Church Leaders Head to Middle East to Bolster Peace Efforts

CHURCH LEADERS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST TO BOLSTER PEACE EFFORTS
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NEW YORK -- A high-level delegation of American church leaders is headed for the Middle East Dec. 7-12 to express solidarity with Christian churches there and to lend their voices to a growing chorus calling for renewed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in the area.
Representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) in the delegation are the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, Green Valley, Ariz., former ELCA presiding bishop, and the Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England Synod, Worcester, Mass.
The delegation hopes to meet with Israeli and Palestinian political and religious leaders to discuss the escalation of violence and collapse of the peace process, as well as difficult issues such as the future status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, refugees and the protection of human rights.
"It is crucial that we sit down with those who are victims of the violence, as well as those who are working to restore the peace process," said the Rev. Mark B. Brown, assistant director, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., who was instrumental in arranging the visit. LOGA is the ELCA's federal public policy office in the nation's capital.
Despite the heightened tensions in the area, Brown said the delegation also hopes to visit institutions in Jerusalem, Gaza, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and Ramallah.
"We need to understand the breakdown in peace negotiations better and discuss ways in which churches in the U.S., Palestine and Israel can work together to strengthen the Christian communities and to promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
The delegation includes participants from the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ and the Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Quaker and United Methodist churches. The visit comes at the same time many of the churches are involved in a Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace. The vigil begins on the first Sunday in Advent, Dec. 3, and will continue until the violence ends and a peace agreement emerges. Based on an ELCA initiative and organized by the ecumenical working group Churches for Middle East Peace, the vigil holds in prayer all those who are suffering in the Holy Land, including Palestinians and Israelis.
Participants in the delegation include:
+ Bishop Viken Aykazian of the Armenian Apostolic Church
+ The Very Rev. Brother Stephen Glodek of the Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes
+ The Rev. John McCullough of Church World Service and Witness of the National Council of Churches
+ Bishop Vincent Warner of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Olympia
+ Patti Browning, wife of the former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
+ Bishop Dimitrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
+ Donella Clemens of the Mennonite Central Committee
+ Inez Allan of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
+ Mary Ellen McNish of the American Friends Service Committee
+ The Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson of the United Church of Christ
+ Bishop William Oden of the United Methodist Church

For details of the Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace, go to www.loga.org/PrayerVigilHome.htm on LOGA's Web site.

To receive daily press reports and photos of the visit, send your e-mail address to CorinneWhi@aol.com at Churches for Middle East Peace. During the trip the delegation's press officer, *James Solheim, director for news, The Episcopal Church, can be reached at jsolheim@dfms.org.

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