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Lift the Prophetic Voice:
Witness to the Human Cost of the Iraq War

An Interfaith Public Witness

(Go to links below to read the Call to Resist and sign the Petition Against Torture)

On all Saint’s Day, Tuesday, November 1, the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice is urging clergy and people of faith to converge on district Congressional Offices around the country, speaking out against the immorality and illegality of the Iraq War and against the abuse and torture of detainees in US custody.

All Saint’s Day, devoted to prayers for the dead, falls two weeks after the Jewish holiday of Sukkot when prayers are said for the protection of God’s peace, and two days before the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting and atonement for faults and misdeeds.

This convergence of religious holy days invites prophetic witness: atonement for our government’s immoral conduct and activism to end the war and end torture.

FOR and Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice are organizing public witnesses on Nov. 1 at the district offices of Congressional Representatives throughout the country.  A liturgy of prayer, including recitation of the Jewish Mourner’s Kaddish, and readings from the Quran, will be followed by the reading of the names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have been killed in this war.

In preparation for that witness,
we urge people to call their Congressperson and demand that they take a public stand on four key questions:

1. Will you publicly demand an immediate end to the use of torture, and call for a full, independent investigation into the abuse of detainees?

2. Will you publicly demand an end to the war in Iraq and a timeframe for bringing our troops home?

3. Will you publicly demand that no permanent U.S. bases remain in Iraq?

4. Will you publicly call for an end to the draining of resources into the Iraq war, giving priority to urgent domestic needs, including relief for hurricane victims?

Click here for Congressional contact information

Please spread the word about this action, organize within your congregations, and plan to participate both in the lobbying and in the public witness on Nov. 1. Please email us or call to let us know what you plan to do.

Follow the links to download an organizing packet.  The packet includes flyers that can be used as a bulletin insert; a sample agenda for the day; a sample letter to the Editor; a sample Op-ed piece to submit to your local paper and other resources for use during the action itself.

To sign up to participate, or to help organize this event, please call Idelle Peterson at (845) 358-4601 ext. 18 or email: PropheticVoiceNov1@yahoo.com.