Reflections on 5-year anniversary of Iraq war

By Br. Steve Herro, O.Praem.

	Br. Steve Herro

Jerome is a practicing Christian in the Fox Valley. Though he is not a "holy roller" or social activist, he once told me how disappointed he was that he had never heard the Iraq War mentioned in a sermon or in prayer intercessions at churches that he attends.

Dee is a middle aged church worker in Iowa. I met her last summer. Her son is currently serving in Iraq. She tearfully told our reflection group that she fails to feel the support of her closest friends while her son was in Iraq. One friend had told her, "You can call me whenever you need to talk." When Dee said that toughest moments seem to be in the wee hours of the morning, her friend said, "But don't call me then."

Less than one week ago, I learned that a military chaplain in my own religious community was transferred from his assignment in Iraq due to a serious illness. He has been treated in various military hospitals throughout Europe and the United States.

Why do we feel as if our hands are tied in helping to bring a peaceful resolution to the five-year war in Iraq?

A few months ago, I read about an initiative called Iraq Moratorium. People are asked to practice an action on the third Friday of every month, reminding those we meet of people suffering as a result of the war and to advance the cause of peace. Actions might include wearing symbolic clothing, displaying a sign, fasting, praying, writing a letter to a GI or his or her family, etc. As a justice and peace minister in the church, I asked myself, "What could be done to bring local residents together to pray in one voice for peace in Iraq on a regular basis?"

The desire for peace transcends religious divisions. Christians, Jews, Muslims - you name the faith tradition - we all agree that the world would be a better place if Americans and Iraqi soldiers did not have to live under the threat of death; that families of soldiers could be reunited with their loved ones; that Iraqis could live under a more just and stable government; that 2 million Iraqis could return home from refugee camps; and that the existing land, water, and air of Iraq could be free of contamination from war materials.

What is the value of prayer in helping to bring about a more just and peaceful world? It is when the person praying realizes that the cause is beyond his or her sole control and that reliance and dependence on an all-powerful and transcendent God can change hearts of individual people, that we can make a difference and bring about a more just and peaceful world.

To this effect, the community of St. Norbert Abbey invites you to a prayer service devoted to peace in Iraq. Our one-hour Taize prayer on Sunday, March 16 (three days before the five-year anniversary of the Iraq War), 7 p.m. at St. Norbert Abbey Church, 1016 N. Broadway in De Pere, will kickoff a regular community prayer service on the third Friday of every month at various Brown County worship sites.

Beginning the third Friday of April, we invite you and your congregation to join us as co-sponsors and hosts of Brown County prayer services for peace in Iraq. If you cannot join us in our worship sites, consider adjusting your personal schedule or practices on the third Friday of the month to remind yourself and others that we do crave peace in Iraq. For more information on how you and/or your congregation may get involved, feel free to contact me (920-337-4345 or e-mail steve.herro@snc.edu).

(Norbertine Br. Steve Herro chairs the justice and peace ministry of St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere and directs the social concerns ministry for the Diocese of Green Bay.)