Episcopal Peace Fellowship - Conscientious Objection Action Group

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Conscientious Objection Action Group

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Sign up for this Action group by contacting the group convenor in the box.

What some may not know is that the Episcopal Church is a strong supporter of Conscientious Objectors and has, on many occassions, taken formal stances opposing the use of war and involvement in wars. EPF seeks to enhance the Church's support of Conscientious Objection, and provide additional resources and opportunities to engage in active resistance to war.

Here are a few links to get you started:

Sign the I Will Not Kill Petition Today http://www.iwillnotkill.org/
Church Resolutions on Conscientious Objection - Also provides a link to The Cross Before the Flag, an EPF publication that lists the numerous official statements of the church regarding nonviolence, the use of war, and Christian rationale for pacifism.
Conscientious Objectors - a wonderful web resource that provides young people with information and a step-by-step guide to registering as a conscientious objector (maintained by the Ministries with Young People cluster of the National Church)
Creating a Culture of Peace - an EPF training in the spirituality and practice of active nonviolence. An excellent resource for groups wanting to deepen their understanding of how to practice the nonviolent lifestyle.

Other actions related to CO & Pacifism....

Action Group
Conscientious Objection/Christian Pacifism
Dr. David A. Mycoff
Rev. Bill Carroll

(co-conveners)

EPF's Action Groups provide a way for those concerned about specific topis to connect, share, and witness for peace.

The "We Won't Go" Pledge - A Call to Action

Students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have inaugurated a short and solemn pledge for young people to take, asserting that, should a draft be reinstituted, they will not serve. Signatures have already started coming in to their new website at www.wewontgo.org. The members of the Progressive Student Alliance at UTK have now issued a clear, brief Call To Action, and accompanied it with an urgent request:

Please forward this Call to any appropriate online list, blog or website you think will spread the word. Please bring it to the attention of high school and college students, other young people and educators you know. Please do it soon! With your help, this pledge will develop the momentum it needs to become a valuable new tool in the growing resistance to the unjust and unjustifiable occupation of Iraq.

Open Letter Protesting Recruitment of Military Chaplains

This letter was written by EPF's CO interest group conveners, signed on by many EPFers, and sent to Episcopal Life on March 16, 2005.

To the Editor:

As members of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF), we wish to express our dismay at the recurring recruitment ads in Episcopal Life for military chaplains. We do not believe that members of the armed forces should do without pastoral care. We are concerned that, despite good intentions, there is an irreconcilable conflict between serving as a minister of the Gospel and being in the chain of command.

This would be the case even in wars of self-defense; it is certainly the case of current wars of aggression. Pastoral care for members of the armed forces should be arranged by the churches, without chaplains having to accept a commission.

The ad in the February 2005 issue is especially offensive, because it portrays an infant still wet with the water of Baptism as a “new recruit.”

“War as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” Such has been the repeated teaching of Lambeth, as well as our General Convention. It is also the teaching of the Gospel.

We therefore invite our sisters and brothers to consider the option of conscientious objection and non-violent resistance to war—and all other “powers that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.” (BCP, p. 302)

In Christ,

(EPF member signatories)

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All pages for category: "Action Groups":
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Citizen Diplomacy in Iran by Sr. Ellen Francis
Religious Delegation to IRAN
Applying for License to Visit CUBA
My Trip to CUBA by Julie Sullivan
Presiding Bishop's Visit to Cuba
Iraq Action Group
Conscientious Objection Action Group
Nuclear Abolition Action Group
Death Penalty Action Group
Israel/Palestine Action Group
Tibet & China Action Group
Iran Action Group
Reflections from Hebron
Restorative Justice Action Group
Cuba Action Group