CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A group of United States church leaders delivered a letter June 7 to Secretary of State Colin Powell at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., addressing the violence in the Middle East. "There is no higher priority for peacemaking in the world today than that between Israel and the Palestinians," the church leaders said in the letter. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was represented at the meeting by the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, bishop of Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, Pittsburgh, and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
The church leaders called the conflict in the Middle East "a cancer that threatens the health of the whole region, U.S. relations with Arab and Muslim countries, and interfaith relations worldwide."
"We have heard from our Palestinian Christian partners," the church officials said in the letter, "and seen for ourselves the destructive impact of Israel's settlement policy, separating village from village, confiscating more and more Palestinian land."
During the meeting, they pressed for the U.S. government "to do what it must to bring Israel's settlement activity to an end," urging that the United States make clear to Palestinians and Israel that they are committed to a negotiated end of military occupation by Israel.
ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson, was among the 26 church leaders who signed the letter. The delegation included the Rev. Robert W. Edgar, general secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) and a host of Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic church leaders.
The church leaders said Powell was "very receptive" to their concerns and "engaged in a very spirited discussion." They urged Powell "to use his influence to encourage both sides to hold back from use of arms and terrorism so we might enter a cooling down period and more rational discussion leading to a lasting resolution of the problem," said the Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director of NCC's Church World Service.
The letter asked Palestinians "to abandon violence as a means to end the occupation." It also called on Israel "to abandon military force and return to negotiations as the path to security."
The letter pleaded with the U.S. government to "place a hold on any pending delivery of attack helicopters or fighter jets to Israel and to reconsider the promise made by the Clinton Administration that the United States will increase military aid to Israel for each of the next eight years." It said the use of F-16 fighter jets against civilian populations "is unacceptable and must be challenged by the U.S. government."
Concern for both parties plagued by the violence was expressed in the letter when signers said their concern "extends to each person suffering from the conflict." However, the church leaders said they are "extremely worried about their Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters," because they must face "daily threats from violence and economic deprivation and lack hope for peace and a viable Palestinian state."
"For their sake, and the sake of all, we seek a restoration of hope for a negotiated sharing of the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem, holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims," the letter said. "We tremble to consider the destructive consequences that would follow the premature moving, as called for by Congress, of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," said the letter.
Powell "received our delegation very warmly and was very gracious. He took the time to listen to the concerns we brought and engaged us in the discussion," said McCullough. Powell encouraged church leaders to "shout out their concern" for Middle East peace "from the tops of our steeples," he added. -- -- --
The text of the church leaders' letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell is at http://www.loga.org on the Web.
[*Michelle T. Mills is a senior at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill.
This summer she is an intern with the ELCA News and Information.]
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
