wfn.org | WCC - Prayers and messages for peace in the Middle East

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release, PR-01-48
For Immediate Use
20 December 2001

Prayers and messages for peace in the Middle East
WCC provides resource pack for 2002 campaign

cf. WCC Press Update, Up-01-43, of 5 December 2001
cf. WCC Press Release, PR-01-40, of 29 October 2001
cf. WCC Press Release, PR-01-34, of 14 September 2001

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has compiled a resource pack
of prayers and messages to help its member churches and partners
launch a campaign in 2002 in support of peace in the Middle East
- a campaign which focuses on ending the illegal occupation of
Palestine. The resource pack in English, French, German and
Spanish is now available online.  

In a covering letter, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad
Raiser encourages churches and congregations "to use these
services to launch their 2002 activities, from 1 January up to
Easter Sunday, and to feel free to adapt them to their own
traditions".  

The campaign was initiated by the WCC executive committee at its
meeting in September, calling upon member churches and ecumenical
partners "to focus attention in 2002 on intensive efforts to End
the Illegal Occupation of Palestine" in the context of the Decade
to Overcome Violence (DOV).  

The prayers and messages were collected from the Eastern and
Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Episcopal and Evangelical Churches
of Jerusalem, lifting up the authentic voices of the churches and
communities of the Holy Land. "Using their messages of hope,
justice and reconciliation to initiate the 2002 focus is an
appropriate way for churches around the world to participate in a
collective effort of prayer, reflection and active solidarity
with the Palestinians and Israelis striving for the end of the
occupation and for a true peace in the Middle East," says Raiser
in his letter.  

Online resource pack:
http://www.wcc.coe.org/wcc/what/international/resourcepack.html

Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010)

At the Eighth Assembly of the WCC in Harare, Zimbabwe, delegates
representing more than 300 WCC member churches brought the Decade
to Overcome Violence  (DOV) into being. The Assembly declared
that on issues of non-violence and reconciliation, the WCC should
"work strategically with the churches... to create a culture of
non-violence".  The Decade, which was launched world-wide in
February 2001, will build on already existing initiatives around
the world, and offer a forum for sharing experiences and
establishing relationships so as to learn from one another.

For further information, please contact Karin Achtelstetter,
Media Relations Officer,
Tel.:  (+41.22) 791.61.53   Mobile:  (+41) 79.284.52.12

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from
virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is
not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The
highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately
every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: ka@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

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