Clergy offer advice in dealing with war

By DAWN SLADE
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 3/27/03

The country is seeing an unprecedented amount of live television coverage of the war in Iraq. How are Americans handling the bombardment of coverage and what can they do to better handle the stress of war?

Area clergy suggest turning off the television and focusing on family.

They also say they are saying extra prayers for the service men and women and suggest others do the same.

Pastor Jon Olson of Zion Lutheran Church said there is a special peace candle at the altar of his church. And Olson encourages people to keep a light in the window for the armed forces.

Olson reminds people to take a break from the news.

"A lot of us are are getting war weary already. Do some things that are healthy with family and kids. You can get worn out with what you see," Olson said.

Pastor Janet Gwin of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Bock says though she has not held a special service, the church is asking for names of people who are serving in the military to include them in prayers.

"We are including prayers for all service men and the leaders of all the nations for peace in general," Gwin said.

"Personally, I tend to turn it on once a day to listen for a while," Gwin said of the news. "But, there comes a point where I have to turn it off. It doesnít need to overtake my being.

"Thatís what I encourage others to do. Set a period of time to turn it on, keep abreast of whatís happening, but at the same time carry on with your daily lives and donít let it become the center of your being."

Pastor Kevin Dunn of the Milaca United Methodist Church said the congregation is having ongoing prayers for those serving in the military and he has asked family members to update the congregation on the troops.

The congregation also sang "America the Beautiful" during last Sundayís service.

"We can have different views on whether the war is right or not, but we need to support our troops," Dunn said.

"I think if people have faith, we can have hope for the future. Live one day at a time. The Bible gives us hope. When you think of all the bad things that happened to Jesus, you can still have hope."

Dunn offered his opinion on the war.

"I wasnít convinced that we needed to go in there," he said. The problem with us [America], anything we do weíre going to be criticized because we have so much power.

"We teach non-violence in the church. Itís not what Jesus would intend as far as relationships, but we can still pray for our country and our leadership."

Dunn also suggested when explaining the war to children, to present it in a manner like Governor Tim Pawlenty did.

Pawlenty told his children that if there was someone in school with a weapon, youíd want to deal with that person and make sure there were no weapons in school.

Dunn also said, "Sometimes itís better just to turn off the TV. Compared to other wars, everything is right in your face. Try to live life as normally as you can."