WCC NEWS: WCC congratulates Mitri Raheb for German Media Prize

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World Council of Churches - News

WCC CONGRATULATES MITRI RAHEB FOR GERMAN MEDIA PRIZE

For immediate release: 24 February 2012

The World Council of Churches (WCC) congratulates Palestinian Lutheran
pastor Rev. Dr Mitri Raheb on receiving the 2011 “Deutscher
Medienpreis” (German Media Prize). The award recognizes his individual
work and Palestinian churches’ efforts for peace.

“Dr Raheb is a person with immense integrity. His understanding of
Christian witness with clear words and profound actions makes him a
deserving recipient of this honour,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit,
general secretary of the WCC.

Raheb is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem,
a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy
Land (ELCJHL). He is among four recipients of the prestigious prize to be
awarded in Baden-Baden, Germany today.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the prize this year, it honours individuals
who, in their work for peace, have quietly carried on with little media
attention. The Deutscher Medienpreis jury said Raheb was being honoured
for building the Bethlehem congregation’s education, health care and
dialogue programmes.

Raheb is president of the Diyar Consortium and the ELCJHL Synod. The
Bethlehem congregation and the Consortium, along with other congregational
and educational ministries, reach out to thousands of individuals and
families each year in Jerusalem, other parts of the West Bank and Amman,
Jordan.

“Raheb’s vision for building peace from within, knowing the roots of
Palestine, its culture, churches and people, makes his work unique.
Therefore we acknowledge his contribution to the ecumenical movement with
great pride,” said Tveit.

This is not the first time that Raheb’s work has been internationally
recognized. In 2008 he received the Aachen Peace Prize. Also receiving the
Deutscher Medienpreis today are Dr Denis Mukwege (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=11918fc5c7ad033cea8f
) of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Stanislaw Petrow of Russia and Dr
Sakena Yacoobi of Afghanistan.

The 3,000-member ELCJHL has five congregations in Jerusalem, Ramallah and
the Bethlehem area, and in Amman, Jordan. The church is led by Bishop Dr
Munib A. Younan, who is also president of the Lutheran World Federation.


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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