NEWS STORY: Religious Comfort in a Time of War _ Online and Off

c. 2003 Religion News Servic (UNDATED) At an online “prayer chapel” of the United Church of Christ, military relatives are sharing prayer requests for the safe return of their loved ones. The Jewish Federation of Rockland County, N.Y., has started “Operation Matzo Meals” to send care packages to Jewish troops who may celebrate Passover in […]

c. 2003 Religion News Servic

(UNDATED) At an online “prayer chapel” of the United Church of Christ, military relatives are sharing prayer requests for the safe return of their loved ones.

The Jewish Federation of Rockland County, N.Y., has started “Operation Matzo Meals” to send care packages to Jewish troops who may celebrate Passover in the midst of battle.


The Council on American-Islamic Relations is distributing a “community safety kit” to help Muslims and Arabs prepare for possible discrimination in the event of a possible anti-Muslim backlash.

Even before the bombs began falling on Baghdad, religious leaders across the country grappled with how to meet the needs of those who would be affected _ from the ranks of the military to their worried family members to grass-roots Americans concerned about the crisis.

Many of their responses are fit for the new technological age the world has entered, with Web sites offering everything from worship resources to tips on how to explain war to a child. Whether high-tech or high-touch, they endeavor to reach people who are enduring the trials of war.

“The overall message is this is a time to pull together, a time for us to come together and offer support to each other and attempt to bring about healing and reconciliation,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, general secretary of United Methodist Communications.

The denomination’s Web site includes worship and prayer resources, historical information about Iraq, and an area to submit prayer requests.

Hollon said the prayers have cut through debate over the merits of the war, including the military, innocent Iraqi people, President Bush and other world leaders.

“We’ve received prayers from Europe and from Africa as well as across the United States,” he said. `It’s really a community of prayer that has a global reach.”


Ron Buford, spokesman for the United Church of Christ, said his denomination’s online prayer chapel shows the desire for prayer by those who may oppose war.

“Many people in the church have issues with this war and the way it’s been handled,” he said. “That does not mean that we do not support … the people who must defend our country.”

Assemblies of God Chaplaincy Director Charles Marvin has ordered 20,000 copies of a Scripture resource for the troops, a booklet featuring Psalm 91’s words of God’s protection. They will be sent to the 30 denominational chaplains who have been deployed in the Middle East region.

But Marvin, a retired Navy chaplain, also is advising people to add tangible support to their prayers, especially if they live in a community with relatives of affected military personnel.

“We want to do more than that and add some work to our faith, so to speak, and try to give a cup of cold water in Christ’s name, which may be simply baby-sitting for someone, taking them a meal, anything that shows … compassion and care and support,” said Marvin, who also serves as chairman of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces.

Concordia Publishing House, the St. Louis-based publisher of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, also is preparing a special booklet for the military. Paul McCain, president and CEO of Concordia, said the “Armed Forces Devotional Book” features prayers in time of combat and rituals for emergency baptism and burial.


“It’s kind of hard to read,” he said. “It’s a very realistic resource.”

The weather-resistant booklet, designed to fit in a combat uniform pocket, was developed in response to the denomination’s chaplains who said they wanted something substantial and “not a bunch of fluff.”

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The publisher also offers information on its Web site for those at home _ from suggestions for pastors and parents dealing with the war to a Bible study that looks at military conflict from a Lutheran perspective.

Southern Baptist leaders have offered a range of online resources, including short videos such as “Call to Prayer” that features departing soldiers and yellow ribbons. More than 13,000 copies have been downloaded to be used in conjunction with prayer and worship services.

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Jewish organizations also have provided an array of online sources of comfort, including a new listserv called “TheBrave.” Deborah Astor, co-founder of the Internet support group that was launched Feb. 4, said its use has grown with the intensity of the conflict. What started as a handful of signers-on has grown to about 170 people.

Astor, executive director of a Conservative synagogue on Boston’s South Shore and the mother of a Marine serving near Baghdad, said the listserv is especially helpful for young spouses facing their first, “particularly frightening” deployment.

“There have been many suggestions made to them about how to keep their kids from forgetting who dad is, how not to feel vulnerable about taking care of everyday life _ the bills, the house, the problems,” she said.


The listserv was launched by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, but other organizations, including the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, are now partners, linking chaplains, service personnel and Jewish families of a variety of denominations.

A hands-on effort by the Jewish Federation of Rockland County, N.Y., aims to provide Jewish troops half a world away with some of the traditions of Passover, which begins April 16. “Operation Matzo Meals” will send shipments including a military-approved Seder kit with chicken soup, grape juice and the Haggadah, the text used in the annual ritual. But they also will feature kosher candies and cookies and letters of support from Jewish day school children.

Jonathan Feldstein, campaign director for the federation, said his county’s large Jewish population views the Jewish troops as “part of our extended family’ and wants to help them continue the holiday tradition from afar.

“It may not make it in time for the first Seder or even the second Seder,” he said of the shipment he hopes will leave his office by early April.

“Since Passover is an eight-day holiday, it gives us a little extra buffer.”

Hundreds of mosques across the country have received faxes of the “Muslim Community Safety Kit,” a nine-page resource from the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It includes tips on reporting suspicious activity, dealing with anti-Muslim discrimination and improving mosque security. The kit, also available online, includes a “bomb threat check list” that includes questions to ask threatening callers and 23 possible descriptions of a caller’s voice.

“That’s what happens during these times of crisis,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Islamic advocacy group. “Mosques get bomb threats … so we have to deal with what’s out there.”


Editors: Here is a partial list of Web sites featuring spiritual sources of support in a time of war:

United Church of Christ: http://www.ucc.org

Concordia Publishing House, publisher of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.cph.org

Council on American-Islamic Relations: http://www.cair-net.org

United Methodist Church: http://www.umc.org

Assemblies of God: http://www.ag.org

Southern Baptist Convention: http://www.lifeway.com/conflict; http://www.namb.net/essentials

Union of American Hebrew Congregations: http://www.uahc.org

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism: http://www.uscj.org

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