SPONSORS: FOR (Fellowship
of Reconciliation), Codepink, National Council of Elders, and Peace in Ukraine
(Editor’s Note: Iowa Peace Network signed on as a faith organization/ faith leader, today, December 22, 2022.)
Inspired by the miraculous Christmas truce of 1914, leaders
petition the Biden administration to push for negotiations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ariel Gold | ariel@forusa.org | 510 599 5330
Bill McGarvey | bill@mcg-media.com | 201-725-4202123
A diverse and quickly growing coalition of nearly 1000 faith
leaders in the United States–representing
a massive number of believers from every major tradition–have signed onto a Christmas Truce
statement demanding a temporary ceasefire in the War in Ukraine.
Spiritual leaders from across the spectrum of faith
communities and a diversity of ideological
perspectives have become signatories in recognition of the fact that the way out of the war in Ukraine
will not be a military solution. They have signed on with the belief that a temporary ceasefire offers an
opportunity for moral clarity that could be the first step toward a negotiated peace.
Signers include Bishop William J. Barber II, president of
Repairers of the Breach; Dr. Cornel West,
Union Theological Seminary; Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow Push Coalition; Rev. Liz Theoharis,
Director of the Kairos Center for Religion; Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Jewish Renewal movement; Mary
Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Thay Phap An, the
Plum Village Buddhist community; Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary Emeritus,
Reformed Church in America; Rev. Jim Wallis, Georgetown Center on Faith and Justice; (a full list is
available here forusa.org/ukraine).
“As the war in Ukraine drags into to its 10th month, the
only certainty is that the estimated hundreds of
thousands killed and wounded will continue to grow, as will the 14 million war refugees not to mention
the humanitarian impacts felt across Europe and the globe” said Ariel Gold, executive director of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, the oldest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
“Negotiation is not a euphemism for capitulation, nor is it a rationalization of Putin’s aggression,” said
Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the peace group CODEPINK. “It is simply a recognition that the end of
this war cannot be achieved by more war. Any prospect for a pause in hostilities should be acted on.”
Initiated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA, the National Council of Elders, CODEPINK and
the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, the Christmas truce for Ukraine, is inspired by the miraculous
Christmas truce of 1914, in which 100,000 German and British soldiers ceased fire and participated in a
brief and spontaneous peace along the Western Front. Emerging from their trenches, soldiers ventured
into the “no man’s land” where they shared food and drink; they sang Christmas carols and even played
soccer together. It was a potent example of how the human spirit can be a powerful force that
transcends hate and division in the promotion of peace.
The signers of the statement hope to meet with and petition
the Biden administration to ask them to
take a leadership role in pushing for a negotiated settlement that brings the war to an end, greatly
lessening the danger of nuclear war and mass, if not total, annihilation. The statement reads:
“As people of faith and conscience, believing in the sanctity of all life on this planet, we call for a
Christmas Truce in Ukraine. In the spirit of the truce that occurred in 1914 during the First World
War, we urge our government to take a leadership role in bringing the war in Ukraine to an end
through supporting calls for a ceasefire and negotiated settlement, before the conflict results in a
nuclear war that could devastate the world’s ecosystems and annihilate all of God’s creation.”
Campaign organizers will also be rolling out online resources (forusa.org/ukrainemedia) that houses of
worship and community groups nationwide can access to promote this prayer for peace and encourage
grassroots promotion of the need to cease the violence and pursue a negotiated settlement.
“Whether it’s Christians around the world preparing for
Christmas or Jews getting ready to celebrate
the commemoration of the miracle of Hanukkah, all of the Abrahamic faiths embrace the prophetic
voice of Isaiah who exhorted us to transform swords into plowshares,” said Zoharah Simmons from the
National Council of Elders. “As we enter this winter holiday filled with prayers for peace and
liberation, we are praying and acting for the same kind of miracle that over a century ago compelled the
soldiers of WWI to put down their weapons and celebrate peace.”
Bill McGarvey | bill@mcg-media.com | 201-725-4202123
a massive number of believers from every major tradition–have signed onto a Christmas Truce
statement demanding a temporary ceasefire in the War in Ukraine.
perspectives have become signatories in recognition of the fact that the way out of the war in Ukraine
will not be a military solution. They have signed on with the belief that a temporary ceasefire offers an
opportunity for moral clarity that could be the first step toward a negotiated peace.
Union Theological Seminary; Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow Push Coalition; Rev. Liz Theoharis,
Director of the Kairos Center for Religion; Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Jewish Renewal movement; Mary
Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Thay Phap An, the
Plum Village Buddhist community; Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary Emeritus,
Reformed Church in America; Rev. Jim Wallis, Georgetown Center on Faith and Justice; (a full list is
available here forusa.org/ukraine).
thousands killed and wounded will continue to grow, as will the 14 million war refugees not to mention
the humanitarian impacts felt across Europe and the globe” said Ariel Gold, executive director of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, the oldest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
“Negotiation is not a euphemism for capitulation, nor is it a rationalization of Putin’s aggression,” said
Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the peace group CODEPINK. “It is simply a recognition that the end of
this war cannot be achieved by more war. Any prospect for a pause in hostilities should be acted on.”
Initiated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA, the National Council of Elders, CODEPINK and
the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, the Christmas truce for Ukraine, is inspired by the miraculous
Christmas truce of 1914, in which 100,000 German and British soldiers ceased fire and participated in a
brief and spontaneous peace along the Western Front. Emerging from their trenches, soldiers ventured
into the “no man’s land” where they shared food and drink; they sang Christmas carols and even played
soccer together. It was a potent example of how the human spirit can be a powerful force that
transcends hate and division in the promotion of peace.
take a leadership role in pushing for a negotiated settlement that brings the war to an end, greatly
lessening the danger of nuclear war and mass, if not total, annihilation. The statement reads:
“As people of faith and conscience, believing in the sanctity of all life on this planet, we call for a
Christmas Truce in Ukraine. In the spirit of the truce that occurred in 1914 during the First World
War, we urge our government to take a leadership role in bringing the war in Ukraine to an end
through supporting calls for a ceasefire and negotiated settlement, before the conflict results in a
nuclear war that could devastate the world’s ecosystems and annihilate all of God’s creation.”
Campaign organizers will also be rolling out online resources (forusa.org/ukrainemedia) that houses of
worship and community groups nationwide can access to promote this prayer for peace and encourage
grassroots promotion of the need to cease the violence and pursue a negotiated settlement.
the commemoration of the miracle of Hanukkah, all of the Abrahamic faiths embrace the prophetic
voice of Isaiah who exhorted us to transform swords into plowshares,” said Zoharah Simmons from the
National Council of Elders. “As we enter this winter holiday filled with prayers for peace and
liberation, we are praying and acting for the same kind of miracle that over a century ago compelled the
soldiers of WWI to put down their weapons and celebrate peace.”
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