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,
Groupthinkers have trouble with someone who disagrees with them...or whom they perceive disagrees with them.
Bots get emotional if anyone hints that W is lower than God.
Sound like someone you know?
she is going to washington to speak at the impeach bush rally on sept 24.
I think they are trying to borrow a page from the "truman would have been impeached if he did not drop the bomb and america had massive casualties" theory.
Sheehan is LSD for the left.
You spelled it that way twice, dude, so the "spelling police" line is, like your endless assertions without backup, BS. You don't seem to note that that was from an entirely different thread, so the "keeping up with so many other posters" line won't float.
You haven't answered a direct question on this whole thread. As for "doing something else entirely on the computer," I wonder if you let your students get away with that one? Oh, and computer games don't count.
If you are a professor, I fear for your students. But you haven't offered the tiniest bit of evidence of rational thinking, let alone intellectual rigor. So have fun with the vid games, and next time, just admit you speak of things you don't know about, and stop with the excuses. YOU can still think you're perfect.
I'm thinking "gubmint job." (Been there since FDR appointed him, no doubt........LOL)
Glad you here. Have fun!
I think we're done with that troll. He wasn't much fu, though, he pouts too much when someone dares ask for backup of his assertions. And if you noticed those other comments of his I posted, he's got a victim complex--"You're all against me because I listen to NPR, boo hoo!" ;)
That's what I'm thinking.
Hey mr "PHD" we're still waiting for you to respond:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1464570/posts?page=232#232
FDR's approach to dissidents was to invite them to the White House and treat them to a barrage of charm and awe. He was sublimely good at that, and disarmed most people who dared talk back to him.
Could you please cite evidence for this?
Seeing as how the president is not a dictator, he is not going to do a thing to shut her up, and nobody here except you seems to want him to do so. She is perfectly free to rant and rave 24/7 if that is her desire.
Okay, I'll make your day and agree with you.
W is wonderful, best thing since Reagan, and he, alone, is making all the best decisions coming out of the White House.
And you, sir, have hundreds of back-slapping friends on Free Republic who meet with you every evening for beer and giggles, leaving you afterwards with your ravishingly beautiful wife who's just finished polishing your pickup just to make you happy.
Feel better?
as another FReeper once said; socialism is the opiate of academia
I think he's ignoring the question.
are they going to have a few homosexual marriages during the service too?
I haven't gotten excited about polls in a few years. My own staunch democrat mother who loved Al Gore, tried to love Kerry, voted for both, doesn't like Dubya - thinks this Cindy woman is nuts and should just go away. Perhaps you stay in your Galaticca(?) too much and you are the one who is not around real people enough.
Years ago, when I worked in the Travel Office for Burlington Industries, we had a lot of "PhD's" working in R&D.
When we planned trips for them, we had to write CONCISE directions, like "Leave your office, go to your car, drive to the airport..."
I mean, how else do you have people who leave notes like "Have you seen my cissors?"
" he's got a victim complex-"
so in other words, a typical liberal!
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