wfn.org | Washington religious leaders join Middle East peace call

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 28, 2002        News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202)
546-87227Washington     10-21-71BP{137}

NOTE: Head-and-shoulder photographs of Bishop Felton May and the Rev. J.
Philip Wogaman are available at http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html. 

By Ciona Rouse* 

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Two prominent United Methodists joined with other
religious leaders in the nation's capital in supporting a call for a
peaceful resolution to the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Saying the faith community is called to provide hope to the people of the
Middle East, Bishop Felton E. May, who leads the Baltimore-Washington Annual
(regional) Conference, and the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, pastor of Foundry
United Methodist Church in Washington, added their endorsements to the
Alexandria Declaration.

They were among 11 leaders who voiced support March 27 for the document. The
result of a collaborative effort by Jewish, Islamic and Christian religious
and government leaders in the Holy Land, the declaration was adopted Jan. 21
at an interfaith summit in Alexandria, Egypt. It puts forth six calls for
action, including a "religiously sanctioned cease-fire, respected and
observed on all sides."

"The United Methodist Church has long been active in seeking peace in the
Middle East," May said. "Our purpose is not to judge either side but to call
both sides to the kind of creative compromises that can bring peace."

United Methodists as people of faith are called to offer hope to those who
suffer, he said. He shared information about the recent delegation of four
United Methodist bishops, two general agency top executives and a staff
member who traveled to Jerusalem in February.

"Holy Week is a time of hope, hope made flesh in Jesus, the Christ. There
can be no hope without being agents of reconciliation," May declared.

"Religious leaders cannot pretend to be the experts on all the complex
issues of statecraft," he said. "We do speak with one voice and the deepest
authority of our religious traditions when we say, stop the killing! Now!"

Wogaman said that people on both sides of the struggle have a false hope
that it is possible to eventually find peace with enough violence. He said
faithful people must offer another solution.

"We need to remember the immense importance of hope in the midst of this,
hope that the future is going to be very different from the present,"
Wogaman stressed.

The religious leaders said their support of the Alexandria document will
serve as a sign of hope for the people of the Holy Land.

"The Alexandria Declaration signals a new possibility for justice, peace and
security for all the peoples of that land, holy to three faiths," said
Episcopal Bishop Allen Bartlett, of the Diocese of Washington. "We
enthusiastically endorse the declaration and pledge our support of its
principles."

Beyond acknowledging the support of their Middle Eastern counterparts, the
Washington religious leaders emphasized the need for the faith community in
the United States to pray and actively offer hope to the Holy Land.

Bartlett announced a May 5 interfaith prayer vigil at the National Cathedral
in Washington. A similar vigil is to occur at the same time in Jerusalem.

Ecumenical prayer vigils have been held daily since December 2000 across the
United States, said the Rev. Mark Brown, director of government relations
for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He also mentioned a World
Council of Churches program in which religious leaders accompany activists
in the Holy Land to bring peace nonviolently.

Other Washington religious leaders who endorsed the Alexandria Declaration
included Jews, Muslims, a Catholic priest, an Orthodox bishop and a
Presbyterian. 
# # #
*Rouse is the 2001-2002 recipient of the Judith L. Weidman Racial Ethnic
Minority Fellowship from United Methodist Communications. As part of her
fellowship, she is working on the communications staff of the
Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference.

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United Methodist News Service
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http://umns.umc.org