TEARS Anti-Torture Ministry Team
News from TEARS, an FCCB Ministry Team that opposes the use of torture by the US government anywhere in the world.
TEARS and FCCB Participate in Anti-Torture Month
June 1, 2008
A bold new banner outside the church will proclaim “Torture is a Moral Issue.” during the month of June. We are marking Anti-Torture Month by participating in the NRCAT (National Religious Campaign Against Torture} Banners Across America project. Congregations in Berkeley and all over the US are flying these banners this June, a powerful nationwide witness against torture.
Read and listen to an interview with The Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of NRCAT, by the Christian Science Monitor.
On Sunday, June 15, TEARS will hold a Second Hour on US-sponsored torture. It will be a “Do-Something Session.” We will watch a short video, talk about our questions, and then all will be asked to help compose letters speaking out against torture—to Congress, to the editors of local papers, whomever you choose. If you are able, we invite you to bring a laptop to church on June 15 so our letters will be “printer-ready” at the end of the Hour. If you can bring a portable printer and/or thumb drive, please let Louise Specht know. You can get her contact info from the church office by calling 510/848-3696.
Anti-Torture Ministry Team Decries TV Torture Portrayals
March 18, 2008
TEARS, the FCCB anti-torture Ministry Team, is working with Human Rights First, an international organization that promotes laws and policies that advance universal rights and freedoms to address the way that torture is portrayed on television, and also NRCAT, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Human Rights First has created a video called Primetime Torture. This 14-minute movie shows the difference between the way that interrogation is shown on TV and the way it ought to work in the field. The film weaves together clips from some of TV’s most popular shows with the comments of seasoned interrogators.
View Part Two.
You can also learn more about the portrayal of torture in primetime at www.primetimetorture.org.
“Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” Coming to FCCB
June 16, 2007
The TEARS Ministry Team is joining with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to sponsor a screening of Rory Kennedy’s powerful HBO documentary, “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” at FCCB. The date will be Saturday, June 16, at 8:00 p.m., in the Large Assembly. TEARS is reaching out to other faith communities to join us for this showing. FCCB friends and members are encouraged to attend and to invite friends from other congregations.
This film is for mature audiences only. Please do not bring children or youth. The film makes extensive use of the photographs from Abu Ghraib. These images and some of the interviews are extremely intense. TEARS and NRCAT have undertaken the Spotlight on Torture project because we believe that “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” will help people of faith deepen their understanding of the nature of US-sponsored torture and also strengthen their resolve to end it.
After the viewing, we will have the opportunity to talk about our thoughts and feelings and to consider what faith communities can do to stop US-sponsored torture. Coffee and cookies and fellowship will be provided as we consider this very serious issue.
French Anti-Torture Activist to Speak
April 21, 2007
Dr. Marc Zarrouati, Chairman of ACAT-France (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture) will be coming to give a talk at First Congregational Church of Berkeley on Saturday, April 21, at 1:00, in the Small Assembly, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. Dr. Zarrouati will talk about how we can analyze torture from an anthropological and theological point of view to understand torture as a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon and take more effective action to prevent it.
“Torture is not merely an act of acute violence, it is a form of violence which consists in deliberately causing physical and psychological injury to human beings, in order to reduce them to what one wishes them to be. Blinded by a delusion of omnipotence, the torturer thus usurps the role of God...From a Christian viewpoint, this basic violation of human dignity may be seen as a desire to erase God's image in man and thereby to disfigure his soul. Is there any greater scandal than this?”
ACAT is an ecumenical organization which has branches in over 30 countries. Founded in 1974, its task is to denounce torture wherever it is used. Sponsored by the FCCB TEARS Ministry Team, this is a free event. Donations will be gratefully accepted. Parking in the lot behind the church is also free for this church event.
For more information contact Louise Specht (you can get her contact info from the church), or call the church office at 510-848-3696.
Read an interview with Dr. Zarrouati at Mercatornet.
Legislation Causes Concern for those Opposed to the Use of Torture
September 24, 2006
Read about this issue at the Friends Committee for National Legislation website and learn how you can best respond. This website also includes statements made by Colin Powell and a number of retired military officials stating their concerns about the legislation.
