Allin Urges Church to Keep Peace Sabbath
Episcopal News Service. April 1, 1982 [82082]
NEW YORK (DPS, April 1) -- Presiding Bishop John M. Allin has asked Episcopal diocesan bishops to join him in dedicating the Feast of Pentecost as Peace Sabbath.
In a letter dated today, Allin renewed the effort that has claimed much of his attention over the past year and dominated many of his public statements. The brief letter notes the increasingly broad religious base behind the call for peace-making efforts and urges the Church to utilize the growing variety of resources addressing the issue.
His letter is expected to be followed by a packet from the steering committee of the Urban Bishops Coalition which will include material from an interreligious group which is attempting to mobilize Christian and Jewish support over the entire weekend which includes the religious feasts of Shavuoth and Pentecost, as well as the secular Memorial Day holiday.
In his letter, Allin suggests "that the propers appointed for the day, enriched by the opportunities provided in The Prayer Book, will provide a liturgical, homiletical, and intercessory foundation for this Peace Pentecost.
"You are aware of the many religious organizations providing educational resources on the issue of peacemaking and I commend their efforts to your attention and creative use.
"On May 30, 1982, please join me in invocation of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our search for peace."
The Coalition is also urging participation in two New York City events that will mark the beginning of the second session of the United Nations Disarmament Conference in mid-June. The first is an interfaith service of Witness at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and the second is a planned mass rally at the UN plaza. Of the former, the Coalition notes: "The visible presence of a number of our bishops at that service could be an eloquent testimony."
At this point, planners anticipate that the rally may be one of the largest seen in New York.
The peacemaking focus gained momentum when Allin brought former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and other internationally known figures before the 1981 House of Bishops meeting; a meeting that issued a strong pastoral letter denouncing reliance on arms and the escalating nuclear arms race.
Soon after that, Allin reinforced the call in a sermon inaugurating the year-long Washington Cathedral 75th Anniversary program. In that sermon, he called on the federal government to challenge the Soviet Union to "a peacemaking race."