wfn.org | Church Leaders Head to Middle East to Bolster Peace Efforts

[news@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

  December 1, 2000

  CHURCH LEADERS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST TO BOLSTER PEACE EFFORTS
  00-295-JS*

     NEW YORK -- A high-level delegation of American church leaders
  is headed for the Middle East Dec. 7-12 to express solidarity with
  Christian churches there and to lend their voices to a growing chorus
  calling for renewed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis
  in the area.
     Representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)
  in the delegation are the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, Green Valley,
  Ariz., former ELCA presiding bishop, and the Rev. Margaret G. Payne,
  bishop of the ELCA New England Synod, Worcester, Mass.
      The delegation hopes to meet with Israeli and Palestinian
  political and religious leaders to discuss the escalation of violence
  and collapse of the peace process, as well as  difficult issues such
  as the future status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in Gaza and
  the West Bank, refugees and the protection of human rights.
     "It is crucial that we sit down with those who are victims of
  the violence, as well as those who are working to restore the peace
  process," said the Rev. Mark B. Brown, assistant director, Lutheran
  Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., who was
  instrumental in arranging the visit.  LOGA is the ELCA's federal
  public policy office in the nation's capital.
     Despite the heightened tensions in the area, Brown said the
  delegation also hopes to visit institutions in Jerusalem, Gaza,
  Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and Ramallah.
     "We need to understand the breakdown in peace negotiations
  better and discuss ways in which churches in the U.S., Palestine and
  Israel can work together to strengthen the Christian communities and
  to promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and
  Palestinians," he said.
     The delegation includes participants from the National Council
  of Churches, the United Church of Christ and the Armenian Apostolic,
  Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite,
  Presbyterian, Quaker and United Methodist churches.
  The visit comes at the same time many of the churches are
  involved in a Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace. The vigil begins on
  the first Sunday in Advent, Dec. 3, and will continue until the
  violence ends and a peace agreement emerges.
  Based on an ELCA initiative and organized by the ecumenical
  working group Churches for Middle East Peace, the vigil holds in
  prayer all those who are suffering in the Holy Land, including
  Palestinians and Israelis.
     Participants in the delegation include:
     + Bishop Viken Aykazian of the Armenian Apostolic Church
     + The Very Rev. Brother Stephen Glodek of the Catholic
  Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes
     + The Rev. John McCullough of Church World Service and Witness
  of the National Council of Churches
     + Bishop Vincent Warner of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of
  Olympia
     + Patti Browning, wife of the former presiding bishop of the
  Episcopal Church
     + Bishop Dimitrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
     + Donella Clemens of the Mennonite Central Committee
     + Inez Allan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
     + Mary Ellen McNish of the American Friends Service Committee
     + The Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson of the United Church of
  Christ
     + Bishop William Oden of the United Methodist Church

     For details of the Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace, go to
  www.loga.org/PrayerVigilHome.htm on LOGA's Web site.

     To receive daily press reports and photos of the visit, send
  your e-mail address to CorinneWhi@aol.com at Churches for Middle East
  Peace. During the trip the delegation's press officer, *James
  Solheim, director for news, The Episcopal Church, can be reached at
  jsolheim@dfms.org.

  For information contact:
  John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
  http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html