Update from Bishop Park: "God's Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action"
Update from Bishop Park: "God's Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action"
February 9, 2010
Original post from November 23, 2009
"More than 20 years ago (May 1986) after two years of prayerful study and consultation with specialists in many related fields, the United Methodist Council of Bishops offered a Pastoral Letter and study document called, 'In Defense of Creation: The Nuclear Crisis and A Just Peace.' It was an urgent message to all United Methodists and the Church at large on the growing threat of nuclear war and of the extinction of life on the planet through a 'nuclear winter.' It was an urgent reminder that this world belongs to God, 'precious precisely because it is not our creation.' And it declared a 'clear and unconditioned ‘No’ to nuclear war and to any use of nuclear weapons.' The documents received wide attention in the media, were translated into several languages and debated among leaders in the nuclear establishment. The pastoral letter was read aloud or published in newsletters in an estimated 90% of our congregations, supported by the foundation document and the guide for study and action. The following General Conference affirmed the document as the policy of The United Methodist Church.
"In 2004, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church authorized the Council of Bishops to revisit these documents by 'educating and encouraging the church, citizens and governments to seek things which lead to peace.' The documents received wide attention in the media, were translated into several languages and debated among leaders in the nuclear establishment. The pastoral letter was read aloud or published in newsletters in an estimated 90% of our congregations, supported by the foundation document and the guide for study and action. The following General Conference affirmed the document as the policy of The United Methodist Church. T
he result of this process is a new Pastoral Letter and Foundation Document, 'God’s Renewed Creation,” which are supplemented by study guides and a variety of web-based materials. 'God’s Renewed Creation' maintains the firm commitment of the 1986 Council, namely that “nuclear deterrence is a position that cannot receive the church’s blessing.” These documents, generated in 2009, also build on the observations of the earlier Council, that the nuclear crisis threatens 'planet earth itself,' that the arms race 'destroys millions of lives in conventional wars, repressive violence, and massive poverty,' and that the 'arms race is a social justice issue, not only a war and peace issue.' After many decades and millions of dollars, we are no more secure or peaceful in our world with a larger number of nations in the 'nuclear club.' "
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