Internal Revenue Service
Washington, DC 20224
To Whom It May Concern:
On February 28, 1988, Community Mennonite Church took formal action, which remains in effect, to “give full moral support” to members of our congregation, who, as an act of conscience, withhold part of their federal income tax which would be used by the government for military expenditures. This act of conscience is based on biblical norms as understood in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition.
Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective states in Article 22, “As followers of Jesus, we participate in his ministry of peace and justice. As disciples of Christ, we do not prepare for war or participate in war or military service. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus also empowers us to love enemies, to forgive rather than to seek revenge, to practice right relationships, to rely on the community of faith to settle disputes, and to resist evil without violence. Led by the Spirit, and beginning in the church, we witness to all people that violence is not the will of God. We witness against all forms of violence, including war among nations, hostility among races and classes, abuse of children and women violence between men and women, abortion, and capital punishment.”
We, as a congregation of Christian believers, offer our support morally, financially and otherwise to these members in their acts of faith and conscience. We support the U.S. Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill (H.R. 4529) and encourage our elected officials to pass that bill into law so that Christian pacifists may live their lives with complete religious freedom.
Sincerely,
Pastoral Team at CMC
*Contact the church office to have this text printed on CMC letterhead.