wfn.org | NCC Delegation to Middle East to Urge: Make Peace a Reality

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC DELEGATION TO MIDDLE EAST URGES: MAKE PEACE A REALITY

January 20, 2005, NEW YORK CITY - The question "How can we make the current
opportunity for peace a reality?" will be central to the mission of a
National Council of Churches USA official delegation to the Middle East Jan.
21-Feb. 4.

The 11-member group, led by the NCC's President, Christian Methodist
Episcopal Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., and NCC General Secretary Robert W.
Edgar, will press their conviction that governments and people of faith must
seize the opportunity presented by recent developments - for example,
election of new Palestinian leadership and Israeli government movement on the
settlement issue - to get the Middle East peace process back on track.	

"We will ask the question, 'Is this the opportunity for peace?,' state our
conviction that it is, and explore ways communities of faith can help,'" Dr.
Edgar said. 

Added Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, NCC Associate General Secretary for
International Affairs, "During and following the delegation visit, we will be
exerting our moral pressure for peace."

The delegation leaves the United States on Jan. 21 for Beirut, Lebanon (Jan.
22-24), Cairo, Egypt (Jan. 24-27), and Israel/Palestine (Jan. 27-Feb. 4). 
Along their way, they will meet with the Middle East Council of Churches and
senior Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders and with grassroots and
interfaith organizations working for peace. 

Meetings have been confirmed with senior members of the Israeli government
and have been requested with officials in the Palestinian Authority.

Along with peacemaking, the group's other top concern is the situation of
Christians in the Holy Land, and the ongoing exodus of Christians from the
region. "Many in the United States aren't aware that there are indigenous
Christians in the Holy Land, from all Christian traditions, including
Orthodox, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and others," Dr. Kireopoulos said.

"During these increasingly difficult days, and even as we express our hope in
the new opportunity that exists for peace," Dr. Edgar said, "our visit will
be important because it demonstrates our solidarity with our brothers and
sisters who live in the Holy Land." 

The last two NCC delegation visits to the Middle East were in May 2003 and
April 2002.

Members of the 2005 delegation are:

* His Grace Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Diocesan Legate and Ecumenical Officer,
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, Washington, D.C., and NCC
Secretary.

* Dr. Sylvia Campbell, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University,
Washington, D.C.; a speech-language pathologist in private practice, and a
member of the Alliance of Baptists.  She serves on the NCC Justice and
Advocacy Commission.  

* The Rev. Dr. Thelma Chambers-Young, an NCC Vice President; Director of
Christian Education, Holy Temple Baptist Church, Progressive National Baptist
Convention, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla.; Former President of the PNBC Women's
Department.

* The Rev. Seung Koo Choi, General Secretary, Korean Presbyterian Church in
America, Anaheim, Calif., a member of the NCC Governing Board.

* The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of
Churches USA, New York City, an ordained elder in the United Methodist
Church.

* The Rt. Rev. (Bishop) C. Christopher Epting, Ecumenical Officer, The
Episcopal Church, New York City, a member of the NCC Governing Board.

* Ms Ann Hafften, Weatherford, Texas, Coordinator for Middle East Networking
Division for Global Mission, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

* The Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., President, National Council of Churches
USA, and Bishop, Louisiana and Mississippi, Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church, Shreveport, La.

* The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, Professor of Mission, Peace and Ecumenical
Studies, Eden Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., an ordained minister in the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), and Chair of the NCC Justice and Advocacy
Commission.

* Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, NCC Associate General Secretary for International
Affairs and Peace, New York City, a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

* Mr. James Winkler, General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society,
United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.

-end-

National Council of Churches USA
475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115
110 Maryland Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002
www.ncccusa.org

NCC U.S. Media Contact: Carol Fouke
212-870-2252/646-258-8896
Media: Phone or e-mail cfouke@ncccusa.org to reach the delegation