wfn.org | Liberian United Methodists want end to war

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 22, 2002  News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-31-71B{126}

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist Church in Liberia is calling upon the government of
that West African country to "take positive steps to end the ongoing war."

The call was issued during the church's annual conference in February and
went out to the dissidents fighting the government as well. About 2,000
clergy, conference officials, lay members and guests attended the meeting in
Buchanan City.

A new round of violence ignited in February in Liberia as rebels opposed to
the government of President Charles Taylor threatened to attack Monrovia,
the capital city.

Liberian United Methodists condemned the renewed fighting and asked
Christians and "peace-loving Liberians" to speak with one voice against the
deadly and destructive impact of war. They noted that Liberia's "senseless
and brutal" seven-year civil war in the 1990s resulted in "substandard
lives," both for those who remained and those abroad in exile.

The Liberia Annual Conference, led by Bishop John Innis, includes 445 fully
organized churches and 160 fledgling churches. Its mission institutions
included 36 schools and two orphanages.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) provides humanitarian
assistance in Liberia, including help for those displaced from their homes.
Donations can be earmarked for UMCOR's Liberia Emergency, Advance No.
150300-7, and placed in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR
at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations
can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.

	
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United Methodist News Service
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