Patriots for Peace

Over the years, I have grown accustomed to having critics and even to enduring personal attacks. For many years, most of those attacks came from the Religious Right who hated the idea of an openly-gay man calling himself a pastor. Fundamentalists often have gotten riled because my theology is more liberal that their own. It also might surprise you how angry people get when you support human and humane regard for immigrants and/or oppose how we use capital punishment in this country. Still, nothing I have ever said or done has generated more vitriol than my refusal to fly the flag in church and sing patriotic hymns following the events of September 11. I can’t tell you the number of hateful emails I received and the names I was called.

The truth is I love this country a lot. I consider myself to be very patriotic, and my heart swells when I hear “Stars and Stripes Forever” played beneath fireworks on the Fourth of July. There is no place on earth I’d rather live. This is my home, and I love America. What I don’t love is the tendency of many in this country to regard as unpatriotic those who might oppose preemptive war, torturing prisoners or disregarding the views and values of the global community.

I believe in the separation of church and state because I love both. I don’t want the state interfering in how we worship God. I also think it is arrogance and idolatry to bring symbols of a single country into the church as if the Realm of God and the reign of Washington are synonymous (or even related). Just as I can love my partner and my parents without inviting both into my bedroom, I believe it is much healthier to love our country and our God without this blending of the two. The values of our faith should inform our patriotism, but we must not baptize our love for country and make it a religious doctrine. The family of God knows no national boundaries.

Blessings,

Michael Piazza
President, Hope for Peace & Justice

Sunday is Peace Sunday at Cathedral of Hope

Several years ago, Cathedral of Hope decided to set aside the Sunday closest to July 4 as a day to call our community to be “Patriots for Peace.” We call it “Peace Sunday.” Texas State Representative Lon Burnam will be the special guest speaker for the 9 and 11 a.m. services. Burnam, a longtime friend of Cathedral of Hope, has served as State Representative for inner-city Fort Worth since January 1997. In addition to his work in the House of Representatives, Rep. Burnam is also Director of the Dallas Peace Center. In 2003, Burnam was the only member of the Texas House of Representatives to speak out against a pro-war resolution. In describing that experience, Burnam explained that people opposed to a bill or resolution use a microphone on the side of the chamber, set apart from the one used by those in favor at the front of the room. “It was very lonely,” Burnam said. Join other patriots for peace this Sunday and show Representative Burnam that he is not alone!

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