekeeping force and multilateral economic sanctions."
The letter's signers, who pledged to rally support for intervention in Congress and the United Nations, included the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners/Call to Renewal; the Rev. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; the Rev. Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE); and authors Tony Campolo and Brian McClaren.
"This issue isn't about Republicans and Democrats, conservatives or liberals, even Christians or Muslims. It's about compassion and the commands of God," Wallis said during the Oct. 18 teleconference.
"A lot of us get inspiration from movements in 19th-century America and 18th-century Britain, where evangelicals helped lead the way in abolishing slavery, reforming child labor laws and supporting women's suffrage - big issues. Darfur can be one of those issues for us now."
Silence from U.S.
One of the culprits, Land said, is silence from U.S. Christians on the issue. "We're commanded by Jesus to be salt and light, to make a difference where we see injustice and in every area of society. That command doesn't stop at the borders of the United States."
He said the group hopes to inspire evangelicals - who can sign the letter at www.evangelicalsfordarfur.org - to urge action from their Congressional representatives.
"It's been my observation that when Washington feels the heat, they see the light," Land said.
Rich Cizik, the NAE's vice president for government affairs, said he will travel in mid-November with a delegation of evangelical leaders to Rabat, Morocco, to continue a series of talks with moderate Islamic leaders. In past trips, Cizik said, he's asked Morocco's King Mohammed VI and other leaders to press Sudan for an end to the violence.
"Likeminded people of good faith in Islam need to play a part in resolving this crisis," he said.
Land agreed, adding that he sees reason for hope in the Arab League's recent offer to send Muslim peacekeeping troops to Darfur.
"The extent to which we can get Muslim countries to agree to be the backbone of this U.N. peacekeeping force, will be all to the good," Land said.
UMC agency joins call
The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society issued a call for deployment of 17,500 U.N. peacekeepers and more than 3,000 civilian police to Sudan during its fall meeting in Washington, D.C.
The action followed Congress' approval of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which directs President Bush to block assets and deny visas of people believed to be involved in genocide or other war crimes in Darfur.
In late 2005, the United Methodist Committee on Relief expanded field operations in South Darfur to include agricultural aid and emergency supply distribution. UMCOR also works with other relief groups, including Action by Churches Together International, to help refugees fleeing to Chad, Sudan's western neighbor.
To aid UM relief efforts, drop checks payable to UMCOR - earmarked for "Sudan Emergency, Advance No. 184385" - in church offering plates. Donations may also be mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. To make a credit-card donation, call toll-free 800-554-8583.
Bill Fentum servers as an associate editor of the Dallas based United Methodist Reporter. This story first appeared in the United Methodist Reporter, Nov. 3, 2006 issue. Used by permission. United Methodist Reporter c 2006. All rights reserved.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008