NCC joins Coptic Orthodox Church in three-day period of prayer for Egypt

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

NCC member communions join with Coptic Orthodox Church
to observe a three-day period of prayer for events in Egypt

New York, January 31, 2011 -- The member communions of the National
Council of Churches are joining Christians in the Coptic Orthodox Church
in North America in a three-day period of prayer and fasting to seek
God's presence amid the upheavals in Egypt.

The proclamation from the Coptic Orthodox Church reads:

"In response to the tragic events in our homeland of Egypt, the Coptic
Orthodox bishops of North America have declared January 31 - February 2,
2011 as a period of fasting and prayer.

"During these days, we are to observe strict abstinence as any Wednesday
or Friday. In addition, many churches will offer the celebration of the
Divine Liturgy every day during this period to pray for peace and safety
in Egypt for all our Egyptian brothers and sisters.

"May God remember the land of Egypt and her people."

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council
of Churches, called upon NCC member communions "to honor this call from
the Coptic Orthodox Church and to express their prayerful solidarity
with all the people of Egypt, including the Christian minority and
foreign service workers from the U.S. and other nations."

Kinnamon said he prayed that "the people of Egypt will experience a just
and hopeful resolution of the current crisis."

Also today, the World Council of Churches based in Geneva, Switzerland,
issued a statement of concern for the situation in Egypt.

"Member churches in all parts of the world are praying for the people of
Egypt," the WCC statement said. "There are disturbing reports of
increasing numbers of people being killed, of assaults and threats and
of many living in fear. Our hopes and prayers are for the safety of
citizens, for wisdom and compassion on the part of the authorities and
for a non-violent and just resolution of conflicts and grievances."

Kinnamon said the U.S. NCC joins with the World Council's call "for
peaceful dialogue and joint efforts at every level of society to find
the way forward to a future that brings hope and security for the good
of all people and communities ... We pray to God for mercy and
protection for the Egyptian people and for all religious communities,
and we are standing together with the churches in these challenging
times."

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Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the USA has been the leading force for shared ecumenical witness
among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member communions --
from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical,
historic African American and Living Peace Churches -- include 45
million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities
across the nation.

NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212
(cell, pjenks@ncccusa.org