Posted on 08/16/2005 12:57:52 PM PDT by areafiftyone
New York, August 16, 2005 – The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is urging President Bush to join with Gold Star families and religious leaders in an interfaith prayer service outside the Bush ranch at noon (CDT) Friday,
The prayer service has been called by Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan “as an opportunity for Americans and others across the world to pray for our soldiers in Iraq, their families and in particular the mothers of our fallen.”
Sheehan, along with United Methodist laywoman Celeste Zappala and other Gold Star mothers, has been waiting outside the Bush compound to meet with the President since his five-week vacation began.
“I urge the President and the First Lady to join this brief and simple service,” said the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary. Edgar visited the Gold Star mothers and their families outside the presidential ranch and conducted a worship service on August 12. The visit was at the invitation of his fellow United Methodist, Celeste Zappala, whose son Sherwood was killed in Iraq.
“This war, like any war, has generated terrible losses, immense pain and sharp divisions in our country,” Edgar said. “Each day we see the pain in the faces of the Gold Star mothers and their families. It’s evident that President Bush, who has faced agonizing decisions in this war, feels the pain as well.”
“Whether or not we agree with Mr. Bush’s decisions,” Edgar said, “and whether or not he agrees with us, we can agree that we’re all feeling a heavy burden of grief. Let’s suspend the rhetoric for a few minutes on Friday and join together – commander-in-chief and families of the fallen – to seek strength from the God who sustains us all.”
In an open letter to religious leaders August 15, Sheehan urged those who cannot attend to host a prayer vigil in their cities. “We ask you to join us in a simultaneous moment of silent prayer to honor all who have been affected by this war.”
The service will take place at “Camp Casey,” an impromptu encampment outside the Bush compound named for Sheehan’s son, Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Baghdad on April 4, 2004. Camp Casey, which displays white crosses named for those who have been killed in Iraq, has become a gathering place for Gold Star families and their supporters.
The full text of the Sheehan August 15 letter to religious letters follows:
Dear Religious Leader:
Family members of fallen soldiers, who have joined me in Crawford, and I invite you to attend a moment of silent prayer at 12:00 noon (Central Daylight Time) this Friday, August 19th at Camp Casey just outside the Presidents’ Ranch. We’re holding this moment of prayer as an opportunity for Americans and others across the world to pray for our soldiers in Iraq, their families and in particular the mothers of our fallen. We have also invited President Bush and the first lady to join us in praying for the troops.
Several family members of fallen soldiers have joined with me in Crawford and will take part in the moment of silent prayer. Outside the President’s ranch we have set up a temporary camp named “Camp Casey” and a memorial of crosses with names of fallen soldiers has been erected, which is where the prayer service will take place.
If you cannot attend our service in Crawford, Texas please consider hosting a prayer vigil in your city. We ask you to join us in a simultaneous moment of silent prayer to honor all who have been affected by this war. You are welcome to contact your local media and inform them of your vigil.
My son, Casey Sheehan, 24, of Vacaville, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 4, 2004, when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. When President Bush began his 5 week vacation, I decided to camp outside his ranch in hopes of meeting with him to ask some unanswered questions about the war and the needless loss of lives of so many. Thus far the President has refused to meet, but my resolve is strong and I will remain in Crawford until the meeting takes place or his vacation ends.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and support of this interfaith prayer service.
Respectfully,
Cindy Sheehan
Mother of Casey Sheehan
Picture courtesy of Lone Star Iconoclast.
If you plan to go to Crawford, travel logistics provided by the Sheehan support team can be found here
Contact: NCC News, Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2252,
I reccomend you read anything about FDR's campaign against Hoovr in the early 30's. The anecdotal evidence is huge, and very entertaining (if a bit creepy).
Oh, you might have to go to a library to do this. Don't be afraid, it won't be scary.
Funny how you don't think anybody should be able to call you names but you think you have the right to call other people names.
Well, I'm not calling you names, just stating the truth. You're extremely arrogant. You repeat the same crap but have nothing to back it up. If you think because you heard some idiots, which I'm not sure I even believe, whine about the Ditch Witch at the supermarket, that means Pres. Bush is toast, you're the one that has the problem.
I'm out in the real world everyday and haven't heard a single word, and I live in liberal land.
What a gimmick. Cindy, you should be ashamed.
I never said he should.
Please read what I wrote.
I needs to shut her up if he wants to win the media battle. If he doesn't, the television types will win big points in this matter.
Well I don't have a PhD but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
I HAVE read about FDR, and many others of that era, and there is no evidence for your assertion. It is completely made up.
Oh, you might have to go to a library to do this. Don't be afraid, it won't be scary.
And you are the one complaining about how you are treated? I haven't said a single THING to you to deserve that comment. But, since you want to play that way, fine.
I can usually tell when someone has is irrational when they start throwing "liberal" around.
Actually, our history department is notorious for being conservative. We have a world-famous school of war and peace (which I'm not a part of, unfortunately, because I'm still new and haven't made my academic nones yet). That's why I chose to teach here, and not at one of the nearby communist factories.
Not all colleges are leftist. If you had ever been to one, you'd know this.
I don't ignore questions. I ignore people.
Security moms, almost to a person, supported Clinton.
That makes them boobs.
My, how very condescending of you. It is obvious that you are a huge FDR fan so I would think that it would be extremely easy for you to provide a quote and a link for any proof to back up what you are claiming. That is all that has been asked of you here. Instead, you retort with juvenile condescension.
You're ignoring this question. "Look it up" is the typical fall back position when you can't bluff anymore.
You take me much too seriously. I've already told one poster I mention my degrees (all five) to tease people. I've met too many stupid Doctors to take mine seriously.
Since the U.S. was not at war in "the early 30's" we are still waiting for ANY example of FDR meeting with an anti-war protester - please don't think "sending us to the library" qualifies - if FDR did it all the time, it should be very easy to confirm on-line.
Now you know how the rest of us feel.
"I don't ignore questions. I ignore people."
No, it is obvious you've ignored this question, asked by two different people. Phd? Hah..you're a phony
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1464570/posts?page=232#232
I'm not a political science professor. I'm not a professor.
I teach college history.
I don't react to things typed on a computer screen. You do plenty of that for both of us.
I don't consider faceless strangers who agree with me on said computer screen to be my friends. You do plenty of that for both of us.
I like my life, and don't feel a need to defend a stranger whom I've only seen on high-staged television programs, like W. You do...you know the rest it...
"I've already told one poster I mention my degrees (all five) to tease people. I've met too many stupid Doctors to take mine seriously."
If you don't take it seriously then why did you try to bring it up in your initial posts on this forum? What a phony....
A couple of boobs talking at your supermarket MEANS "security moms are identifying with her"?
This is how you reach your conclusions?
Security moms support the war on terrorism. Any drop in support for the Iraq war is based on the fact Bush has succeeded in making people feel too secure for too long here at home.
The public has too short an attention span and too much garbage from the MSM to remain committed to the war on terror for very long.
This doesn't mean they support the left-wing wacko views of an American hater like Cindy Sheehan. The MSM is hiding the truth about her so most people are simply unable to make an informed decision.
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