To the Western New York Congressional Delegation:

The undersigned, people of faith and community leaders, urge you to bring an end to United States involvements in the Iraq war.

• All the great faiths call us to peace, to love our Creator and to love our neighbors. The majority of people in the United States now opposes the Iraq War and, is nervous about an attack by our country on Iran. (CNN poll of 1000 people, Feb. 14, 2006, cnn.com).
• We are all children of our Creator. Deliberate killing of any of God’s children is deliberate killing of our brothers and sisters. Deliberately killing our neighbor or our enemy is contradictory to our faiths’ calls to love.
• Our faiths call us to be peacemakers. It is possible to bring about great change peacefully. Momentous change has come about through nonviolence, including: The liberation of India, the elimination of apartheid in South Africa, the downfall of the former Soviet Union, and the successes of the U. S. civil rights movement.
• We believe that all people have their origin and destiny in God. We share a common humanity that draws us to compassion not only for innocent people who suffer from the tragic effects of war, but also for combatants themselves.

In contrast to the tragic consequences of this war, President Eisenhower said, "Peace is more than the stilling of guns, easing the sorrow of war. More than an escape from death, it is a way of life. More than a haven for the weary, it is a hope for the brave."

Our faith in God, our common understanding of God’s call to be people of peace and our compassion for all who are suffering from war underscore the urgency of our call to end all U.S. involvement in war – now.