wfn.org | U.S. Church Leaders Embark on Middle East Visit April 16-27

["Carol Fouke" <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
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Evenings/Weekends: 212-662-9999 (C. Fouke, home); or 917-690-6075 (P.
Pattillo, cell)
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E-mail: news@ncccusa.org; Web: www.ncccusa.org

U.S. CHURCH LEADERS EMBARK ON MIDDLE EAST VISIT APRIL 16-27

	April 16, 2002 - A delegation of prominent U.S. Protestant, Orthodox and
Anglican church leaders will visit the Middle East April 16-27.  Planned for
several months, the trip is all the more urgent given the deepening
crisis, said the delegations leader, the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches.

	The NCC - whose 36 member denominations comprise 50 million adherents -
organized the visit by invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches and
Jerusalem church leaders.  Co-leader with Dr. Edgar, a United Methodist, is
Elenie Huszagh, a Greek Orthodox layperson from Nehalem, Ore.

	Acknowledging the security concerns, the delegation nevertheless intends to
fulfill as much of its planned itinerary as possible.  We intend to meet
with our Christian partners in both Israel and Palestine, Dr. Edgar said.
"We go to offer pastoral support for Christians in the Holy Land; seek ways
churches in the U.S. and Holy Land can promote a just and lasting peace
between Israelis and Palestinians; encourage Christians, Jews and Muslims
working for peace, and bring our ecumenical witness to U.S., Israeli and
Palestinian political leaders, he said.

Confirmed the Rev. Riad Jarjour, General Secretary of the Middle East
Council of Churches, by phone Monday (April 15) from Beirut, Lebanon, We
are expecting the delegation as scheduled.  Now is really the time that you
should come.  Your visit is exactly what needs to be done, and will be
meaningful and fruitful.

The group will meet with clergy in each country and expects to meet with
several high-level political officials, including Syrian President Bashar Al
Assad and Lebanons Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri --- who will have just
returned from Washington, D.C.  The delegation also intends to meet with
Israeli and Palestinian government officials and with the U.S. Consul
General in Jerusalem, and hopes to visit Israeli and Palestinian wounded and
bereaved.

The groups first full day in the region (April 18) will be spent in
Istanbul, Turkey, in meetings with three top Orthodox leaders: His All
Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual
leader of more than 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide; His Eminence
Mor Filuksinos Yusuf Cetin, Metropolitan, Patriarchal Vicar of Istanbul and
Ankara (the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of Istanbul and Ankara for the
Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch), and His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrod II
Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul.

The group is to go on to Beirut (April 19-20), Syria (April 21-22) and
Jordan (April 23), then spend April 24-27 in Israel/Palestine.

Delegation members are: Rev. Janet Arbesman, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
Scottsdale, Ariz.; Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Diocese of the Armenian Church,
Washington, D.C.; Mark Byron Brown, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
Washington, D.C.; Dr. Edgar; Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister,
The Riverside Church, New York City; Rev. Joseph Rice Hale (United
Methodist), Former General Secretary of the World Methodist Council,
Waynesville, N.C.; Mrs. Huszagh; Rev. Robert S. Jones, National Baptist
Convention U.S.A., Inc., West Chester, Pa.; His Eminence Cyril Aphrem Karim,
Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch for the Eastern United
States, Teaneck, N.J.; Rev. William Shaw, President, National Baptist
Convention U.S.A., Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.; Rt. Rev. Arthur Edward Walmsley,
The Episcopal Church, Deering, N.H.; Rev. James Wetekam (United Church of
Christ), Media Program Director, Churches for Middle East Peace, Washington,
D.C., and Mr. James Edward Winkler, General Secretary, United Methodist
Board of Church and Society, Washington, D.C.

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