Resolutions will be central part of Annual Meeting
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Meeting information page |
May, 2003
Annual Meeting delegates this year will again be discussing current affairs as they consider a Resolution Concerning a Christian Response to War.
At last year’s Annual Meeting, a resolution against the expansion of the war on terror beyond Afghanistan stirred controversy and led to a 70 to 30 percent vote in favor of the resolution.
This year’s resolution, proposed by the Commission on Mission and Justice Ministries, is more general.
“This is broader than last year’s resolution” said Paul Nickerson, Acting Associate Conference Minister for Evangelism, Mission and Justice. “It’s not asking for a specific response on the Iraqi war.”
Instead, it asks delegates to commit the Conference to: “working for and promoting peaceful resolution of all violent conflicts, in our nation and worldwide.”
It also says all peaceful options should be exhausted before resorting to war, and says that the nation should “pursue diplomatic, nonviolent, financial, educational and intelligence strategies in cooperation with other countries and international bodies in the face of conflict and potential conflict.”
The resolution also reaffirms previous Synod and Conference resolutions about being a Just Peace Church.
“The national setting of the UCC is reviving the Just Peace movement and this is in keeping with what they are trying to do,” Nickerson said.