c. 2007 Religion News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. _ The Rev. John Schwiebert, 68, and his wife, Pat, 62, are conscientious objectors to war. As such, they have refused to support the U.S. military by withholding all or part of their federal income tax since 1977. They do not object to paying taxes, however, and for the past several years have paid the amount they think they would owe in federal taxes to Multnomah County, Ore., instead.

But this year, the Schwieberts face another challenge: In December 2006, the Internal Revenue Service asked the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits for the United Methodist Church to pay an income tax levy against the pension that Schwiebert receives as a retired, but still active, Methodist minister.

After meeting this April, the board decided to pay the levy but pay it under protest, according to a statement.

“The General Board is preparing a letter for the IRS, expressing strong feelings that this levy forces it to be a collection agent for the IRS in a dipsute between the federal government and a Church member who is acting out of conscience and with regard for long-standing Church teaching,” the April 26 statement said.

It’s difficult to know how many Americans withhold all or part of their taxes because they object to war. Those active in Portland tax-resistance groups estimate that about two dozen area residents take some steps to limit or reallocate their taxes.

The national figure may be between 8,000 and 10,000, says Ruth Benn, coordinator of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. “That includes people who still withhold the federal excise tax on local phone service, to people who refuse to pay 100 percent of taxes due, and those who consciously choose to live at a low income so as not to pay for war,” she says.

The IRS does not tabulate the numbers of Americans who withhold part or all of their taxes, says Dan Wardlaw, an agency spokesman in Seattle. But IRS rules state that “liability for federal taxes does not depend on whether the taxpayer agrees with the government programs or policies that are funded with tax receipts.” Court cases have upheld the same principle.

For the Schwieberts, the IRS levy against his pension is the latest in a series of challenges that they are determined to overcome. Their commitment to nonviolence is longstanding, and their refusal to support the military by paying taxes has had a profound effect on their lives.

“We are real conscientious objectors to war,” John Schwiebert says. The couple is too old to be drafted _ if there was a draft _ and “noncooperation is the only way we can object.”

Pat Schwiebert, a nurse who counsels parents whose children have died, puts her and her husband’s objection in personal terms.

“I have seen what death does to a family, how they have to rebuild their lives around such a loss,” she says. She cannot bear the thought that her taxes “would allow someone else to kill another child” in her name.

“We are prepared, in any way, to resolve conflict by any peaceful means.” she says. “Living in community has taught us that conflict is inevitable and that there are ways to resolve that conflict peacefully.”

The Schwieberts live simply. They do not own a house, living in a community of nine adults at the 18th Avenue Peace House in Northeast Portland, a ministry of Metanoia Peace Community United Methodist Church. They have worked, not for full salaries, but for reduced stipends that are below taxable limits. They do not have checking or savings accounts and are careful not to own property that may be seized by the government.

For many years they managed to live without earning enough money to owe federal taxes. But that changed in 2002, when John Schwiebert’s pension kicked in. Their solution has been to calculate the amount they owed, according to the IRS 1040 form, and present that money to Multnomah County. This year, on April 5, they presented $3,500 to the Board of County Commissioners.

“Not wishing to retain for our own private benefit money that rightly belongs to the people, we have chosen to give the money to this government body instead,” they wrote in a letter that accompanied their donation.

They included a copy of their letter to President Bush, explaining their objections and asking if their payment of their full federal income tax to Multnomah County could be considered “alternative service,” as it is understood when conscientious objectors refuse to serve in the military but agree to serve in other ways.

For many years, the Schwieberts have supported the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund. On April 18, Rep. John Lewis D-Ga., reintroduced the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill. The proposed legislation, some form of which has been debated in Congress since 1972, would enable conscientious objectors to have their federal income taxes directed to a fund used for non-military purposes.

The Schwieberts, who have the unofficial support of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, have long argued that the social principles of their church protect their right to follow their consciences when it comes to nonviolence and a refusal to support war.

Indeed, the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church 2005-08 state: “We recognize the right of individuals to dissent when acting under the constraint of conscience and, after having exhausted all legal recourse, to resist or disobey laws that they deem to be unjust or that are discriminately enforced.”

Under the heading “Military Service,” the principles say, “We deplore war and urge the peaceful settlement of all disputes among nations. … Some of us believe that war, and other acts of violence, are never acceptable to Christians.”

The Schwieberts recognize the concerns of the General Board to protect the church’s pension funds and to follow the law. They also know that not all Methodists, or all Christians, are opposed to war, as they have been for 30 years.

From their perspective, the Schwieberts say, fear is a factor: fear of not obeying the law, fear of terrorism, fear of facing a world without a standing army.

“The government is trying to keep us afraid,” Pat Schwiebert says. But their protest, despite its challenges, has given her and her husband a sense of peace.

“We live with a cloud of knowledge that we are vulnerable,” she says, “but we don’t live in fear.”

(Nancy Haught writes for The Oregonian in Portland, Ore.)

DSB/LF END HAUGHT

Editors: To obtain photos of the Rev. John Schwiebert and his wife, Pat, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.