Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) Press Release

Editor's Note: The following press release was issued by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's national office. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the members of the Dubuque-Area Peace and Justice Fellowship. 

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The Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) urges President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to refrain from any military involvement in the religious civil war developing in Iraq.

"Over two decades of war in Iraq has provided ample evidence war as a means to leverage influence in the area is a morally bankrupt policy to peace," said the Rev. Allison Liles, EPF executive director.

"The cost of almost 4,500 U.S. military deaths, thousands of wounded and maimed veterans and $1 trillion of national wealth that surely could have been more productively spent - in addition to the hundreds of thousands Iraqi deaths and those of other involved nations - as well as those whose lives have been tragically traumatized and disrupted is sufficient to say enough," said Rev. Liles.

"The political situation in Iraq is quickly deteriorating into a civil war between two Muslim factions. The insurgents are moving towards Baghdad in a vicious lightning campaign that has sadly seen early mass defections from Iraqi army. The recognized government of Iraq is calling for American lethal involvement to stem the potential overthrow of its current regime. It is clear that the conduct of the Al-Maliki government is a significant part of the problem," she said. In response to the call for help, President Obama has sent a force up to 300 American military advisors to be embedded with Iraqi troops to assist them to repel the insurgents. U.S. airstrikes may be forthcoming.

"Iraq is a sovereign nation that must solve its own internal political affairs without the intervention of any outside entity. To reengage the U.S. military in any capacity is foolhardy. While recognizing the danger to human rights and respectful and peaceful civic dialogue embedded in a fundamentalist Sharia-imposed governing structure, war is not the answer to real peace. Further military action could have long term negative effects on America's already frayed relationships with other Middle Eastern countries," said Rev. Liles.

"We hope and pray Secretary of State John Kerry who has been increasingly in Iraq can negotiate a peaceful settlement to the war. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power should urge the UN Security Council to garner multi-national help in securing a negotiated settlement as well," said Rev. Liles.

July Meeting: Tomorrow

The Dubuque-Area Peace and Justice Fellowship will meet tomorrow, July 8, at 6:45 PM in the St. John's Parish House library. Haley has volunteered to watch the children during the meeting; she will prepare a brief peace and justice activity/lesson for the pre-school and elementary school kids to engage in, and she will babysit the little ones.

New business includes the following:

• Discuss recent unrest in Iraq and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's response. If you have thoughts, questions, or comments, please share them. Chris has some thoughts stemming from an article he read by the theologian Stanley Hauerwas, which are relevant. For those looking for background information, the New York Magazine has what appears to be a decent primer on ISIS, which is available at http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/06/what-is-Isis-Iraq-explainer.html, and David Corn at Mother Jones has a short piece titled, “7 Talking Points You Need for Discussing the Iraq Crisis,” available at http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/talking-points-iraq-crisis. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship's recent statement has been reposted on our blog, since their website is currently not working. 
• Updates concerning local and regional peace and justice organizations and issues. If you have a topic or issue to discuss, please come prepared to share.
• Establish a childcare rotation during our meetings, and discuss possible topics and activities that the kids might engage in. 
• Introduce a common reading from the book, Parenting for Peace and Justice: Ten Years Later. Those who are interested will read a brief selection in preparation for our August meeting. Chris will hand out copies.
• Approval of the July "Saints" brochure. This month, we profile Iowa transplant, Amelia Jenks Bloomer; she shares a July 20 feast day with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman.

We have quite a bit of old business to discuss, including the following:

• Rev. Kathleen's idea of opening the St. John's undercroft once or twice a week during the winter to provide hospitality to those who are homeless, and perhaps staying at shelters that are closed during the daytime. 
• Information from the Dubuque Human Rights Commission about local needs and partnership opportunities.
• Various ideas have been floated about possible workshops or action-items which we could get involved in. We will review these ideas and determine whether there is any interest in pursuing them further. Among the ideas that have been floated include the following: (1) Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is willing and able to put on a workers’ rights clinic and/or a social security information session. (2) Ban the Box is a campaign to use city ordinances or state legislation to remove the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” from employment applications. It seeks to give people with past convictions a fair chance at meaningful employment. It does not prevent employers from discriminating on the basis of past convictions, but it does prevent them from using this as a screen for potential employees. For more information see http://bantheboxcampaign.org/. Other ideas are welcome!

If you plan to attend, please let Chris know by emailing him at cheindel@gmail.com. This will allow us to have a sufficient number of photocopies prepared. Also, let him know if you will be bringing your children, so Haley can plan accordingly.