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Pasadena, New York City sites
for Feb. 19 teleconference on
waging reconciliation in Holy Land
Episcopal News Service
A teleconference on peace in
the Middle East
that was postponed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is now scheduled for
Feb. 19 in New York
City and Pasadena.
Under the theme of "Waging
Reconciliation in the Holy Land: Salaam, Shalom, Peace," participants will
be greeted by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold in New York who will also
speak on "Waging Reconciliation," drawing on themes developed at last fall's
meeting of the House of Bishops.
Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal of
the Diocese of Jerusalem will be the special guest and a special video will
incorporate other voices from the region, including church leaders as well
as Muslim and Jewish leaders. The church’s Office of Communication is
producing the video and the teleconference.
An interfaith panel on the
search for peace will originate at the
Pasadena site, moderated by
the Rev. Edwin Bacon, rector of All Saints Church. Bishop Christopher Epting,
deputy for Interfaith and Ecumenical Relations for the Episcopal Church,
will introduce the panel. Members of the panel and Griswold will participate
in a question-and-answer period.
A pre-conference orientation
at both sites on Feb. 18 will explore the peacemaking efforts of the church,
international support for the churches in the region such as the Jerusalem
2000 Project, and the advocacy role of the
Washington offices of the
Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in
presenting church policies and positions to lawmakers.
"We are all searching for a
theological grounding for the church's peacemaking role in a post-Sept. 11
world," said the Rev. Brian Grieves, director of peace and justice
ministries for the Episcopal Church and chair of the planning committee. As
a result, a high level of interest in the teleconference has developed in
recent months, he said.
"This is also the first
opportunity for different groups within the church that are working for
peace to hear from each other," he added, making it possible for them to
find new allies. Grieves also anticipates more interest in what the church
is doing on the national scene, especially through its Office for Government
Relations in Washington, DC. "We want especially to connect more
intentionally with our own church in the region as it makes a faithful
witness in the midst of great suffering," he said.
A presentation on advocacy
will feature the
Washington offices and Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), an ecumenical
coalition based in Washington. CMEP director Corinne Whitlatch and the Rev.
Mark Brown of the ELCA's Washington office will be special guests, as well
as the Rev. Naim Ateek, director of Sabeel, a Palestinian peace and
liberation institute on the West Bank.
(For further
information and registration call All Saints Church, Pasadena, 626.796.1172.
The church is located at 132 N. Euclid Ave.)
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