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,
Um, try again. Nobody here is intimidated by you. We are laughing at you like we do at PJ Comix's DUmmie FUnnies. Neither is anyone angry. You have become highly entertaining, at your own expense of course.
I'm typing on a computer screen. What do you think you're doing?
Nothing is done here "at my expense," since I invest nothing of myself here. You guys (none of whom know one another in the real world) are the ones who feel a need to gang up on an anonymous, faceless individual who's only typing on a computer screen.
Oh, and I'd like to thank the people who responded rationally--both through posts and via freepmail--to this thread. There's so many idiots here.
It's been a blast, but I gotta go. Reality calls in the form of something fried downstairs and a good, cold Pinot Grigio I picked up the other day.
Ciao
Teasing my rear end. You led off with it, its the first thing on your user page. You wield your Phd as if it were some sort of shield, inoculating you from doing anything but demeaning others. You have supplied no evidence for your claims just used the "Go look it up yourself" route.
I have had teachers like you in college, I referred to them as, "the class I dropped cause the prof was an ass". Me, I don't live by letters after my name. I spent 22 years writing and testing software for multi million dollar weapons systems and teaching hundreds of young airmen to do the same. Guess what, none of them had letters after their names, but I trust most of them with my life. I cannot say the same for my college profs.
As far as your original contentions, well let's just say I disagree with your "analysis". I am not gonna supply any evidence, why, you have to look it up! I suggest you start with the pollsters (sp?) web pages where they give the numbers behind their polls showing the breakdown of polled persons etc.
Yea, your reputation.
And never buy wine in packages bigger than your head.
Oh, I just had to repsond to this last one. It's typical of "software" people to claim their expertise as if it were an intellectual pursuit.
We have a saying: "Without that degree, it don't mean a thing."
Let's see...this is a 2004 Barone Fini Valdadige. I got it for eight bucks at the wine place over in Cary. Mmm...and a real cork, not a screw top like what you like.
//just joking. Don't have infarc.
Haha, A history professor insulting a computer programmer? Thats rich! Your right :) A roomful of monkeys could do what we do.
Now pardon me while I go grunt and pick lice off my co-workers.
Dont get me wrong I love history, I am an avid reader of the same. But its like an English Major... what do you do with it.. Why you teach more of them!
What do you do with a history major? Most of the undergrads go to law school. Me? I have independent sources of income, so I do what I like. And teaching is loads of fun.
Oh, and I really have nothing against computer types. I was joking. Actually, I admire people who can do something I can't, which includes auto mechanics, computer software manipulations, and golf. I just can't get the hang of golf.
Oh, and I have 2 children who will be starting college in a few years, you need freepmail me at least where you teach so I will be able to redirect my cash elsewhere.
Any school that encourages elitist snobs such as you are acting does not deserve my money! Besides I want them to learn more than cute debating tricks and an inability to respond to a direct question with more than a Kerryesque sneer.
Your train of thought just doesn't have a caboose, does it? You could not even answer my question which only needed a yes or no.
Too bad the parents of your students are not getting what they paid for. An education.
You say law school like its a good thing.
You want them to have professors who are so busy they don't have time to type words into a computer for hours.
//actually, I'm between classes. Starting next week, I'll be Freeping hardly at all.
So you mail out, what, 6 billion fan letters a year?
Some lawyers actually do good, believe it or not. Others are sell-outs, like my wife's best friend, who is a patent lawyer, and gets paid incredible amounts of money for filling in the blanks of form letters.
Makes me sick to think of it.
/cue rimshot!
Let's see, you wanted a yes or no.
Yes.
Has anyone heard about another group going to TX this weekend or the next in support of the troops? I got an email but I deleted it.
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