ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 22, 2005

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Congress To Adopt Darfur Legislation
05-229-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Citing a "recent upsurge in violence," the
Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), and five other U.S. religious leaders
urged members of the U.S. Congress to "co-sponsor and take all
necessary action" to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act
(S. 1462 and H.R. 3127) before Congress adjourns this year.
     On Nov. 18 the U.S. Senate approved the bill with unanimous
consent.  Advocates have now turned their attention to a
companion bill, expected to be considered by the U.S. House of
Representatives when members return from the Thanksgiving break.
     Signing a letter this month with Hanson were the Rev.
Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the general assembly,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Rabbi David Sapperstein, Union for
Reform Judaism; the Rev. William G. Sinkford, president,
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; the Rev.
John H. Thomas, general minister and president, United Church of
Christ; Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president,
Disciples of Christ Church; and the Rev. Peter D. Weaver, bishop
and president of the Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church.
     The religious leaders reminded the members of Congress that
in 2004 they declared that the humanitarian crisis in Darfur,
Sudan, was genocide.  Increased violence there -- including
attacks on innocent civilians, humanitarian aid workers and
African Union troops -- "provides a bleak reminder that Congress
must take more substantive action to adequately address the
ongoing crisis," the religious leaders said.
     It is a "travesty" for the United States to acknowledge
genocide but not support such a declaration with the actions
needed to stop it, the letter said.  They also said that much of
the international community has not responded adequately.
     "Just as U.S. leadership was critical earlier this decade in
bringing a peace agreement to end the decades-long civil war in
southern Sudan, a U.S.-led international campaign in Darfur has
the potential finally to bring hope to the long-suffering people
of Darfur," the religious leaders wrote. " On the other hand,
Without without a global response led by the United States,
instability in the region will reach historic proportions,
creating a haven for terrorist cells and a state of chronic
humanitarian emergencythe conditions for serious health
epidemics, to say nothing of starvation and continued violence."
     Passage of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act would be
a positive step by Congress to stop violence and create stability
in Sudan, the religious leaders said.  They also noted that
congressional action on Darfur has been critical in motivating
the Administration to action.
     "By naming this crime and then tolerating its
continuation and doing nothing to stop it, the United States
allows the genocide to continue persist with impunity.  You have
risen above your predecessors in naming this most serious crime,
but your The  lack of substantive action by the U.S. calls into
question the sincerity of your  that proclamation," the religious
leaders wrote.
     "Let us move forward together, continuing the long tradition
of partnership that the religious community and government have
in providing humanitarian relief and recognizing the equal value
of all life," the letter concluded.
     In an interview with the ELCA News Service while attending a
conference here, the Rev. Sirisio Oromo, president of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan, praised Hanson for
the letter and the ELCA for its support of the proposed
legislation and the Sudanese church.  Oromo, who concludes an
extended stay in the United States next month, said the letter is
"very encouraging."
     "It is a privilege for the church in Sudan to know that our
Lutheran brothers and sisters in America, and in other parts of
the world, are part of us," he said.
     The proposed legislation is a reminder to Congress that the
suffering in Darfur is getting worse, Oromo said.  He also
encouraged ELCA members to support the people of Sudan through
the ELCA, "which has been so supportive of us," he added.
     Oromo said he came to the United States earlier this year to
thank the people of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, S.D.,
for their partnership and support of the Sudanese church, to
teach surrounding congregations about the situation there and to
develop support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South
Sudan.  Most of the church's congregations are in Uganda,
displaced by decades of civil war in Sudan.

Lutherans in United States Urge Approval
     With the help of the Lutheran Office for Governmental
Affairs (LOGA), the ELCA's federal public policy office,
Washington, D.C., members of St. Michael's Lutheran Church, a
small inner-city congregation in Philadelphia, wrote this month
to their representatives in Congress about the Darfur
legislation.
     The congregation sent 75 letters to LOGA which were
delivered to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter,
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and U.S. Rep. Allison Schwartz, said
Dorothy Marple, a member of the congregation's advocacy team.
     "On the basis of our faith, we have a responsibility to work
for ending the violence there," she said in an interview.  The
congregation has been active in Bread for the World's annual
offering of letters to Congress supporting efforts to end world
hunger and poverty, Marple said.  Bread for the World,
Washington, D.C., is an organization supported by more than 45
Christian denominations and church-related agencies that
addresses hunger in the United States and around the world.  The
ELCA is a partner church with Bread for the World.
     In addition St. Michael's has sponsored five of the "Lost
Boys of Sudan," for the past four to five years, she said.  Three
of the boys are in college and two are working.  "We've grown
with them," she said.
     Marple explained that the congregation's advocacy team
distributed two simple handouts which were given to members, and
members signed the letters.  Marple encouraged ELCA members to
join the ELCA advocacy network so they can be aware of what's
happening in Congress.
     Marple added that she hopes the congregation will ask the
synod to adopt social justice initiatives so that other
congregations can get involved in issues similar to the Darfur
legislation.
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     More information on Darfur is at the ELCA's Advocacy
Ministries Web site, http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news