Questions of Faith

Why a Christian Witness?

Our purpose is to share a vision of how all of God’s people – of all faiths – can live in peace.

As Christians, we are keenly aware of the way that Jesus consistently surprised his friends and his enemies by responding in love to those who attacked him. Further, the gospel makes clear that there is a direct connection between the work of doing justice and being peacemakers. Therefore:

We remind ourselves of the life and teachings of Jesus as the Prince of Peace, the lover of enemies, and the reconciler of the world.

We ask God to work a change of heart in our elected leaders who have carried out this war in all of our names, and we ask for God’s forgiveness for the suffering of so many in Iraq and the United States during the course of the war.

We accept responsibility to witness to our faith, especially Jesus’ hard teachings that secure communities are built on the foundation of living in right relationship with one another.

We look forward to the day when all people know that the word “Christian” means a movement that yearns and aches for the Kingdom of God to come here on Earth with people of all faiths.

Why an Interfaith event?

In 2007 we were intentional about having a specifically Christian expression of our witness for Peace in Iraq. Two reasons:

We of CPWI are convinced that Christians have a significant responsibility to stand firmly against the continuing U.S. military occupation of Iraq, especially since this war has been portrayed and perceived as a Christian aggression led by a Christian President and a largely Christian Congress.
We are committed to build an authentically Christian movement for peace in Iraq. A year ago, it seemed disingenuous to the CPWI partner organizations to enter into interfaith partnerships without first organizing Christians.

A year later, having filled the Washington National Cathedral on that cold, snowy night of March 16th, 2007, we believe that Christians are ready for a broad, interfaith event, standing with sisters and brothers from many faith traditions, proclaiming together that we are committed to the way of peace and we stand firmly against war.

How can we faithfully witness together?

We believe that the best ecumenical and interfaith dialogs take place when each tradition embraces the best that it has to offer, and each tradition comes to the experience with a clear commitment to find common ground with one another. Finding common ground is straightforward because each of our religions provides a faith basis for peace.

At noon on March 7th, CPWI and our Interfaith Partners will hold simultaneous worship services for peace, open to all. These worship services will be conducted in different religious traditions, but their common theme will echo throughout our communities: We trust one another! Our faith leads us to believe in peace! We insist that the war in Iraq must end!

At 2:30 that afternoon, we will all gather on or near the National Mall to witness to our shared conviction that the occupation of Iraq must come to an end and that the United States must seek diplomatic peace with Iran. The afternoon will center on a shared expression of our unity and our resolve, and it will include a public action to make clear our seriousness of purpose.

If you also believe that followers of Jesus must live boldly into our call to be peacemakers, and if you are committed to doing so in partnership with those who have a similar desire to peace from other religious traditions, we hope that you will join us!