Episcopal Press and News

Churches Support Hostage Mission

Episcopal News Service. November 20, 1986 [86245]

NEW YORK (DPS, Nov. 20) -- Episcopal, Baptist and Presbyterian leaders joined Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, his aide Terry Waite and three freed American hostages in London this week when Waite made a plea for freedom for all captives and oppressed people in Lebanon.

After a briefing by three senior staff officers, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning stated here that the Church would do all it could to continue support of the quest for "peace, justice and reconciliation" in the Middle East.

Senior Executive Officer George McGonigle; Canon Samir J. Habiby, director of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief; and Browning's deputy for Anglican Affairs the Rev. Charles Cesaretti; met with Runcie, Waite and the Rev. Benjamin Weir, the Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco and David Jacobson as well as with the Rev. Frederick Wilson of the Presbyterian Church, USA and Matthew Giuffrida of the American Baptist Church. Wilson is general director of the Program Agency of the Church and Giuffrida heads the Baptist parish witness program.

Following the meeting, Runcle and Waite read statements to the press and Waite, Jenco, Weir and Jacobson fielded questions for an hour. (Eds: the three statements are attached.)

The Church leaders made it clear that their involvement in the hostage issue was a result of church-to-church pleas and subsequent ecumenical cooperation, and that activity began long before governments began to link the hostages to other Middle Eastern incidents and public awareness of their plight was raised. They also made it clear that the Churches will continue to seek freedom for hostages on a humanitarian faith-to-faith level separate from any actions by other groups.