From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


Faith-based advocates take on global issues


From "NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Wed, 10 Mar 2004 13:03:13 -0600

March 10, 2004 News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-AF-AS-HIS-KOR-I{099}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS story #100. Head-and-shoulders
photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Shanta Bryant Gyan*

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - The head of the World Council of Churches reminded
faith-based advocates that spiritual discernment must be the basis of their
actions to influence change in the world.

"Work for peace with justice is exhausting work. Spiritual grounding is
needed to keep us moving," said the Rev. Samuel Kobia, WCC top staff
executive, at the opening worship service of the Ecumenical Advocacy Days for
Global Peace with Justice conference.

Often "in our own prayer life, we get lost in the day-to-day work" and the
details of advocacy briefs and meetings, said Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya.
He challenged advocates to use spiritual discernment to step back from the
immediate issues of the day and to grasp the larger picture.

The ecumenical leader noted that international institutions and governments
are turning increasingly to churches for moral grounding and guidance on key
social and political priorities. "Speak truth to power using Christian
beliefs," Kobia said.

Nearly 600 advocates, representing a wide range of Protestant and Catholic
churches and organizations worldwide, participated in regional and thematic
tracks during the four-day conference, held March 5-8, in Arlington, Va. 

The tracks featured high-level international ecumenical leaders and policy
makers, issue briefings, and advocacy training workshops on critical concerns
in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Key regions included
North Korea, Colombia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Iraq and
Sudan. Economic justice and nuclear disarmament were among the issues
addressed.

The United Methodist Board of Church and Society was one of the sponsors of
the conference, which drew its theme, "I Will Feed Them with Justice," from
the Book of Ezekiel. The board is the United Methodist Church's social action
and advocacy agency.

Anna Rhee, the conference's program coordinator, said the annual ecumenical
advocacy gathering in Washington is focusing for the first time on
international issues. 

The conference aimed to connect people from different denominations around
issues of interest and to hone advocacy skills, explained Rhee, a United
Methodist.

James E. Winkler, top staff executive of the Board of Church and Society,
urged faith-based advocates to work toward creating the kind of world in
which they wish to live.

In the opening worship sermon, Winkler told advocates to remind congressional
leaders and government officials about the moral imperatives of the
Scriptures. "We have a message of love to feed them with justice," he said.

Referring to the conference site's close proximity to the Pentagon, Winkler
said attendees were assembled in the shadow of the largest "war machine" in
history.

He noted that "we live in the midst of war" and called on the United States
to reject murder and violence. "We pray for a government committed to peace."
 
Other conference speakers included the Rev. Robert Edgar, top staff executive
of the National Council of Churches USA; and the Rev. Syngman Rhee, a native
of what is now North Korea and a former president of the National Council of
Churches USA and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The evenings ended with conversations with speakers and participants,
including Winkler and retired United Methodist Bishop C. Dale White, who
spoke about nuclear proliferation issues.

The Rev. Andudu Elnail, Anglican bishop from Sudan, and Michael Tarazi, legal
adviser to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, addressed political and
humanitarian concerns in their regions.

During the last day of the conference, about 350 attendees held lobbying
meetings on Capitol Hill to raise issues such as U.S. foreign assistance to
Colombia, U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Korea, and international
debt and trade in Africa.

Participants also attended workshops on grass-roots organizing, media
outreach and involvement in the 2004 elections.

# # #

*Gyan is a freelance writer based in the Washington metropolitan area.

 
 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org


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