Sept. 13, 1988
Chaplain William Sikes Jr.
Chaplain Darrell Cook
Hahn Air Base
6541 Lautzenhausen

Dear friends,

As you know, I often worship with German Christians outside the cruise missile base on Sunday afternoons. We gather there because we do not want to grow accustomed to the danger posed by nuclear weapons; we want to proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ and his peace there where we are promised security and peace through weapons of mass destruction. I also help my German friends in their efforts to share their concerns with GIs and their families by translating and handing out leaflets at Wuschheim every other Thursday.

Last Sunday you, Chaplain Cook, informed me that I was being barred from the Hahn base because of my involvement in the local peace initiative, and specifically because I was present Thursday morning three weeks ago when a Dutch friend painted "Love your enemies," "Peace through strength Jesus!" and "If we can risk nuclear war, we can risk disarmament" on the wall at the cruise base. As I write you I have not yet received the notice from the base commander that I am being barred, but because I am returning to the United States Friday for a long-planned "home leave" I want to take this opportunity to share a few thoughts with you.

First about the wall painting: It is important to know that Frits (who did the painting) did so openly, ready to bear the consequences of his action. He waited outside the base more than an hour until he was arrested. While he painted, five of us sang "I have decided to follow Jesus" and "Amazing grace."

You may have taken offense at the painting. I am sorry if that is so. I find it odd that we grow accustomed to weapons that might mean the death of millions of humans, but become upset when a little water-soluble paint is splashed on a lifeless wall. (There is, by the way, a biblical tradition of prophetic wall-painting; read Daniel 5!)

Being barred from base has caused me to reflect on the relationship between the Air Force and the chapel community. The base commander has decided that I may no longer worship with you Sunday mornings, sing in the choir or study the Bible with fellow Christians in Sunday school. In our brief conversation Sunday, Chaplain Cook, you, the senior Protestant chaplain, claimed no authority in this matter, in effect giving the base commander the authority to decide who will and who will not worship together. Fellowship among Christians, which should always include struggling for unity despite differences, is being sacrificed to the wishes and interests of the Air Force. I am returning my pass to you chaplains, and not to the base commander, because I believe that only the body of believers and its ministers have the authority to decide whom they will include or exclude from fellowship.

It appears to me that you in the chapel leadership have accepted a false "division of labor": The chapel claims authority in ministering to spiritual needs but lets the Air Force and the government deal with "political" issues. I am grateful for all those in the chapel who minister to the wounds of individuals. But the chapel must also give guidance on how we who are taught to love our enemies should stand on questions like the bombing of Libya and the use of nuclear weapons. And the chapel must have the courage to take a stand that could be quite different from the official Air Force position. Jesus is Lord of all of life and he wants our allegiance in both our private and our public lives.

As I am barred from base, one critical voice will be gone from the chapel community. You cannot, however, ignore the voices of many of your Christian brothers and sisters who believe that "a nuclear war can under no circumstances, in no region and by no social system be justifiable... The time has come when the churches must unequivocally declare that the production and deployment as well as the use of nuclear weapons is a crime against humanity and that such activities must be condemned on ethical and theological grounds" (6th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Vancouver 1983).

You cannot ignore the voice of the Reformed churches in West Germany who have declared that confessing Jesus as Lord must involve condemning nuclear weapons, or the Christians in the Hunsruck who believe that the way of the cross is fundamentally opposite to the way of the bomb. The division between Christians on this matter is extremely painful. How will you seek dialogue with your brothers and sisters?

I have been worshipping at the chapel for more than six months. During this time I have tried to understand the situation of the people I have come to know there and the difficult questions you sometimes face. I have tried to share my faith in Jesus and His nonviolent cross and to help communicate the pressing concerns of my German Christian friends. There have been some trying moments for me (like singing "In Christ there is no east or west" while in eastern Europe). Each Sunday as I drove from the base chapel to the service outside the cruise base I have felt the painful division of Christ's body and the urgent need for bridges of dialogue. But I am most thankful for the fellowship I have experienced, the open and honest conversations I have had with some of you, and the friendships, that have grown. I am hopeful that this may continue, despite being barred from base, after I return in December.

Thank you for taking my thoughts and questions seriously. I wish you much wisdom and courage in your ministry.

Yours sincerely,

Andre Gingerich

P.S. In the interest of fairness and understanding I ask you to give copies of this letter to the other chaplains at Hahn.