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Upper Room Books Sends Novena in Time of War to Top U. S. Leaders, Select Members of Congress and Presidential Candidates

(February 11, 2008, GBOD/Upper Room) — Upper Room Books today announced that it has sent copies of Novena in Time of War: Soul-Searching Prayers and Meditations by Jim Melchiorre, to President George W. Bush, top members of the U. S. Congress and presidential candidates.

The United Methodist-related book publisher is offering the resource as a tool for U. S. leaders to use as they grapple with the intensity of making decisions surrounding the war in Iraq and other conflicts throughout the world.

And should the leaders read the powerful book, they will encounter prayers such as this one from chapter 4, "Remembering the Fallen."

Creator of the universe, comfort the families whose sons and daughters, husbands and wives have been killed in the current war. Guide our political leaders to be humble, discerning, and constantly aware of the personal sacrifices resulting from our policies. Help us examine all our statements and actions and never to assume that our perspective, or that of our nation, is beyond challenge. Amen.

Jim Melchiorre, author of Novena in Time of War, with Upper Room Book editors

Written by journalist and Gulf War veteran Jim Melchiorre, Novena in Time of War: Soul-Searching Prayers and Meditations (Upper Room Books, 2007) is based on the Roman Catholic practice of novena, a prayer of devotion and intercession offered over a nine-day period or for another time period involving the number nine.

The book explores deep questions about war from the view of both factions in a protracted struggle. Melchiorre stresses the importance of people on both sides of a conflict engaging in a lot of soul-searching and much prayer when nations are at war.

"As soon as we get comfortable with the fact that a war is going on, we'd better be praying, and Novena gives us a path for doing so. In prayer God restores our sanity, our humanity and doesn't let us get used to craziness," said the Rev. Stephen Bryant, world editor and publisher of The Upper Room.

In one instance in the book, Melchiorre offers a "Prayer Focus" that invites readers to "Picture a soldier serving in [his/her] country's military who has lost a limb or is otherwise permanently disabled from war wounds. Ask God how to pray for that person, and then do it."

According to Bryant, "part of the violence is in how we justify being numb to the human pain and the terrible tragedy of what is occurring to real people. So we must pray constantly -- for those who kill and are killed, the families of all involved and for the sanity to see as Jesus would see what's happening," he said.

Bryant suggests that in prayer, "we remember the soldiers are people, the victims are beloved children of God, and the 'collateral damage' is part of our extended family. This is what God does for us in prayer."

"I was raised Roman Catholic. My early childhood in the early 1960's was in the Pre-Vatican II Catholic Church. Novena is a very, very common memory of Catholics of that era," said author Jim Melchiorre.

"It was a way that Roman Catholics were able to focus devotional prayer on a particular topic and pray in their own language. They would pray a novena for somebody who was sick in the hospital . . . I had not thought about novena for thirty years," he said.

Melchiorre was interviewed while in Nashville last week for a book signing and reception at the General Board of Discipleship headquarters.

"Jim Melchiorre breathes life into an ancient spiritual practice that is desperately needed during this time of intense conflict on planet earth. In sensitive yet challenging ways, his book helps us reflect spiritually on an issue that weighs heavily on all people of faith. And it offers provocative questions we should wrestle with prayerfully so that we can act as ambassadors of God's love in this war-torn world" said Peter Wallace, author of Living Loved and host of the Day 1 ecumenical radio program.

Writing in the preface to the book, Melchiorre says, "Novena in Time of War is not a novena in the strict Roman Catholic tradition. It's a process, a course of study, prayer, reflection and discussion -- divided into nine parts."

The book's nine chapters are to be studied over nine days or nine weeks to allow time for contemplation and discussion. The topics covered include:
Chapter 1: "The Ancient Curse"
Chapter 2: "Us versus Them""
Chapter 3: "Shalom in the Ordinary""
Chapter 4: "Remembering the Fallen""
Chapter 5: "An Instinct for Life""
Chapter 6: "War Changes Things and People""
Chapter 7: "Other's People's Neighborhood""
Chapter 8: "Righteous, Not Self-Righteous""
Chapter 9: "Hating War not Warriors"

"Any attempt to pray a novena in time of war must, first and foremost, confront the reality of the dead, the details of their lives and the void in their families left behind," writes Melchiorre."

In "Questions for Reflection" on page 43, Melchiorre suggests that "we tend to feel the deaths of the women and men in our own nation's forces more acutely than losses on the other side. As a Christian, how difficult is it for you to pray for people, including soldiers, on the "other" side during a war?""

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