wfn.org | NCCCUSA Middle East Delegation Aug. 24-Sept. 8

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Internet: c/o carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

Contact: Wendy S. McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227

NCC7/23/97  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOP-LEVEL NCCCUSA DELEGATION TRAVELS TO MIDDLE EAST AUG. 
24-SEPT. 8

 NEW YORK, July 23 ---- An official ecumenical 
delegation led by the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, 
General Secretary of the National Council of 
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC), will visit 
the Middle East August 24-September 8 to renew ties 
with church partners in that region.

 The visit by Dr. Campbell and other top NCC 
leaders is in response to an invitation by the 
Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).  It has been 
ten years since the NCC has sent an official 
delegation to the region.

The MECC General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Riad 
Jarjour, in an address to the NCC General Board in 
November, 1995, affirmed the historic ties that have 
connected U.S. churches to the Middle East for 
nearly two centuries.  In his invitation, Dr. Riad 
said, "There are old ties that should be refreshed 
and renewed.  There are new relationships waiting to 
be established.  There are spiritual gifts which we 
can exchange, and insights to be shared."

Dr. Campbell said, "Through our visit, by 
meeting, talking and worshipping with our brother 
and sister Christians, we will bear an important 
ecumenical witness to the oneness of Christ and the 
church, and to the bonds of love that bind West to 
East."  She commented that there has been 
significant change in the region since the last 
official delegation visit.

David Weaver, Director of the NCC's Middle East 
Office, said that the visit's purpose is "to renew 
ecumenical ties, affirm past partnerships and look 
to a future of relationships.  This is a matter of 
being open to the Spirit."

The 10-member delegation will visit Egypt, 
Jordan, Israel and Palestine, and Cyprus.  The 
delegation will spend two to three days in each 
country.  Besides meeting with church leaders, the 
group will also meet with several high-level 
government officials, including possibly heads of 
state.

In the context of affirming ties, the 
delegation will discuss the present state of 
interfaith relations in each country with church 
leaders, government officials and lay people from 
that country.

"Christians are a religious minority in all the 
countries we will visit," Mr. Weaver explained.  
"However, there are vigorous efforts at interfaith 
dialogue underway in the Middle East and they are 
resulting in successes that are not widely reported 
the way conflicts are.  We hope to witness some of 
those success stories."

Communion representatives and NCC staff in the 
delegation will include: His Eminence Archbishop 
Khajag Barsamian, Vice President, NCC and Primate, 
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America; Dr. 
Sylvia Faulk, Vice President, NCC (Christian 
Methodist Episcopal Church); Mr. Marvin Keeney, 
Chair, Middle East Committee, Church World Service 
and Witness Unit/NCC and Director for Global Mission 
Partnerships, Church of the Brethren; The Rev. 
Randolph Naylor, Associate General Secretary for 
Communication, NCC (United Church of Canada); the 
Rev. Albert Pennybacker, Associate General Secretary 
for Public Policy, NCC (Christian Church/Disciples 
of Christ); The Rev. Dr. Gordon Sommers, Immediate 
Past President, NCC and President, Northern Province 
of the Moravian Church; the Rev. Margaret Orr 
Thomas, Chair, Interfaith Relations Commission, NCC 
and Coordinator for Interfaith Relations, Worldwide 
Ministries Division, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); 
the Rt. Rev. McKinley Young, Chief Ecumenical 
Officer, Office of Ecumenical and Urban Affairs, 
African Methodist Episcopal Church and Mr. Weaver 
(Orthodox Church in America).

Formal relationships between the NCC and 
partners in the Middle East go back at least 20 
years.  NCC/CWS works in partnership with the Middle 
East Council of Churches and other church 
organizations in the region to provide development 
assistance through a wide variety of programs 
including literacy training, basic hygiene, land 
reclamation, vocational training and credit for 
small business enterprises.  NCC/CWS also supports 
regional efforts for peace, justice, reconciliation 
and human rights.

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