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The following is a message from Archbishop Michael Peers, the Anglican Primate, to the church and the wider community:
As War begins...
Toronto, March 21, 2003 The American and British invasion of Iraq, in the face of widespread opposition from other nations, in the absence of a supporting resolution from the United Nations, and against the overwhelming consensus of Christian churches and other faith communities, creates for Christians, and for other faith communities, an occasion for prayer and watchfulness. I ask for your prayers for all who are in harm's way - civilians in the region and combatants on all sides. I ask for your prayers for all who worked to avert this tragic moment, that their witness and work for peace may continue. The refusal of some leaders to heed their witness does not diminish its faithfulness. I ask your prayer for an anxious world, uncertain as to what has been unleashed, frightened by its possible consequences, and at risk in ways that we do not yet know. I ask for your watchfulness, that we may understand together how this tragedy has come to be, and together learn from it. The most powerful nation on earth has acted. For many, that power is ultimate. But it is just such power that Jesus refused from the hand of the Adversary in the wilderness. For him, and for us his disciples, there is another power. That power is the power of God, characteristically appearing in our midst clothed in frailty and vulnerable to the blunt power of empires. As we journey in Lent towards the place where the power of death and the power of life face one another on the cross, may we have grace to trust the One whose voice speaks our name on the day of Resurrection. + Michael G. Peers, Archbishop and Primate
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