wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Denominational leaders, ACSWP delegation exchange

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8586 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04547
December 15, 2004

Denominational leaders, ACSWP delegation exchange letters over fallout from
Hezbollah visit

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - Several weeks of intense dialogue between Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) leaders and members of an Advisory Committee on Social Witness
Policy (ACSWP)-led delegation that held a controversial mid-October meeting
with Hezbollah officials in southern Lebanon has culminated in an exchange of
letters.

	A joint statement to the Presbyterian News Service on Dec. 13
included the two letters and a brief report of the delegation's Oct. 14-31
visit, which included stops in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel/Palestine and
Egypt.

	The Oct. 17 meeting between the Middle East "fact-finding" delegation
and leaders of Hezbollah - which is on the U.S. government's list of
terrorist organizations - created a deluge of protests from numerous Jewish
groups and Presbyterians around the country. The meeting was widely televised
on Arab networks.

	Two high-level PC(USA) staffers - General Assembly Council Deputy
Executive Director Kathy Lueckert and ACSWP Coordinator the Rev. Peter Sulyok
- were subsequently relieved of their duties.

	In their Dec. 1 letter to GAC Executive Director John Detterick,
General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and General Assembly
Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, seven ACSWP elected members defended the meeting
as an opportunity to "listen to those voices not usually heard by
Presbyterians in order to gain a wider perspective and a deeper understanding
of the conflicts in the Middle East." But they said they regretted the "pain
and difficulties" the visit created for the denomination.

	During the Hezbollah meeting Stone, a retired professor at Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary, said, "As an elder of our church, I'd like to say that
according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic
leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders."

	The Dec. 6 response from Ufford-Chase, Detterick and Kirkpatrick
thanked the ACSWP members for their expressions of regret and in turn
apologized for a post-visit statement they issued denouncing the visit and
calling Stone's comments "reprehensible."

	The denominational leaders told ACSWP: "We appreciate your
sensitivity to our Church's important witness for peace and justice in the
Middle East and to its deep commitment to the well-being of both Palestinians
and Israelis.  We share that commitment with you."

	Neither letter made any mention of the firings of Lueckert and
Sulyok.

	The full text of the ACSWP members' letter > signed by Dianne
Briscoe, Esperanza Guajardo, the Rev. Sue Dickson, the Rev. Ronald Kernaghan,
the Rev. Gordon Edwards, Stone and the Rev. Nile Harper, ACSWP chair:

Dear Colleagues in Ministry:

	The elected members of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness
Policy (ACSWP) who participated in the recent Middle East fact-finding trip
acknowledge that their meeting with the Hezbollah party in south Lebanon
created great pain and difficulties for you and for the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.).

	We regret the rupture in relationship and dialogue with leaders of
the American Jewish community caused in part by the media reports of our
conversation with Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, the spiritual leader of Hezbollah. The
purpose of our trip was to listen to a variety of different voices and
especially to those voices not usually heard by Presbyterians in order to
gain a wider perspective and a deeper understanding of the conflicts in the
Middle East. A brief report from the ACSWP trip is available at
www.pcusa.org/ACSWP.

	The meeting with Hezbollah was arranged by our Presbyterian hosts,
The Evangelical Synod of Lebanon and Syria, and seemed to be in keeping with
our fact-finding purpose.  In retrospect, we understand that the visit with
Hezbollah leadership was untimely and unwise given the larger context of
religious and political tensions within our country. Nevertheless, we accept
responsibility for our actions in carrying out the meeting.

	It is our fervent prayer that we may join together with you in
working for peace, unity and justice within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
and in the larger world.

	The full text of the letter from Ufford-Chase, Detterick and
Kirkpatrick in response:

Dear Friends in Christ:

	We write this letter specifically to thank you for your letter of
December 1, 2004 expressing regret over the consequences of your meeting with
the Hezbollah Party in Lebanon and for the copy of the report on the
highlights of your visit to the Middle East.  We are grateful for the
partnership in the gospel that we have with you and your colleagues in the
Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and for the important role that
ACSWP plays in the life of our Church.

