'pray for the peace of Jerusalem'
Psalm 122:6'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'
Jesus Christ, John 14:26
As we pray today we remember the Iraq war and the cost of the last 5 years. Here are some of the stark statistics:
- Casualties 150000 to 1 million
- 1 in 7 Iraqis forced to flee their homes
- 23 militia groups in Baghdad
- 30 women executed in Baghdad each month
- 150 granted refugee status in UK (0.01% of the number now in Syria)
- Estimated insurgents 2003 5,000, estimated insurgents now 70,000
- £18 billion, the estimated current costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts
- 50% of doctors have left Iraq or been killed
- 52,000 returning US veterans have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome
- $3 trillion – the current cost to the USA
In the face of such pain and complexity may we be bought to our knees in prayer and repentance. This has been done in our name. We must hold in our prayers the 300 civilians killed last week, with the soldiers, decision makers, politicians, men of violence and all caught up in the evil. God wants peace. So let us pray.
O God our heavenly Father,
whose love sets no boundaries
and whose strength is in service;
grant to the leaders of the nations
wisdom, courage and insight at this time of darkness and fear.Give to all who exercise authority
determination to defend the principles
of freedom, love and tolerance,
strength to protect and safeguard the innocent
and clarity of vision to guide the world into
the paths of justice and peace.
This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
From the Church of England
O God, who art the unsearchable abyss of peace,
the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings
and the bestower of affection,
who sendest peace to those that receive it;
Open to us this day the sea of thy love
and water us with plenteous streams
from the riches of thy grace
and from the most sweet springs of thy kindness.
Make us children of quietness and heirs of peace,
enkindle in us the fire of thy love;
sow in us thy fear;
strengthen our weakness by thy power;
bind us closely to thee and to each other
in our firm and indissoluble bond of unity:
Amen.
From the Syrian Clementine Liturgy
Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but you. Great and wonderful are your works, wondrous are your ways. Thank you for the many splendoured variety of your creation. Thank you for the many ways we affirm your presence and purpose, and the freedom to do so. Forgive our violation of your creation. Forgive our violence toward each other. We stand in awe and gratitude for your persistent love for each and all of your children: Christian, Jew, Muslim, as well as those with other faiths. Grant to all and our leaders attributes of the strong: mutual respect in words and deed; restraint in the exercise of power; and the will for peace with justice for all. Eternal God, Creator of the universe, there is no God but you.
Amen.
By Christian, Muslim and Jewish Leaders
Some say we have reached the turning point in this war, but any talk of victory seems hollow and inappropriate when we consider just how much has been lost.
Lord, we grieve for the loss of lives in this war, soldier and civilian, for the men and women and children who now face the future without the people they so loved. Comfort those who mourn, we pray.
Lord, we grieve for the destruction of homes, buildings and neighbourhoods and the infrastructure of Iraq. For the rape and ruin of the environment. We pray for the restoration and rebuilding of this country. Lord, in your mercy, restore to Iraq the years that sanctions, maladministration and war have stolen.
Lord, we mourn the loss of trust that this invasion has caused - between people and governments, nations and the UN, Muslims and Christians, the West and the rest of the world. Help us, Lord, as far as it depends on us, to live at peace with everyone and to rebuild the relationships that have been broken.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Anon
Guten Morgen von Deutschland... I'll say it again: it's great to have this community connection whilst I'm away from Walthamstow. I'm very sorry to be missing so many Parish events in Holy Week - hope to be back for the last half-hour of the Agape Supper, if my flight is on time. Can anyone let me know how the event at the Castle went last night?
This morning I read some articles in the International Herald Tribune, a US paper, about the Iraq war. Some earlier numbers... in 2002, before the war, a White House economist estimated the cost of the conflict as being $100-200 billion dollars. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld described this as "baloney", defended the offical estimate of $50-60 billion, and the economist was fired. The $3 trillion estimate is a projected total, and some say it could reach $5 trillion. For that, all America's housing, poverty, education and healthcare issues could be sorted out for the foreseeable future.
At the time of the invasion I regarded it as a necessary step to rid the world of another dictator; I trusted that the details had been sorted out (I mean, you wouldn't invade without thinking about how to sort things out afterwards, would you...?); and I hoped that Mugabe would be next. I was wrong on all three counts. Unfortunately my naivety was matched by that of the nominally well-informed US and UK governments.
I have a friend in the Cabinet Office whose opinion I value and trust, and who was no fan of Blair, but he says that he would have made the same decision to invade as Bush and Blair - ignoring the "dodgy dossier" which seems to have been a box-ticking exercise - because of the longer-term view: "In forty years, Bush may be proved right", he says, in tacit acknowledgement of Blair's "History will judge me" comment. But this is an Old Testament solution in a New Testament world. There's no denying that the Old Testament describes widespread suffering on a large scale that was administered by Israel. And, indeed, Israel suffered from other foreign powers such as Babylon. It's difficult to look at some of the suffering in the Old Testament without the context of the New Testament, a New Covenant, which rendered obsolete some Old Testament ways - in particular, Israel's going to war. I don't think Bush and Blair could help but think in OT terms, given that they had the power - they were thinking of justice rather than grace; of force rather than love. The re-assessment by leaders of that way of thinking is something else we need to pray for.
Sorry if this is a bit long... I'm a long way from home and missing conversation! Hope you're all well... see you soon.
Posted by: Dom | March 19, 2008 at 11:01 AM