NewsLink Online, serving the Episcopal Church Daybook -- Today is Friday, May 5, 2006, in Eastertide. Cinco de Mayo celebrations mark Mexico's victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. * Today in Scripture: Daily Office meditation http://eds.libsyn.com * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1984, the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania marked its bicentennial by launching a major Philadelphia exhibit http://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_numbe r=8 4099
- - - - - Friday Forum
Israeli-Palestinian peace means reaching beyond past, present trauma
Note to readers: Churches for Middle East Peace is a coalition of 21 Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant denominations and institutions that advocate with the U.S. Congress and Administration in search of Israeli-Palestinian peace. A delegation from the coalition, including Maureen Shea, director of government relations for the Episcopal Church, visited Syria, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories March 31-April 12. The group met with Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, human rights and relief and development organizations, as well as government officials. The following is Maureen Shea's report on that trip.
Israeli-Palestinian peace means reaching beyond past, present trauma Episcopal Church urges negotiated settlement, two-state solution By Maureen Shea [ENS] Each day brings disturbing news from the Holy Land as Palestinians and Israelis deal with newly elected governments and the issues that have plagued efforts for peace. As part of the Churches for Middle East Peace delegation visiting the region March 31-April 12, I was anxious to see how the situation in the Holy Land had changed from my last visit in 2004 with a group led by Massachusetts Bishop Thomas Shaw (story online: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_41103_ENG_HTM.htm). Again, there were many difficult issues to confront, and some signs of hope -- but sadly, this visit showed fewer of those. That sadness was only compounded when a few days after we left, a suicide bomber attacked a Tel Aviv falafel shop during Passover, killing nine and wounding many more. (The Presiding Bishop's statement about that attack is online at: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_73809_ENG_HTM.htm) Increasingly, the trauma of the past and of the present makes it almost impossible for either Palestinians or Israelis to hear each other's pain. Palestinians, whether or not they voted for Hamas -- and it is important to note that a majority did not vote for Hamas, which won because of the structure of the legislative elections -- are asked to pressure Hamas to recognize Israel and past peace agreements. Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_74278_ENG_HTM.htm
- - - - - Letter to Abbas, Bush, Olmert urges immediate action for peace [ENS] Christian leaders in the United States, including Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, have appealed to President George Bush, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's Prime Minister-elect Ehud Olmert to take immediate actions to restore hope for peace. In a May 2 letter coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace, the heads of 20 denominations, churches, archdioceses and organizations from Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant traditions raised concerns with the political leaders about the pending humanitarian crisis, the threat of violence, the establishment of a mutually negotiated border and the status of Jerusalem.
To read full text: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_74277_ENG_HTM.htm
- - - - - Catalyst: "Questions on the Way: A Catechism Based on the Book of Common Prayer" -- new from Forward Movement by Beverley D. Tucker and William H. Swatos Jr. [Source: Forward Movement] This new title is a resource for inquirers, confirmands and all who want to know more about the Christian faith as the Episcopal Church has received it. Responding simply and directly to the basic questions people have as they consider their religious lives, this book serves not to replace the catechism as found in the Book of Common Prayer, but to draw from it and urge all members of the church to know it well.
This book is also part of the Confirmation and Inquirers Package. http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=887
Or order through Episcopal Books and Resources, http://www.episcopalbookstore.org; phone: 800.903.5544.
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