	We appreciate your sensitivity to our Church's important witness for
peace and justice in the Middle East and to its deep commitment to the
well-being of both Palestinians and Israelis.  We share that commitment with
you.  We also appreciate the full report on your visit, the helpful fact
finding you have done for the church, and the many ways in which your trip
strengthened our partnerships in the Middle East and brought hope to those
who have suffered for far too long.  We affirm the continuing policy research
that ACSWP does for the General Assembly, both in this nation and around the
world.

	We acknowledge that our letter was hurtful to you, and we are sorry
for that hurt.	We are eager to move on to work for the peace, unity and
purity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in order that we may together give
faithful witness to the compassion and justice of Christ for all the peoples
of the world.

	The text of the "Brief summary of highlights" from the trip (for more
information, visit the Web site www.pcusa.org/acswp):

Differentiation Of Presbyterian Policy From American Religious Zionism

	In every country we visited (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine,
Israel, Egypt), we heard deep appreciation for the balanced policy of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supporting negotiated peace, with safe borders
for Israel and Palestine, rejection of all forms of terrorism, the right of
self determination, and self defense, the end of the occupation, removal of
The Wall, and praise for the planned, selective, phased economic divestment
action of the General Assembly. Christian, Muslim and some Jewish leaders
praised General Assembly courage.

Meetings In Beirut, Lebanon - Praise For Presbyterian Partnership

	ACSWP met with leaders from the Evangelical Synod of Lebanon and
Syria, Faculty of the Near East School of Theology, The Metropolitan Maronite
Bishop (Catholic) of Beirut, the General Secretary of the Middle East Council
of Churches. From all these people we heard appreciation for historic
Presbyterian partnership; praise for the courageous Presbyterian General
Assembly action for planned, selective economic divestment, and gratitude for
our coming to meet with and listen to all parties and voices involved in the
Middle East regional struggles for peace with justice.

Powerful Worship And Experiencing The Body Of Christ Globally

	In South Lebanon at the Ebel Al-Saki Presbyterian Church in the small
village of Marjiyoun where every family has lost one or more members to the
long war of Israeli occupation--here we saw how Presbyterians and Muslims
live, cooperate, and work together to rebuild their region. In Damascus,
Syria we worshipped in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of St. Paul and
the congregation of over 100 came out into the street to welcome us; we
shared in prayer, scripture, song and preaching, testimony, food and
fellowship that moved us to tears.  In Jerusalem at the Lutheran Church of
the Redeemer inside the old city we prayed with Arab Christians, Mennonite
peace workers, Israeli Jews, and many others receiving communion together and
making many new friends.  In Cairo, Egypt we joined in worship with brothers
and sisters from the Synod of the Nile who shared their vision for growing
mission, church outreach into Muslim communities through acts of love in
health care, schools
 ,!
 and !
 economic development. They challenged us to new partnerships.

Listening To Five Iraqi Church Leaders - A Call To Compassionate Partnership

	We met for a full day with five national level leaders from Iraq: the
Armenian Orthodox Bishop of Baghdad; the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of
Baghdad; the Syrian Orthodox Bishop of Baghdad; the Senior Presbyterian
Pastor from Baghdad; and the Pastor of the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church
in Tikrit. They all spoke of the lack of safety, lack of police security,
fear of people to venture out to church, lack of dependable water,
electricity, and basic public services. However, they emphasized that their
churches, schools, health care clinics are struggling to reopen and serve the
great needs of their members and the general public. They gave detailed lists
of ways in which Presbyterians could engage in partnership with Iraqi
Christians. It was a clear call to compassionate partnership. There are real
mission opportunities here.

Bethlehem - A Dying City

	ACSWP spent a day in Bethlehem meeting with staff of the Center for
Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, visiting a refugee community, the
Bethlehem International Center, talking with people in the streets and shops,
and later that evening meeting with leaders from the Palestinian Authority.
In Bethlehem we found that many shops and local businesses have been closed.
Many have gone bankrupt. Local residents travel only with great difficulty.
The Wall of Separation runs in such a way as to limit access to the
surrounding area. Tourism is almost dead. The large Jewish settlements are
visible from Bethlehem as well as the limited access highways that connect
them. These roads cannot be used by Palestinians. They must endure slow
travel with long delays at Israeli military checkpoints.

