ELCA leaders urge Obama to pursue diplomatic solutions in Syria

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In an April 12 letter to President Obama, leaders
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged the
administration and others in the international community to find new
avenues toward peace in Syria and strive to resolve the civil war there
through diplomacy.
In their letter, the ELCA presiding bishop and four synod bishops
offered their appreciation for Obama’s chosen “path of restraint,”
particularly as the bishops have heard louder calls in recent weeks “for
the United States to provide lethal military assistance to the Syrian
opposition,” they wrote.
“The volatility of the conflict in Syria continues to lead to
violence, suffering, death and people fleeing for safety,” said the Rev.
Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, in an interview.
“Acknowledging the conflict's complexity should not cause us to
silence our voices or refrain from acts of compassion,” said Hanson. “The
letter to President Obama calls for restraint in actions by the United
States that could escalate the violence and for renewed efforts to find a
resolution that will become a foundation for a lasting peace and a Syrian
society that experiences justice and reconciliation.”
Hanson said that through the ELCA’s partnership with The Lutheran
World Federation, this church “is aiding Syrian refugees who have fled to
Jordan.”
The ELCA continues to participate in humanitarian assistance in
partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy
Land, along with other Lutheran companion churches and partner
organizations. According to the United Nations, more than 70,000 people
have been killed during the two-year civil war in Syria.
“We are steadfast in our support of immediate and unhindered
access to assistance by all available means for victims of this war,” the
bishops wrote in their letter.
“For more than two years we have watched with growing concern and
great sadness the horrible violence that has had such terrible
consequences for the people of Syria. This unfolding tragedy and its
tremendous human cost have gripped our attention,” the letter states. “We
are especially but not exclusively mindful of the suffering experienced
by Christian communities in Syria. As Paul wrote to the Christian
churches in Corinth, ‘If one member suffers, all suffer together with
it.’”
In their letter, the bishops asked the administration and the
international community to give top priority to discovering ways to end
the fighting.
“Our church recognizes that wars present conflicting moral claims
and agonizing decisions,” they wrote. “Therefore, we understand that our
elected officials face difficult decisions about how to bring an end to
wars once they have begun.”
The signees are the Rev. Murray D. Finck, bishop of the ELCA
Pacifica Synod; the Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, bishop of the ELCA Central
States Synod; the Rev. Dean W. Nelson, bishop of the ELCA Southwest
California Synod; and the Rev. Harold L. Usgaard, bishop of the ELCA
Southeastern Minnesota Synod.