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The Cross Before the Flag

Cross Before Flag,
first published by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship in 1966, is issued in this revised edition, Lent 2001.
Original resolution language has been retained.


As Christians and as Americans we know the importance of having the right to choose freely. As we grow in our Christian faith, we seek God's guidance in making responsible choices.

This booklet is about choice.
 
It is our understanding that we as Christians are called to serve God in everything that we do.  Everything --with no exceptions, whether you are considering military service, working in a war-related industry, supporting the military through your federal taxes or simply defining your own stand on the issues of war and peace.
 
The purpose of this booklet is to let you know what your church, the Episcopal Church, and the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, have said over the years about peace and war.

The statements in this pamphlet are the Church's effort to address the concerns of war and peace in the twentieth century, to declare God's Word in a world that still sanctions war and killing. As you read these statements, listen for God's Word to you.

Then, the choice is yours.

The Episcopal Peace Fellowship

The Lambeth Conference

The Lambeth Conference has met approximately every ten years since 1867 at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It brings together Anglican bishops from throughout the world. The conference's resolutions are advisory. 

The opening sentence of a resolution, first approved by the 1930 Lambeth Conference, has been reaffirmed by succeeding Conferences. In the United States it was adopted by the General Convention in 1931 and since then has been reaffirmed repeatedly by the Episcopal Church. "War is incompatible with the teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
The Episcopal Church

The General Convention (legislative body of the Episcopal Church) meets every three years to make policy and conduct the business of the Church. Actions in its name are approved by a majority in each of its two houses: the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (clergy and lay persons elected by their respective dioceses).

Sometimes resolutions in the House of Deputies are voted on “by orders,” which means that clergy and laity vote separately. The vote for each order is then tallied by Diocese. The net effect of this is to require approximately a two thirds majority by both lay and clergy deputies in order for a resolution to be approved.

The House of Bishops also meets annually and periodically issues Pastoral Letters and position papers addressed to the faithful. These deal with challenges facing the Church, the country, and the world.



CROSS BEFORE FLAG includes resolutions and other official statements which bear directly on war, peace and violence, and the development of conscience in relation to war and violence. It is not meant to be an exhaustive collection of resolutions on public issues.

For a more inclusive summary of actions on public issues by General Convention and the Executive Council, the Office of Peace and Justice Ministries has published “Policy for Action.”  Single copies are available free from:

Public Policy Network Coordinator
Government Relations Office, The Episcopal Church
110 Maryland Avenue NE
Washington DC 20002
1-800-228-0515 or 202-547-7300

For more peace and justice resources or to join EPF contact:
EPF:  637 S. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL  60605
312-922-8628 and fax 312-922-8637
epfnational@ameritech.net
www.episcopalpeacefellowship.org

The Episcopal Peace Fellowship, publisher of CROSS BEFORE FLAG, is a body of Episcopalians dedicated to discovering and practicing the biblical concept of peace: shalom/salaam. This includes a commitment to renounce, so far as possible, participation in war and other forms of violence. The EPF recognizes that there can be no peace without a commitment to justice, and no justice without reconciliation.  Thus, the Fellowship endeavors to develop within the Church a community of Christians pledged to peace, justice, reconciliation, and nonviolence.