Beloved in the Dioceses of Bethlehem and Central Pennsylvania,
On Saturday evening the 21st of June we learned from the President that three sites in Iran known to store materials for the making of nuclear weapons and a research complex were bombed by the United States of America. The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff has noted that this was the “largest B-2 operational strike in US history (and) inflicted extremely severe damage and destruction to the targets.”
As of today, the full extent of the damage is not known nor the number of casualties incurred in the operation. This act has added to an already volatile situation in the Middle East where continued violence has killed nearly 58,000 persons since 2023, and there is now a “critical risk of famine.” Civilians, including women and children, have been killed indiscriminately, and the need for humanitarian aid to succor those in the midst of this tragedy is profound.
As bishops serving our two dioceses of loving and faithful Episcopalians, we bid you to join us as we call for continued diplomacy with a goal of lasting peace. Life is a precious gift given to us by our Creator and we mourn deeply with those who have lost loved ones in this conflict. We pray for the Holy Spirit to fill our global leaders, that they will work through this complex situation and towards a vision of our world where peace overrides the need for power, where resources are used for the common good, and where all of God’s children can live without fear.
Jesus bids us to be peacemakers. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). We are called by Jesus and through our baptismal vows to join in striving for peace. This can be done by offering prayer, through efforts supporting global peacemaking efforts, and by loving each other in acts of kindness and gentleness in these anxious days.
Psalm 46 is a good prayer to return to in these times:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult,
The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.God is in the midst of her; she shall not be overthrown;
God shall help her at the break of day.The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken;
God has spoken and the earth shall melt away.The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.Come now and look upon the works of the Lord,
what awesome things he has done on earth.It is he who makes war to cease in the world;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear and burns the shields with fire.“Be still then and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations;
I will be exalted in the earth.”The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Together, we walk in the Way of Love,
The Rt. Rev. Audrey C. Scanlan
Bishop of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Kevin D. Nichols
Bishop of the Diocese of Bethlehem