wfn.org | Ecumenical council exec calls for fast, prayers for peace

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Jan. 24, 2003	     News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202)
546-87227Washington	10-21-71BP{034}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Bob Edgar is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html.  

NEW YORK (UMNS) - The Rev. Bob Edgar, staff head of the National Council of
Churches, is calling on people of faith to fast and pray for peace Jan. 27,
which he terms "the first of three days of events that will help determine
history."

That day, the United Nations Security Council is to receive a progress report
on weapons inspections in Iraq. The following day, President Bush delivers
the annual State of the Union address. And for Jan. 29, Win Without War and
other national coalitions are calling for local actions against military
intervention in Iraq.

Edgar, a United Methodist clergyman, issued his statement Jan. 23. The United
Methodist Church is a member denomination in the National Council of
Churches.

"I am calling on all people of faith to observe Monday, Jan. 27, 2003, as a
national day of prayer and fasting for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq
crisis," he said. "This day is the first of three days of events that will
help determine history."

He called for the United States to search for alternatives to war. "I urge
people of faith to pray for President Bush, for all our nation's leaders, and
for our military personnel, their families and friends," Edgar said. "Let us
pray for the suffering people of Iraq and all others in the region and around
the world who may be affected by war. And, believing that no one stands
outside of prayer, let us pray also for Iraq's leaders, including its
president, Saddam Hussein.

"Together, on Jan. 27, let our hearts, our minds and our prayers be as one,
witnessing to the ways of peace; witnessing to the fact that war is not the
answer. Together, on Jan. 27, let all people of faith join in a national day
of prayer and fasting as we seek peace in our day."

The full text of Edgar's statement, along with information on peace
activities, can be found at www.ncccusa.org online.
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United Methodist News Service
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