Despite the continued conflict in Gaza, bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are proceeding with plans to travel Jan. 6 to the Middle East. A smaller group of seven ELCA bishops, including the ELCA presiding bishop and the national bishop of the ELCIC, spouses and staff arrived here for a series of meetings Jan. 3-5 with religious, community and political leaders.
The Lutheran leaders are here to provide support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), to learn more about the realities of living in the Middle East and to advocate for peace.
Leading the bishops are the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, other leaders of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, and the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, ELCIC national bishop. The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop, ELCJHL, leads the host church.
Hanson, Younan and six ELCA bishops participated in worship services Jan. 4 at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, an ELCJHL congregation here. Hanson and Younan joined the Rev. Samer Azar, the congregation’s pastor, in the Christian rite of confirmation for six young people.
"Tonight we come as leaders from the United States and Canada to publicly commit ourselves to pray for peace in the Middle East," Hanson told the congregation. He said he fears people in the United States view the Middle East in its complexity, which prevents speaking clearly for an end to violence, for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, for a return to negotiations, for a reestablishment of human rights, and for an opening of borders so that medicine and basic necessities can get to the people of Gaza.
Hanson said his denomination will advocate for peace with political leaders and will pray for peace. He expressed appreciation for Jordan’s King Abdullah II for his efforts to stop the violence in Gaza, for sending humanitarian relief to people in Gaza, and for the king’s respect for deeper relationships between Muslims and Christians.
The North American bishops are here as part of their 2009 Academy, an annual time for theological reflection and study. Though planned for months, the visit is especially timely given the current conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. Israel’s decision to send ground forces into Gaza has heightened concerns throughout the region.
Throughout the weekend, ELCIC and ELCA bishops and staff monitored the situation in Israel and Gaza. They met by conference call to discuss concerns. Options included reducing the size of the bishops’ delegation because of security concerns. Leaders determined that the visit should proceed as planned, with as many bishops from both churches participating as possible.
Following their itinerary here, the bishops plan to travel Jan. 6 to Jerusalem. They will be joined by about 29 more bishops from the ELCA and four more bishops of the ELCIC. That group will meet with religious, community and political leaders in Israel and the West Bank through Jan. 13.
Information about the 2009 Bishops’ Academy is at: http://blogs.elca.org/09cobacademy/
(ELCA News Service)
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada’s largest Lutheran denomination with 162,000 baptized members in 613 congregations. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the Canadian Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
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