Close Encounter With The Wall Of Separation

	The group spent a full afternoon touring regions of Jerusalem and
surrounding communities through which the newly constructed Wall of
Separation has been built. We saw firsthand how the Wall divides Palestinian
sections of East Jerusalem. We witnessed how Palestinians must travel for
several hours to make necessary detours to reach schools, jobs, health care,
and other facilities. We learned that a simple mile-long trip that would have
taken fifteen minutes before The Wall now takes over one hour. We passed
through the three Israeli military checkpoints between Jerusalem and
Bethlehem - a short eight-mile trip - that now can take two hours for
Palestinians to travel.  We also heard some Israelis indicate they felt safer
since The Wall went up. Others indicated they thought The Wall was a barrier
to real peace and stability.

Jerusalem Reception Brings Out 100 People

	On the evening of October 23, ACSWP hosted a reception in Jerusalem
at the Notre Dame Conference Center for about 40-50 invited guests
representing all viewpoints on the Middle East. Over 100 people turned out
and stayed until 11:30 p.m.  People were hungry for the opportunity to have
open conversation in a safe place with no strings attached. Who came? Jewish
Rabbis, human rights workers, pastors, priests, NGO staffers, Quaker and
Mennonite peace leaders, Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders, a
real mix and cross section of the Middle East peoples. Existing partnerships
were strengthened. New opportunities for collaboration were discovered.
Listening and learning. Ideas for future partnerships emerged. Bridges of
communication were opened.

Cairo, Egypt - Meeting For Interfaith Dialogue And
With The Synod Of The Nile

	We met for dialogue with a group of over 50 Coptic Christians,
Evangelical Christians, and the Islamic Brotherhood. Conversation began with
the Grand Mufti (highest religious official of Islam in Egypt) putting hard
questions to us about U. S. foreign policy with focus on the war in Iraq and
perceived lack of serious leadership for peace processes between Israel and
Palestine. We shared General Assembly policy actions which were well
received. There was great interest in General Assembly action toward a
planned, selective economic divestment.  As the evening moved ahead, there
was a warming trend and dialogue led toward friendship and future
communication.

	A great point of learning came in several meetings with
representatives of the Synod of the Nile. The PC(USA) has longstanding
partnerships in Egypt. The Nile Synod has a new Moderator who spoke with
passion for their new vision of expanding mission including creating five new
centers of health, education and social service for people in large and
growing communities in and around Cairo. Each center will seek to create a
new Christian congregation at the center of its outreach services. Education,
health care, and economic development are seen to be avenues of doing the
gospel of Christ. The moderator challenged us to take back the invitation to
Americans to join with energy in the emerging initiatives through which they
believe God is doing a new thing.

Conversations With Muslim Leaders And Scholars

	We met with Muslim scholars, government representatives and imams in
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The delegation had private interviews with
President Lahoud of Lebanon, President Assad of Syria, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs in Egypt and the Grand Imam of Al Anzhar University in Cairo.
We also engaged in dialogue with The Islamic Institute for Interfaith
Relations in Damascus and The Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.  There is great
interest in continued dialogue between Christians and Muslims, a deep respect
for the Arab Christian community as a stabilizing influence in Middle Eastern
societies, and a desire among moderate Muslims to engage evangelicals and
Christian Zionists in conversation. Muslim leaders expressed a deep reverence
for Jesus Christ and were eager to discuss questions of justice and peace in
the Middle East from the perspective of the teachings of Jesus. It was a
moving experience to hear sincere expressions of concern for the suffering of
Israel
 i!
s. We!
  heard several clear statements that acts of terror committed against
civilians are a violation of the teaching of the Koran. Some of the Islamic
leaders who spoke against terrorism have done so at great personal risk.

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