Walking witness: Gordon Matthews steps up

‘We seek justice and peace for the whole of humanity.’

We are pilgrims, from a variety of Christian traditions, who have walked part or nearly all of the way from the North Rhine to Karlsruhe. We have held vigils for peace at Büchel, where nuclear bombs are stored, and at Ramstein, the headquarters of the US air forces in Europe and NATO Allied Air Command.

We are dismayed by the fact that some Christian churches condone, encourage and even actively support the planning and preparation of war, rehearsals for war (including practising the delivery of weapons of mass destruction), and even the fighting of war by their respective governments.
Our allegiance is to Christ and we seek justice and peace for the whole of humanity. As disciples of Jesus we seek to do justice, to love our enemies as well as our friends, and to walk humbly with our God, who blesses us with life every day. Jesus is our supreme example as we seek to live lives of active nonviolence in accordance with the Gospel of peace.

At the founding Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in 1948, representatives were led to recognise that ‘war is contrary to the will of God’. In 1983 delegates launched the conciliar process for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. In 1998 they proclaimed 2001-2010 as a Decade to Overcome Violence.

We call upon Christians and churches everywhere to live in the same Spirit which inspired these assemblies. This means refusing to cooperate in war, and refusing to cooperate in the production, deployment, and preparations for use, of weapons of mass destruction. It means refusing to participate in the manufacture or supply of any weapons.

May Christ’s love move us all to work for reconciliation and unity, by:

• insisting that warring nations cease fighting immediately and begin negotiations towards a lasting peace which respects the needs and rights of all

• promoting nuclear and conventional disarmament and pressing governments to negotiate

• promoting and engaging in the nonviolent resolution of conflicts through civilian resistance against military aggression and structural and cultural violence, and through negotiation, mediation, peacebuilding, peacemaking and reconciliation

• using whatever influence we have to ensure that government funds are spent on measures that serve the genuine security and welfare of all

• promoting international political and economic cooperation, in pursuance of the UN sustainable development goals and with the aim of strengthening international security through the UN and its bodies.

We pray for God’s blessing on all our endeavours, in the knowledge that peace is ultimately a gift from God.

Gordon is from Germany Yearly Meeting. For a list of co-signatories see https://letthesilencering.wordpress.com.

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