The Director and Board members of Churches for Middle East Peace will be joining other church leaders in meeting with President Abbas this afternoon. It is reported in the New York Times that three meetings with religious groups are planned for today, one with leaders of Jewish organizations and I assume the third is with Muslim organizational or religious leaders. 

 

Opening remarks at the Church Leaders meeting will be given by:

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington;

The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, Bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington;

Serge Duss, Director for Public Policy and Advocacy, World Vision;

Rev. Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches;

Corinne Whitlatch, Executive Director, Churches for Middle East Peace;

 

Among the Church Leaders at the meeting will be:

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Armenian Orthodox Church;

John Borelli, Georgetown University;

Rev. J.  Daryl Byler, Washington Office, Mennonite Central Committee;

Steve Colecchi, Office of International Justice and Peace, US Conference of Catholic Bishops;

Marie Dennis, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns;

Catherine Gordon, Associate for International Issues, Presbyterian Church (USA);

Rev. Phil Jones, Church of the Brethren Washington Office;

Rev. Canon John Peterson, Canon for Global Reconciliation, Washington National Cathedral;

Maureen Shea, Washington Office of Governmental Affairs, The Episcopal Church;

Karen Vagley, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America;

Jim Winkler, General Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church.

 

Churches for Middle East Peace will deliver the following letter to President Abbas.

 

(Printed on Churches for Middle East Peace Letterhead)

 

May 26, 2005

 

 

Dear President Abbas,

 

Churches for Middle East Peace welcomes you to Washington, DC and appreciates the opportunity to meet with you. We commend your leadership in building an inclusive Palestinian community and your insistence on non-violent strategies to achieve the political goals and human rights of the Palestinian people. We stand with you as you encourage President Bush to advocate for both Palestinians and Israelis and to take actions that support his expressed commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, independent and at peace with its neighbor Israel. 

 

Churches for Middle East Peace is a coalition of 21 Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic agencies and Protestant denominations that for 20 years has advocated for U.S. policies that are conducive to peacemaking between Israel and the future state of Palestine. Some of the coalition members are related to Palestinian churches or operate humanitarian or peace building programs with offices in East Jerusalem. 

 

The Board members and staff of Churches for Middle East Peace meet with Congressional offices and with Administration officials, and provide advocacy guidance to thousands of our church members and congregations across the country.  We have recently urged support for the provision of foreign aid to the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority. The current focus of our work is related to Jerusalem and the threat that the separation barrier and settlement expansion in and near Jerusalem brings to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state and a durable two-state solution to the conflict. The sharing of Jerusalem by the two peoples - Israelis and Palestinians - and by the three religions that hold it sacred has long been the centerpiece of our work. Through our partner relationships with Palestinian Churches and Christians we hear first-hand of the tremendous difficulties caused by the closure of Jerusalem and the building of the separation barrier. We know that their experience mirrors the reality of all Palestinians. 

 

As the Palestinian leadership and people develop their founding documents and institutions, we encourage endorsement of the Palestinian tradition of religious pluralism. Churches for Middle East Peace asks that Palestinian governance recognize and codify the importance of religious freedom and the equality of peoples of all religions within the Muslim-majority state of Palestine.

 

Churches for Middle East Peace wants the Palestinian public to know that a great many American churches and American Christians are committed to ending the occupation, resolving the conflict and achieving a peaceful and prosperous future for both states - Israel and Palestine. 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Rev. J. Daryl Byler                                                         Corinne Whitlatch

Chair                                                                            Executive Director