ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 20, 2009  

ELCA Bishops Join Middle East Meeting at Carter Center
09-117-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) were part of a diverse group of
Christian leaders who pledged to President Barack Obama that they
will "build constituencies that will advocate for a just
political settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
     The Christian leaders met privately May 14-15 at the Carter
Center, Atlanta, and were hosted by former President Jimmy
Carter, a longtime advocate for Middle East peace.  The Christian
leaders discussed strategies toward a resolution of the
longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Among
them was the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, and the
Rev. Bruce H. Burnside, bishop, ELCA South-Central Synod of
Wisconsin, Madison. Burnside chairs the ELCA Conference of
Bishops' Middle East concerns committee.
     In a May 15 letter to Obama -- in advance of his meeting
this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- the
Christian leaders said they heard much despair about the
situation in the Middle East.  But they said they "sense a rising
hope."
     "That hope is grounded in the growing consensus across the
Christian community that supports a political solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the new leadership that you
bring, both of which will make more possible a real, just and
lasting two-state solution and an end to conflict in the region
that upholds the security and freedom of both Israelis and
Palestinians," the Christian leaders said in their letter.
     The Christian leaders requested that Obama ask Netanyahu "to
embrace the principle of a two-state solution."  They expressed
concern about Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and said
they want the Gaza border to be opened, respecting humanitarian
and security concerns. After meeting with Obama May 18, Netanyahu
stopped short of embracing a Palestinian state.
     Calling the meeting "valuable," Hanson told the ELCA News
Service it was "a new experience, a different configuration, that
I felt was encouraging."  Christians from mainline denominations,
evangelical churches, historic African-American churches and
advocacy organizations were represented, he said.
     Both Hanson and Burnside said an urgent concern for most in
the meeting was that the possibility of a two-state solution
seems to be fading.
     Among topics discussed were human rights, Israeli and
Palestinian security, peace and self-determination, concerns
about Christian Zionism, a "shared" Jerusalem for all people, the
separation barrier and Gaza.  Hanson was one of the religious
leaders designated to respond to remarks from Carter.
     "I talked about what religious leaders can do.  We need to
organize, mobilize and increase our support for and pressure on
the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress to take an
assertive leadership role now for a just peace," he said.  Hanson
said he emphasized the need for support of Palestinian
Christians, discussed the "biblical story" that shapes Christian
engagement in the Middle East, and called for renewed commitment
to sustained national and international dialogue with Jews and
Muslims.
     "It was extraordinary to be included in such a diverse
group," Burnside said.  "President Carter's dynamic Christian
faith, steeped in biblical understanding, and formed by his
devotion to justice and human dignity, shaped this gathering and
gave it momentum."
     Burnside and Hanson were among 44 U.S. and Canadian Lutheran
bishops who visited the Middle East in January to learn, build
and renew partnerships, and advocate for peace. The ELCA has a
detailed Middle East strategy for engagement in the region,
implemented in its "Peace Not Walls" campaign.
---
     The Christian leaders' statement is at
http://tinyurl.com/o23atk on the Web.
     Information about the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign is at
http://tinyurl.com/pej6xo on the ELCA Web site.

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