The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (which FCCB joined in April) has been closely monitoring the legislation that is being negotiated between the White House and Congress. This email was circulated through the NRCAT in response to the news about an agreement the White House had reached with key Senators: “As you’ve heard, there has been a agreement between Senators Warner/McCain/Graham and the White House on the Military Commission/Geneva Conventions legislation. The news is confusing as to whether or not this agreement addresses our concerns about torture. The answer is, it does not. Linda Gustitus, Rich Killmer and I (Jeanne E. Herrick-Stare, Senior Fellow for Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Friends Committee on National Legislation) drafted a short statement on behalf of NRCAT for the press, stating strongly that the compromise does not end the immoral policy of torture, and that as people of faith we do not support the terms of the agreement. Among other failings, the agreement does not clearly prohibit interrogation techniques that are cruel and inhumane; it allows the continued use of secret prisons; it exonerates the perpetrators of torture; and it retroactively eliminates habeas corpus for enemy combatants held in detention centers like Guantanamo, as well as stripping federal court review of any further detention suits.”
NRCAT Collects On-Line Signatures Opposing Torture
August 22, 2006
The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (which FCCB joined in April) is seeking on-line signatures for its “Torture Is A Moral Issue” statement. The NRCAT www.nrcat.org joins people of faith committed to ensuring that the United States does not engage in torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of anyone, without exceptions. NRCAT is a campaign of national, regional and local religious and secular organizations. They are national denominations and faith groups, local interfaith groups and congregations and more. You can endorse the statement at the website www.nrcat.org/statement.aspx The NRCAT was formed on January 15, 2006 in Princeton, New Jersey. On June 13, they ran a quarter-page ad on the New York Times’ editorial page, “Torture Is A Moral Issue” signed by notable religious figures including Jimmy Carter, Elie Weisel, Dr. Rick Warren, Rabbi David Sapperstein, Rev. Jim Wallis, Archbishop Demetrios and many others. A copy of the ad is posted on the Outreach bulletin board in the Large Assembly. They are currently engaged in a nationwide drive to gather endorsements from people of all faiths across the United States to demonstrate the breadth and depth of Americans’ opposition to torture by our government.
FCCB Members Ring Out Against Torture
June 25, 2006
On Sunday, June 25, members of the church gathered on the lawn outside to ring bells protesting the use of torture by the US government anywhere around the world. The group sang, prayed, and a large sign proclaimed “Torture is a Moral Issue”. During the service Senior Minister Patricia de Jong invited members who wanted to stand in solidarity with members of TEARS, FCCB’s anti-torture ministry team, to come up to sing the “Gloria”. So many wanted to join that she eventually asked them to stand and sing where they were.
A Good Friday Letter Sent to President Bush Protesting the Use of Torture
April 30, 2006
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (of which FCCB is a member) sponsored an ad that ran in the New York Times on 6/13. Many FCCB members endorsed the ad. Click here to see a copy of the ad which has been signed by leaders of many faiths and religious institutions, including notables Jimmy Carter and Elie Wiesel. You can also read an article in the Washington Post about this new initiative by religious leaders.
The TEARS ministry team, which advocates against the use of torture by any US agency, also gathering signatures for this open letter to President Bush. The letter was sent to Mr. Bush, and copies of the letter and signature pages were also sent to local papers in time to be published on Good Friday. The purpose of the letter was to explicitly link the torture of Jesus, and our Christian faith, to the torture of the detainees.
Here is the full text of the letter:
April 14, 2006
OPEN LETTER
President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear President Bush:
On Good Friday, Christians everywhere remember the torture and killing of Jesus by the authorities. On this Good Friday 2006, Christians in the US struggle with the knowledge that our government tortures and kills people in its custody. We struggle with the knowledge that those most responsible for this abuse profess Christ, who taught us to treat others as we would be treated.
Our faith is based on the paradox of redemption: Although all of us are sinners, all of us are likewise beloved children of God. Forgiveness is given to those who repent. You have publicly professed your faith as a follower of Christ. Therefore, we call on you, President Bush, to renounce the evil of torture. Jesus said, “As you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”. Take steps to protect detainees, seek out those responsible for their care and hold them accountable. Your failure to do so condones the torture.
Sincerely,
Louise Specht
Additional signatures attached