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Activities for Religious Communities
Work with your congregation or a neighboring one to make cluster bombs a part of a worship service. Click here for a church bulletin insert. You could encourage fundraising for your denomination’s aid and relief work in Angola, Laos, Lebanon or other cluster-bomb and landmine infested countries. You could also educate and activate parishioners about opportunities to ban further U.S. use and export of cluster bombs by supporting current legislation.
Many faith organizations have made statements opposing
use of cluster bombs and landmines. Click here to read these statements.
1. Pray for Victims of Cluster Bombs and Landmines
Include in your prayer service a remembrance of past, present and future
victims of landmines and cluster bombs, and pray for the United States
to support global efforts to ban the use of these highly indiscriminant
weapons, which kill and maim so many civilians. Use this opportunity
to inform your congregation about the urgency to address the international
cluster bomb crisis and to clean up our past messes. A ringing of church
bells may be included in the service to heighten the awareness of the
public of these activities.
There are many Scripture Readings that relate to and support a ban on
landmines and cluster bombs. Following are a couple that you may wish
to incorporate into your prayer service:
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge
against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself: I am the LORD.
Isaiah 2:4 They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for
you reap whatever you sow.
James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.
1 John 4:20-21 If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates
his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he
has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command:
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
2. Build a Landmine and Cluster-bomb-free Path
to Worship
Invite each person in your congregation to bring a rock from their home.
You might advertise the activity in your program/bulletin in the following
way:
You are invited to bring a stone or a pebble from your home area to church
on Sunday______. On that day, you can help create a landmine and cluster-bomb-free
pathway before (or during) worship.
Landmines and cluster weapons continue to claim the fertile land of farmers,
the playgrounds of children, the active lives of individuals. Our collective
work and action will help make the way safe for others around the world. So
come, help build a landmine/cluster-bomb-free pathway, and add to the momentum
gathering for a global ban on cluster bombs.
3. Talk to Kids about Making Change
Suggest that the teachers of religious education teach a lesson about
landmines and cluster munitions, including the efforts of children to
raise awareness and funds to clear minefields. Some activities on the
chosen Sunday (and perhaps on preceding ones as well) could include:
- Write letters to the White House and members of Congress urging support for efforts to ban further use and export of cluster bombs.
- Organize a fun and spirited fundraiser to support demining efforts.
- Design banners/quilts/posters to hang in the church during a landmines and cluster bomb-focused prayer service.
Faith Statements on Cluster Bombs
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