Appeal to the Methodist Church in Britain
Zimbabwe Memorial to Conference
BECAUSE:
Ordinary men, women, and children are arrested without valid cause in Zimbabwe (e.g. ‘praying in public’); because people are regularly beaten and tortured by the police, and left without food, water, or medical attention for days in Zimbabwe’s jails;
BECAUSE:
Little children and vulnerable adults are starving in the cities and countryside; because freedom of assembly and the press have been outlawed; because President Mugabe continues to refuse food aid even though 2.5 million people are at risk of starvation, so that the government can control the distribution of grain for its own political purposes;
BECAUSE:
The churches and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who report on human rights abuse, hunger, political oppression, in Zimbabwe are persecuted; because laws make all protests and reporting of rights abuse illegal in Zimbabwe; because international aid to NGOs that support human rights has been cut off, and because the government has imposed a news black out, so that the suffering of the people and their slow starvation goes unreported;
BECAUSE:
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has said to his Church: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”;
AND BECAUSE:
Lack of public protest by the churches provides a plausible mask to a ruthless dictator;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Derby South Circuit asks the Methodist Church of Britain to stand with those who have the courage to speak out against the human rights abuses of the people of Zimbabwe;
THAT
We support the rights of individuals and churches in Zimbabwe to worship God in freedom, including in the church’s worship, her right to speak out against any individuals and institutions that oppress the body and starve the soul;
THAT
We support those churches and NGOs in Zimbabwe who feed the people, report on human rights, support the vulnerable, and announce the day of the Lord’s favour, when all of humanity and the creatures with whom we share God’s earth and heaven will have a fair share of the good gifts of God’s creation, meant for all to share;
THAT
We abhor the torture of Zimbabwe’s people, especially government-sponsored repression of the human dignity and human rights of the person, including the right to free speech, free assembly, free association, equitable distribution of food, land, clean water and air;
AND FINALLY THAT
We, the Methodist Church of Britain, will provide physical, financial, and spiritual assistance to the people of Zimbabwe to the best of our ability. We will speak out in the Parliament and the press to ensure that the sufferings of the people of Zimbabwe are not forgotten, and that we will work with other Churches and institutions to ensure that those who have fled from the repressive regime in Zimbabwe are given asylum, food, shelter, and counselling.
BECAUSE:
Ordinary men, women, and children are arrested without valid cause in Zimbabwe (e.g. ‘praying in public’); because people are regularly beaten and tortured by the police, and left without food, water, or medical attention for days in Zimbabwe’s jails;
BECAUSE:
Little children and vulnerable adults are starving in the cities and countryside; because freedom of assembly and the press have been outlawed; because President Mugabe continues to refuse food aid even though 2.5 million people are at risk of starvation, so that the government can control the distribution of grain for its own political purposes;
BECAUSE:
The churches and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who report on human rights abuse, hunger, political oppression, in Zimbabwe are persecuted; because laws make all protests and reporting of rights abuse illegal in Zimbabwe; because international aid to NGOs that support human rights has been cut off, and because the government has imposed a news black out, so that the suffering of the people and their slow starvation goes unreported;
BECAUSE:
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has said to his Church: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”;
AND BECAUSE:
Lack of public protest by the churches provides a plausible mask to a ruthless dictator;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Derby South Circuit asks the Methodist Church of Britain to stand with those who have the courage to speak out against the human rights abuses of the people of Zimbabwe;
THAT
We support the rights of individuals and churches in Zimbabwe to worship God in freedom, including in the church’s worship, her right to speak out against any individuals and institutions that oppress the body and starve the soul;
THAT
We support those churches and NGOs in Zimbabwe who feed the people, report on human rights, support the vulnerable, and announce the day of the Lord’s favour, when all of humanity and the creatures with whom we share God’s earth and heaven will have a fair share of the good gifts of God’s creation, meant for all to share;
THAT
We abhor the torture of Zimbabwe’s people, especially government-sponsored repression of the human dignity and human rights of the person, including the right to free speech, free assembly, free association, equitable distribution of food, land, clean water and air;
AND FINALLY THAT
We, the Methodist Church of Britain, will provide physical, financial, and spiritual assistance to the people of Zimbabwe to the best of our ability. We will speak out in the Parliament and the press to ensure that the sufferings of the people of Zimbabwe are not forgotten, and that we will work with other Churches and institutions to ensure that those who have fled from the repressive regime in Zimbabwe are given asylum, food, shelter, and counselling.
posted at 6:31 pm
<< Home