Lutheran Bishops from America to Visit Middle East

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, January 01, 2009

Lutheran bishops from America are preparing to travel to the Middle East next week and are urging congregations to join for "a day for justice and peace in the land of peace" this Sunday.

"This is a tragic yet opportune time for North American Lutherans to visit their partners in Palestine," said the Rev. Munib A. Younan, who will lead some members of the delegation in their visit to Jordan. "They will have a unique opportunity to witness the challenges of living in this disputed land."

The delegation had scheduled the visit months before the recently revived violence in Gaza that has left over 400 Gazans killed and some 1,700 wounded. The visit to religious, government and community leaders, congregations and schools in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank is part of the delegation's annual academy, a time of theological reflection and study.

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According to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), bishops of his denomination and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) have connected several times this week by phone and "are united in their assessment that the trip is timelier than ever and should proceed."

"In keeping with the 2005 ELCA 'Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine,' the trip emphasizes accompaniment with its Lutheran partners in the region, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)," he expressed in a statement Wednesday. "In this very difficult time, the bishops hope that their presence can be a source of comfort to these partners and manifest support for these ministries."

On Saturday, Israel launched a bombing campaign in response to the more than weeklong Palestinian rocket fire that followed the expiration of a six-month truce, which Hamas refused to extend because Israel kept up its blockade of Gaza.

In total, more than 150 rockets have been launched into Israeli territory since the resurgence of violence between the long-time foes. On Monday, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak declared "all-out war" against Hamas in retaliation for rockets launched into Israeli territory, including more than 40 rockets fired that day alone.

The violence has been condemned by world leaders and church officials including the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC),who called the ensuing death and suffering "dreadful and shameful."

"The deaths and suffering … will achieve nothing but more deaths and suffering," he stated Monday.

In his statement Wednesday, ELCA's Hanson also said the "terrible violence ... will serve no good end."

"Lamenting the recent escalation of violence, only negotiations, leading to a two-state solution, will bring about a durable peace with justice for both Israelis and Palestinians," he stated.

Ahead of the Lutheran delegation's visit, ELCA congregations have been invited to join with the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem who have called for this Sunday to be "a day for justice and peace in the land of peace."

The church leaders in Jerusalem have called upon Israeli and Hamas officials to "refrain from all violent acts, which only bring destruction and tragedy, and urge them instead to work to resolve their differences through peaceful and non-violent means."

The leaders are also coveting prayers "for the victims, the wounded and the broken-hearted."

"May the Lord God Almighty grant all those who have lost loved ones consolation and patience," the Jerusalem church leaders expressed in a statement. "We pray for all those living in panic and fear, that God may bless them with calm, tranquility and true peace."

The "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007.

A two-state solution envisions two separate states in the Western portion of the historic region of Palestine, one Jewish and another Arab to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict.