Posted on 07/20/2006 3:53:15 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
Top church leaders from some of the largest Christian denominations in the United States and in the world are pleading for an end to the violence in the Middle East, pressing U.S. President Bush to intervene and help lead the involved parties to peace and reconciliation.
On Thursday, 19 high-level Christian leaders and church heads signed a letter to President George W. Bush calling for a diplomatic solution to the conflicts in Gaza and between Hezbollah and Israel.
“Mr. President, while attention is rightly focused on the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, we write with growing concern for the situation in Gaza and appeal to you to do everything possible to calm the crisis and restore hope for a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” read the statement dated Thursday, July 20. “The escalating violence and regional dimension of the conflict is alarming. It is urgent that you call on all the parties to restrain from using force and, rather, to trust a diplomatic process.”
The letter further called for the “sustained intervention” of the United States at the “highest level” with both Israeli and Palestinian officials and the cooperation of Egypt and the Quartet.
Following statements and pleas for the situation in Gaza, the faith leaders turned their attention to the Lebanon-Israel situation, referring to a statement issued by the Bishops and Patriarchs of Jerusalem on July 7.
“They (the Bishops and Patriarchs of Jerusalem) condemn the abduction of the Israeli soldier and the killing of the young settler by Palestinians, but consider Israel’s response – the destruction of bridges and a power station, the deprivation and deaths of civilians and arrests of Palestinian officials – as without proportion,” read the letter.
“We share and support your vision of a two-state solution. If the Hezbollah-Israel crisis, which threatens to expand into a regional war, continues it could end all hope for a solution that brings peace and security to Israel and the future state of Palestine and their suffering peoples.”
Leaders who signed the letter include among others: the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (USA); the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, president of United Methodist Council of Bishops; ; the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary Reformed Church in America; the Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary for National Council of Churches USA; the Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director & CEO of Church World Service; the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America; the Rev. Dr. Stan Hastey, executive director of Alliance of Baptists; Dr. Robb Davis, executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee; Marie Dennis, director of Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; and Rev. John H. Thomas, and general minister and president of United Church of Christ.
Give Israel a couple more weeks, and peace will break out.
I urge Bush to Intervene as well. With about 200,000 troops invading Iran in haste!! Find Ajirwhateverhisnameis, and fly him to Geneva to be tried as a terrorist supporter, and all around complete idiot.
More antisemitism from the ELCA and the other mainline churches.
They can all piss off.
Suprised that they did not include Calypso Louie in this endeavor.
As long as it's just Jews getting killed, these hypocrites never bother to get involved demanding "peace". It's only when Israel fights back that "peace" becomes their top priority. If I thought they were real Christians, I'd be ashamed of them. As it is I'm simply embarrassed by their fraudulence.
Doesn't the mainline Protestant church have a boycott of Israel going?
Old parable:
Perhaps you might remember the stories about the Christians and the lions. Christians were given flimsy weapons by the Romans to defend themselves against wild animals. What is less known is that the Romans also featured fights between Jews and the lions, except instead of weapons, the Jews were buried up to their necks in the Coliseum ground and then told to defend themselves. One Jew managed to turn his head from side to side while an enraged lion pounced on him from one side and then the other. Finally the lion attacked the Jew from the front and as the lion came down upon the head of the Jew, the man took a hefty bite out of the lion's testicles, at which time the crowd shouted as one, "FIGHT FAIR, JEW!"
A lot of churches are no longer churches. They are social clubs, political entities and money mongers. Why don't they write a letter to Hezbollah?
You mean these Hezbollah Buddies?
http://concernedpresbyterians.net/
PCUSA’s ACSWP is best known for the international flare up from its visit with Hezbollah terrorist leaders in October 2004. The ACSWP spokesman made this inflammatory remark at the Hezbollah meeting: “I'd like to say that, according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders." The estimated annual budget for ACSWP is $250,000.
PCUSA Missionary, Nuhad Tomeh, is assigned to the Middle East Council of Churches. He is known as the “Ambassador to Hezbollah”. He is on the Board of Pro-Palestine organizations (Middle East Fellowship and Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding). We estimate his annual salary and benefit package is $75,000.
PCUSA, ELCA, UMC, NCC, ECA, UCC -- all the usual suspects. Their concept of peace is dangerously shallow, as they fail to comprehend that a cease-fire will only allow Hizb'allah to gain more strength for the next war. Or perhaps they do understand, and hope to commit Israel to commit suicide by following their advice. These apostate fools should leave Israel's defense to the Israelis and go back to what they do best -- running their failing denominations into the ground.
When the last person leaves the PCUSA or ECUSA will he/she/it please turn off the lights ...or blow out the last candle?
That's a very good point. I don't recall reading of any so-called "rallies for peace" conducted by these ostriches prior to the current WAR, when H & H were lobbing rockets, killing Israeli citizens.
This is the Rump Ranger Bishop, isn't it?
The time to think about peace is when every radical rag head in the world is dead.
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