wfn.org | Christians called to international day of prayer

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Ecumenical organizations call Christians to international prayer day
Sunday, 16 May focuses on peace and reconciliation in the Balkans

GENEVA, 12 May 1999 (lwi)   The Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
World Council of Churches (WCC), Conference of European Churches
(CEC) and World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) are calling on
churches and Christians to join in an international day of prayer for
peace and reconciliation in the Balkans on Sunday, 16 May.

The call follows an ecumenical delegation's visit to the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, 16-18 April, which is being followed by
similar visits to Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia.

Sunday, 16 May marks the beginning of the week in the Ecumenical
Prayer Cycle in which churches and Christians around the world are
praying for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia and the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia. The 16 May prayer calls on all people to pray for an end
to violence in the region. Churches and communities are invited to
find the forms of prayer most appropriate to their local situation.

Regional Initiatives
Churches around the world are already praying for peace in various
ways. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Orthodox Church has
introduced special litanies for peace in all parishes, while the
Protestant churches are organising a weekly prayer service in Novi
Sad. Many people throughout the country are invited to join
candlelight vigils on local bridges and overpasses on 16 May to pray
for peace and reconciliation. According to the organizers, bridges
are symbols of unity between different communities and countries.

Some Christian groups in the United States of America plan to
continue these vigils weekly "until", according to the initiative
"Bridges of Light", "violence   whether NATO, Serb or Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA)   in the region has stopped."

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/