Pastoral Letter to ELCA Rostered Leaders on War with Iraq

March 20, 2003 
(Released with a Statement in response to U.S. pre-emptive military strike on Iraq)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Amid the flood of emotions we experience as the tragic realities of war unfold, I write to you out of our shared call to radical discipleship and responsible leadership. This call, heard in Sunday's Gospel, continues to echo throughout the church. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake and, for the sake of the gospel, will save it" (Mark 8:34-35).

How do we as leaders and members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America continue to address our differing and sometimes stridently opposing views of the war without losing faith that the deeper unity we share in Christ will not be severed? No matter how grave our differences, let us be united in the affirmation that it is through the gospel that the Holy Spirit calls and gathers people from all nations to worship and witness to the God of peace. As we say in the ELCA social statement, "For Peace in God's World," the most valuable mission for peace for the church "is to keep alive the news of God's resolve for peace, declaring that all are responsible to God for earthly peace and announcing forgiveness, healing, and hope in the name of Jesus Christ."

I am aware of how many members of ELCA congregations, including you, are experiencing war's reality as family members are sent into battle. Please know that we pray for all families so directly impacted. We also pray for the people of Iraq. As a church based in the United States, we bear a special responsibility financially to support humanitarian relief and assistance to the thousands of refugees who will be fleeing the extensive U.S. bombing of Iraq.

Our call to leadership includes proclaiming Christ in Word and sacrament, offering pastoral care to all affected, and exercising our role as public leaders engaged in prophetic speech and moral deliberation. Let us also be attentive to language, both our own and that of our political leaders who speak of peace and war. As people of faith, the language of peace and reconciliation and of liberation and justice must be spoken and heard within the context of the biblical story and our confession of faith, and not the rhetoric of battle. We must reclaim for ourselves any language of faith that has been used to wage war and ensure that it is used for the sake of peace and reconciliation.

I want you to know that I, as Presiding Bishop of this church, today have released the attached public statement expressing my profound concern that the United States has chosen to take the step of a pre-emptive military strike. In the statement I express my understanding that our country, especially because of its wealth and might, has a particular responsibility to pursue policies of cooperation and to seek to resolve conflicts peacefully. I indicate that we cannot limit our response to the specific matter of this war, but need to continue to raise broader questions. I call on all members of our church to pray for peace, for the members of our military, and for all who come in harm's way because of this war.

"The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7).

In God's grace,

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America