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“Do you have any worship resources to use if the war starts?”
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program began to receive the calls
in the middle of February. Across the country, Presbyterians
were confronting the growing possibility of war. Among the responses
the program decided to plan were opportunities for people to
pray and worship God together.
With other people of faith, Presbyterians continued to pray
and work to avert war on Iraq until the moment it began. However,
they did so realistically, recognizing that many factors pointed
to an increasing likelihood of war. While hope inspired ongoing
efforts to prevent war, realism suggested the need for preparations
for its eventuality.
The Peacemaking Program told the Iraq Strategy Team about the
requests that it was receiving. In a spirit of hopeful realism,
those involved decided to begin producing resources for Presbyterians
to use in worship and prayer services if war began.
The first resources were gathered and posted on the PC(USA)
Web site by the Peacemaking Program and the Middle East Office
with input from the Office of Theology and Worship. They included
prayers from the Book of Common Worship, prayers adapted from
those written at the time of the first Gulf war, and new prayers
written for this occasion. The resources incorporated prayers
for:
- world unity
- those in the United States military, the Iraqi military,
and the Allied military
- leaders of the United Nations, the United States, the United
Kingdom, Iraq, and other nations of the world
- Iraqi citizens
- victims of war
- family and friends of those in military service
- those who refuse military service for conscience’s
sake
- those we call our enemies
- peace
- hope
An order of worship was designed. It featured a time of reflection
when participants would be invited to light candles and name
aloud those people for whom they wish to pray. It also suggested
several periods of silence to allow participants to pray privately.
The Office of Theology and Worship and others contributed additional
resources to the Web site. They included a communion service
and various ecumenical resources. A number of the resources
were used during worship services at the Presbyterian Center.
Adapting the suggested resources and adding their own material,
Presbyterians responded to the beginning of war with a variety
of prayer and worship services. Often Presbyterian congregations
participated in joint services with other Presbyterian congregations
or with ecumenical or interfaith partners. Many services were
held the night of March 19; others were held on March 20; and
still others took place at various times over the next weekend.
A number of congregations regularly held special worship services
throughout the duration of the war. For example:
- First Presbyterian Church of Hartford, Connecticut,
joined other churches in town in ringing their bells at 12:15
p.m. daily to mourn the death of any of God’s children
whose lives were ended by the hostilities.
- During a worship service on Thursday, March 20, First
Presbyterian Church of Tracy, California, offered
worshipers the opportunity to write cards to those serving
in the military.
- Memorial Presbyterian Church in Midland, Michigan,
joined the Midland Area Clergy Association and the Midland
Evangelical Pastors Association in providing prayer services
at noon and 7:00 p.m. each Monday during the war.
- Northminster Church in Indianapolis, Indiana,
held a prayer service for peace each Wednesday evening during
the war.
- Lakeside Presbyterian Church of Lakeside Park,
Kentucky, worshiped weekly on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
during the war.
- Grace Presbyterian Church in Sandy, Utah,
was one of many congregations that opened its sanctuary or
other part of its building for people to use for prayer and
meditation on March 20.
- St. Luke Union Church, a PC(USA) and UCC congregation
in Bloomington, Illinois, opened its sanctuary for
prayer and reflection during the hours 11:00–1:00 weekdays
beginning on March 20 and continuing until the war ended.
- First Presbyterian Church of Bridgeton, New Jersey,
held a Candlelight Time of Prayer for Justice, Peace, and
Freedom each Sunday evening from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. during
the war.
- United Presbyterian Church of Bellville, Kansas,
joined the county ministerial association for a Prayer Service
for Our World held at a Kansas National Guard Armory on Sunday,
March 23.
- First Presbyterian Church of Homewood, Illinois,
used the worship resources from the Web to create a Pray for
Peace devotion book for members to take to their homes.
- Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco
was one of a number of churches that either linked to the
PC(USA) worship resources or posted them on their congregational
Web site.
Presbyteries also made use of the resources in their worship
life. For example:
- The Peacemaking Committee of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley
helped plan and lead an interfaith service on March 19.
- The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta sponsored a prayer service
for Peace, Unity, and Reconciliation on Sunday, March 23.
- The Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse shaped its docket as a
worship service when it met on March 25.
During times of turmoil or grief, we turn to each other and
we turn to God for comfort and support. We give thanks for God’s
goodness. We lean on God’s strength. In a time of war,
Presbyterians did just that—worshiping regularly and often,
and in so doing, experiencing God’s sustaining love and
grace.
Of course this story only scratches the surface. It provides
just a sample of the ways that Presbyterians worshiped in this
time of war. We give thanks to God for those who shared their
stories with us and for those whose stories we do not know.
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
from A Brief Statement of Faith—
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Mark Koenig, Peacemaking Resources and
Program Development Associate, is the author. Contact him at
(888) 728-7228, ext. 5936, or send
him an e-mail.
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