wfn.org | NCC, CWS Support New Middle East Peace Efforts

[CAROL.FOUKE@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
Web: www.ncccusa.org; E-mail: news@ncccusa.org

11/30/2000FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC, CWS ENDORSE U.S. "PRAYER VIGIL FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE"
Ecumenical Delegation Visit Dec. 7-12 Also Has a Just, Lasting Peace as Its
Goal

November 30, 2000, NEW YORK CITY - A commitment to justice for all who share
the Holy Land undergirds two new, complementary efforts for Middle East
peace: a U.S. ecumenical prayer vigil, beginning Dec. 3, and a U.S. church
leaders’ visit to Jerusalem Dec. 7-12.

The National Council of Churches and Church World Service, the NCC’s global
service and witness ministry, are sending the Rev. John L. McCullough, CWS
Executive Director, on the Dec. 7-12 delegation visit and urging support for
the vigil, an initiative of Churches for Middle East Peace.

"U.S. Christians must listen to the cry of their brothers and sisters in the
Holy Land for an end to the escalating cycles of violence and
victimization," the Rev. McCullough said.  "We must join them in making
every effort and exhausting every resource to attain a lasting peace in the
Middle East."

The vigil begins the first Sunday in Advent, Dec. 3, and will continue until
the violence ends and a just and lasting peace agreement is reached.  It
holds in prayer the Christian communities in Jerusalem and all who are
suffering in the Holy Land, including Palestinians and Israelis.

Organized by state, the vigil will begin in Alabama and New York, shift to
Alaska and North Carolina on Dec. 4, Arizona and North Dakota on Dec. 5, and
so on.  The vigil will continue on the same day each month in each state.  A
schedule and resources are available at www.loga.org/PrayerVigilHome.htm.

Churches for Middle East Peace, with offices in Washington, D.C., is an
ecumenical working group of Christian organizations, including the NCC and
CWS.  See CMEP’s Web site, www.cmep.org, for more information.

See also the "Resolution on the Conflict in the Middle East" adopted by the
NCC General Assembly on Nov. 17, 2000:
www.ncccusa.org/news/2000GA/mideastres.html, which calls for prayer and
action toward a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

ECUMENICAL DELEGATION VISIT DEC. 7-12

As the vigil gets underway, the Rev. McCullough is preparing to participate
in an ecumenical delegation visit to Jerusalem Dec. 7-12, hosted by
Jerusalem’s churches.

This will be his second visit to the region this fall.  Early in October,
the Rev. McCullough met with leaders of the Middle East Council of Churches
in Beirut.  He also visited areas of south Lebanon where a 22-year
occupation by the Israeli army ended in May.

The purpose of the Dec. 7-12 delegation visit is to provide heads of U.S.
churches and other U.S. church leaders with an opportunity to:

* hear the concerns of the Patriarchs and the heads of the other Jerusalem
churches, better understand the breakdown in peace negotiations, and discuss
ways in which churches in the U.S. and in Palestine and Israel can work
together to strengthen the Christian communities in Palestine and Israel and
to promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

* offer pastoral support and express solidarity with the Christian community
in the Holy Land, with the guidance of the Jerusalem church leaders, through
visits to wounded individuals or family members of those who have been
killed and through meetings with local clergy and others providing pastoral,
relief, and medical services.

* meet with Israeli and Palestinian political and religious leaders and the
U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem to discuss the ongoing violence, the future
status of Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, and other aspects of the peace
talks.

* meet with Palestinians and Israelis -- Jews, Christians, and Muslims --
working for reconciliation, peace and justice and the promotion and
protection of human rights.

* visit Palestinian Christian institutions, including schools, hospitals,
and organizations, and attend various services of worship on the Sunday the
delegation is in Jerusalem/Bethlehem, and visit some key holy sites.

The Jerusalem churches will arrange the program for the delegation.  The
delegation hopes to visit Jerusalem, Gaza, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit
Sahour, and Ramallah, and elsewhere in Palestine and Israel as needed and
appropriate to meet with government and religious officials.

Led by the Rev. H. George Anderson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, the delegation will include members from the
Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox, Mennonite,
Presbyterian, Quaker and United Methodist churches and from the United
Church of Christ.

-end-