3 October 2002

UNITING CHURCH VOTES TO REJECT WAR WITH IRAQ, CONSIDERS BOYCOTTING ANY WAR LEVY

The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmanian today expressed its strong opposition to a war with Iraq, and will consider the implications of advising it members of boycotting any war tax should one be imposed.

In a vote achieved by consensus the 500 member Synod agreed on a motion titled ‘No war with Iraq’, calling on the Australian Government to “use its influence to dissuade the US Government from the threat of precipitate military action in Iraq” and to “refrain from all such threats”.

In moving the recommendation the Reverend David Pargeter (Director of Social Justice and International Mission) said “I cannot think of a more menacing issue on the minds of the population than this one. There was a genuine sense of community powerlessness as our leaders contemplate and plan for war.

“The time has come for the people to do more than just sign petitions and write letters to politicians. We need to demonstrate more visibly our opposition to this war,” Mr Pargeter said.

That prompted a former Moderator of the church, the Reverend Pam Kerr, to ask the church to seriously consider examining the implications of not paying any war levy should one be imposed.

During the debate the Principal of the Uniting Church Theological College, Rev Dr Peter Matheson, said he was very concerned that it was the ‘Christian West’ which was initiating the threats of war in this instance.

After the vote the Moderator of the Synod, Reverend Alistair Macrae, said, “I believe a war tax will not deliver a peace dividend”.

He reminded members that the motion reflected the sentiments of a recent letter sent to the Prime Minister and signed by the leaders of 14 different denominations in Victoria.

Last night the Synod passed a recommendation urging the Australian Government to become involved in an international campaign to ban the use and production of cluster bombs and anti vehicle land mines. The motion also urged greater government assistance in ‘cleaning up’ Afghanistan of unexploded ordnance and land mines following the recent conflict.

—————– Stephen Webb Media Officer Communications Unit NSW Synod, Uniting Church in Australia Web: nsw.uca.org.au/cu/

Related Articles:

• Review: The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Risk, Adventure & Courage, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, Baker, 2011
• Why do Ex-College students Leave Christianity?
• Effective Evangelism: 18 Obstacles
• WAS JESUS GOD?
• COUNTRY CLUB TO MISSION BASE: THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF THE PASTOR

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.