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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 8, 2001

ELCA ORGANIZES ITS EFFORTS FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE
01-115-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Staff from several Christian churches and
organizations came here April 25 to help the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) coordinate its efforts to promote peace in the Middle
East.  The ELCA's "Mini-Summit on Palestine" involved about 65
participants in planning ways to support nonviolent Israeli and
Palestinian activities through travel, prayer, advocacy, education,
media relations, leadership development and networking.
     As an outcome of the meeting an ELCA coordinating committee is
being formed, said the Rev. Mark B. Brown, associate director for public
policy advocacy ministry, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs
(LOGA), Washington, D.C.  That committee is to develop a six-month plan
for a larger working group made mostly of ELCA staff who attended the
summit, said Brown.
     LOGA is the federal public policy advocacy office of the ELCA.
Brown serves on the executive committee of Churches for Middle East
Peace.
     The purpose of the summit was for ELCA staff "to get concrete and
to organize ourselves," said the Rev. Bonnie L. Jensen, executive
director, ELCA Division for Global Mission.  She added that the ELCA
made a point of including about 20 "ecumenical guests" -- members of
other U.S. church bodies dealing with Middle East concerns -- in the
conversation.
     "We have high hopes for this conference -- that our efforts here
will help peace to flourish in the Middle East," said the Rev. Charles
S. Miller, executive director, ELCA Division for Church in Society.  The
Division for Church in Society and Division for Global Mission co-sponsored the summit.
     In a videotaped message to the summit, the Rev. H. George
Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, invited participants to explore ways to
stop "a cycle of violence that seems unstoppable -- consuming lives."
     Anderson said the ELCA is already involved in sending delegations
to the Middle East, hosting guests from the Middle East, supporting
institutions such as schools and hospitals in the Middle East, and
conducting a national prayer vigil for the Middle East -- designating
Lutherans in one or two specific states each day of the month to pray
for peace.  "Is there some more persuasive way of telling the story?" he
asked.
     "I am afraid of the massacre.  I am asking our partners in the
world to stop the massacre," said Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine), Jerusalem, in another
videotaped message.
     Younan said Israelis and Palestinians are becoming frustrated with
the Middle East peace process because it "does not touch issues of
justice."  He said the longer the conflict drags on, the more bitter
everyone involved becomes; and the prospects for peaceful coexistence
are melting.
     Religion is being used "to justify injustice," said Younan.  He
urged Christians, Jews and Muslims to put their common values together
and "to end injustice and the killings."
     Younan encouraged the participants to influence their church and
their government to be "not pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian but 'pro-honest.'"
     "Don't leave us alone.  Be with us.  Show your solidarity.  Show
your love," said Younan.
     Participants organized themselves into groups to address five
areas of concerns:
 + accompanying Palestinians and Israelis in a nonviolent movement to
end the occupation;
 + mobilizing U.S. grassroots for prayer and advocacy;
 + developing and distributing educational and worship resources;
 + coordinating church-based communication departments and engaging the
public media; and
 + promoting leadership development and networks.
     One group suggested that ecumenical delegations visiting the
Middle East be coordinated through a single office and that guests from
the Middle East be invited to the United States to engage Christians in
theological conversations.  It said U.S. volunteers could be involved in
rebuilding homes and other nonviolent activities in the Middle East.
     Another group recommended expanding the ELCA's prayer vigil and
developing other traditions, such as lighting a candle during worship
services, calling for peace in the Middle East.  It said a theological
framework could be developed for worship resources outlining such
traditions.
     A third group said a common theme or slogan was needed for U.S.
Christians promoting Middle East peace.  Existing resources could be
catalogued, and new resources could be developed using that common
theme, it said.
     Another group studied a media proposal for Churches for Middle
East Peace, which would coordinate news reports "enabling Palestinians
to speak and be heard" through the media and identifying credible
Palestinian spokespeople for international reporters.  It suggested U.S.
church communicators visit the Middle East.
     A fifth group recommended U.S. clergy study the theology and
history of the Middle East before visiting Palestine to experience the
issues confronting Christians, Jews and Muslims there.  It said such
experience would prompt projects and activities, as well as train and
identify leaders.
     A panel of three Palestinian-Americans addressed the summit
luncheon:  the Rev. Khader N. El-Yateem, Salam Arabic Lutheran Church,
Brooklyn, N.Y.; Ghassan "Gus" Khoury, member of the ELCA Church Council,
Chicago; and Rimon Said, a member of Saint Elias Arabic Lutheran Church,
Chicago.
     Khoury urged the participants to "spread the truth" in search for
"justice for both Israelis and Palestinians."  He said Palestinians and
Israelis must work together for the best possible outcome for both.
     El-Yateem said people in the United States have an opportunity
that is not available in Palestine -- conversation among Christians,
Jews and Muslims.  Israelis and Palestinians "count on us not to solve
their problems but to help," he said.
     Said said many Christians have emigrated from the Middle East to
the United States.  He encouraged other U.S. Christians to visit Arabic
congregations and talk with the members about why they left their
homelands.
     At the close of the summit, Brown told participants about a
"Middle East Forum" to be hosted May 29 by Church World Service and
Witness.  That meeting will be held at the Methodist Building in
Washington, D.C., to develop "an ecumenical strategy for addressing the
crisis in Palestine."
     In addition to ELCA staff, the summit involved staff of the
American Committee on Jerusalem, American Friends Service Committee,
Catholic Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Churches for
Middle East Peace, Episcopal Church, Evangelicals for Middle East
Understanding, Holy Land Trust -- Palestine, Lutheran World Federation
(LWF), National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC),
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in
the Middle East, United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church.
The ELCA is a member of the LWF and NCC.
-- -- --
     The ELCA lists "resources on the subject of peace and conflict in
the Middle East" at http://www.elca.org/co/mideast.html on the Web.  The
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs maintains
http://www.loga.org/PrayerVigilHome.htm and several other pages about
the Middle East.  The home page for Churches for Middle East Peace is at
http://www.cmep.org/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html