ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 5, 2003

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Religious Leaders Join in Mideast Peace Initiative
03-223-JB

     WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), joined 31 prominent Jewish, Christian and Muslim
religious leaders Dec. 2 to announce a new collaborative effort
to mobilize broad public support for active U.S. leadership in
pursuing peace for Israelis, Palestinians and people in other
Arab states.
     At least 16 of the leaders were present for a news
conference at the National Press Club here to announce the new
initiative, which followed a day of organizational meetings.
Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), moderated the news conference and was among
those who spoke on behalf of the religious leaders.  The LWF,
based in Geneva, is a global communion of 136 Lutheran churches
in 76 countries representing 61.7 million of the world's 65.4
million Lutherans.  The ELCA, a 5-million member Lutheran church
based in Chicago, is an LWF member.
     "As Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, we have
no choice but to come to Washington, D.C., today, for we believe
working for peace together with justice in the Middle East
reflects a central moral imperative of our common Abrahamic
faith," Hanson said in a statement at the news conference. "We
believe peace in the Middle East is key to reducing tensions
throughout the world."
     The initiative was organized through "Walk the Road to
Peace," a national, multi-faith campaign organized to support the
Road Map to Peace in the Middle East. Walk the Road to Peace was
"initiated by American Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders
united to support peace and security for Israelis and
Palestinians," according to the program's Web site.
     The Road Map is a Middle East peace plan proposed earlier
this year by the United States, European Union, Russia and the
United Nations.
     The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, the ELCA's
federal public policy office based here, was among those which
coordinated the Dec. 2 meetings.
     President Bush and his administration should exercise
leadership to find a just peace for all people in the Middle East
region, the religious leaders said.  They also pointed to a peace
initiative signed in Geneva, this week by concerned Israelis and
Palestinians as a sign of grassroots determination to move toward
peace.
     The religious leaders -- representing some 100 million U.S.
citizens -- presented a multi-step plan they believe will help
implement the Road Map.  They sent a copy of it with a letter to
Bush asking for a White House meeting with him and key
administration officials.
     Doubt about the lack of progress on the Road Map "leaves us
rightfully impatient," said Hanson.  He said today's doubts about
U.S. commitment to the Road Map must be replaced by the strong
leadership the Bush Administration demonstrated earlier this
year.
     The interfaith group hopes to organize a series of peace
activities in Washington, D.C., and they will encourage their
members to pray for peace, Hanson said.  They hope local
interfaith groups will be formed in larger efforts to motivate
Congress and the Bush Administration, he said.
     Hanson said ELCA synod bishops will continue to visit the
Middle East to listen and learn; the ELCA will continue its
support of and seek volunteers for an ecumenical accompaniment
program in the Middle East; and the church will continue its
prayer vigil for Middle East peace.
     In response to questions from reporters, Hanson said he
believes the interfaith group and the Bush Administration are in
agreement on implementation of the Road Map.  Already some
members of the U.S. Congress have pledged their support for the
interfaith initiative, which hopefully will lead to a meeting
with Bush, Hanson said.
     "The conflict in the Middle East cannot be reduced to just a
political conflict, when it is so inherently religious in many of
its dimensions," Hanson said in an interview.
"Therefore, because we all are rooted in that land we call holy,
we believe as religious leaders we must also be about finding a
solution to the conflicts of that land."
     Hanson hopes his presence with the interfaith group is a
"sign of hope" for ELCA members and will encourage them to
discuss what they can do to promote peace.
     Among those present at the news conference in support of the
religious leaders, but not speaking, were U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton
Jr. (R-N.Y.) and U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island).

Religious Leaders Echo Unity Theme in Peace Initiative
     Several other religious leaders involved in the delegation
spoke at the news conference, emphasizing their unity to urge the
Bush Administration and their own constituents to get more
actively involved.
     "As united religious leaders, we are convinced that the time
is now to speak publicly to our political leaders and to work
diligently on our own religious constituencies in the pursuit of
lasting peace," said Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, secretary,
Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church.
     Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop of Washington
(D.C.), said the Roman Catholic Church "strongly supports both
the survival and security of Israel and a free and viable state
for the Palestinians."
     "In the global picture we believe that the failure to
achieve a just peace in this critical area imperils the quest for
peace, security and stability in the Middle East and the world
itself," he said.
     Acknowledging that members of the interfaith group have
their own deep convictions about the Middle East, Rabbi Paul
Menitoff said the coalition was created in spite of those
convictions.
     "The differences have seriously strained relations among
members of this coalition," said Menitoff, executive vice
president, Central Conference of American Rabbis.  "We are,
however, united in our support for active U.S. leadership in
pursuing full implementation of the Road Map for peace."
     "We have deepened our belief that effective public
engagement around the Middle East issue can include, and does in
fact require our religious voices," said Iman Feisel Abdul Rauf,
founder, American Sufi Muslim Association.
     "We found ourselves listening very hard," he said.  "We
found ourselves with good people, people of deep faith, and we
have located many important and shared values, among the most
primary of which are love, justice, compassion, service and
faithfulness."
     David Neff, editor and vice president of Christianity Today
and a representative of the Evangelical church community, said
despite popular opinion, all evangelicals are not of one mind on
the Middle East.
     "If the Bush Administration is able to seize this moment and
provide American leadership that actually results in a stable and
peaceful resolution between Israelis and Palestinians . [then] I
think that most of America's evangelicals will praise him, and he
doesn't need to fear losing that important part of his base in
the polls," Neff said.

'Steps to Peace' Proposed
     In a letter to Bush, members of the interfaith delegation
called on the U.S. government to take specific steps to renew
momentum for the Road Map:
     + Reiterate the Road Map's "unequivocal call" for an end to
all acts of violence and work to achieve a ceasefire agreement
     + Return the special presidential envoy to the region and
provide visible, public monitoring of steps required by both
sides
     + Determine specific simultaneous steps that the two sides
must take, and set a timetable for taking them
     + Support benchmark principles and ideas for mutually
acceptable solutions developed in earlier negotiations and
current citizen efforts for peace
      The religious leaders also suggested steps for the
Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to take to
implement the Road Map.  Those steps emphasize peaceful
solutions, economic and humanitarian concerns, and cooperation.
-- -- --
     Information about "Walk the Road to Peace" can be found at
http://www.walktheroadtopeace.org/about.htm on the Web.

     Photos and a video news release about the interfaith
delegation can be found at http://www.elca.org/co/news/index.asp
on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news