For many churchgoers, war is personal

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Friday, March 21, 2003 | 10:02 a.m.

Various houses of worship across the Las Vegas Valley seemed to have one thing in common as they prepared to address the war in their weekend services: Someone under their roofs had family or friends in Iraq or stationed stateside.

They also shared a common desire for a swift end to the 2-day-old war.

At the University United Methodist Church, at least five congregation members have loved ones in the military, the Rev. David Devereaux said.

On Thursday afternoon he was looking to Psalm 46 for a message to give those people and the rest of his congregation of 650. He hopes the psalm's references to the Lord "who stops wars to the ends of the earth" reinforce his church's prayers, which he said "were for the soldiers and for the children and innocent of Iraq."

At the Congregation Ner Tamid, Rabbi Jennifer Weiner said several members of her congregation had family in the military. Her Friday night services would draw from the root of the Hebrew word for peace, which is Shalom.

"It comes from Shalame, which means wholeness," she said. "This means we are all equals in the image of God, and we all want peace for the world."

The congregation's senior rabbi, Sanford Akselrad, will be speaking with members after the service about their concerns involving the war, including those who have family in combat, Weiner said.

The Canyon Ridge Christian Church also has a number of people with family in the war among its congregation of at least 4,000.

Mitch Harrison, director of communications for the church, said its Senior Pastor Kevin Odor found himself in a challenging position, since the sermon he had planned for this weekend's services drew from the Biblical story about Jesus and the Samaritans.

"It's a cross-cultural story of Jews and Samaritans, who didn't get along too well," Harrison said. "Ironically, how do we say, 'Love your neighbor' when we're dropping bombs on them."

As with the other houses of worship, Harrison said there is division within his congregation about President Bush's decision to go to war.

"But under the roof of the Christian church there is plenty of room for those who agree we should go to war and those who don't," he said. "Our role is to help them deal with their anxiety and keep their faith alive."

Devereaux, of the United Methodist Church, said he wasn't "going to say the president made the wrong or right decision, but rather that this is the reality we find ourselves in and we all want peace."

Devereaux also said that the president's being a member of the same church has been a source of consolation for his congregation.

"As we've been praying for peace, there's the assumption that he shares some of the same beliefs and is prayerful," he said.

The Rev. Marion Bennet of the Zion Methodist Church plans to draw on Psalm 91 for his Sunday morning service. Bennet hopes the psalm's references to God sheltering believers from "the terror of night ... (and) the arrows that fly by day" will comfort his congregation of about 500, one of whom has a granddaughter in the military.

"Then we will pray for everybody who is in the line of fire," he said. "Not just the Americans."