Episcopal Press and News

Browning Joins Ecumenical Peace Delegation to the Middle East

Episcopal News Service. December 12, 1990 [90319]

Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning joined an ecumenical peace pilgrimage to the Middle East, planning to spend a week visiting church and government leaders in Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.

The 19 Protestant and Orthodox church leaders responded to an invitation from the Middle East Council of Churches to visit and to stress the urgency of the churches' longstanding concerns for peace and justice in the area. "The purpose of the pilgrimage is to bear witness to the common hope for a just and lasting peace -- in solidarity with Christian sisters and brothers in the area," said Dr. Dale Bishop, who heads the Middle East office of the National Council of Churches (NCC). The NCC is coordinating the trip.

The trip, scheduled for December 14-20, is an extension of the concern expressed by church leaders over what they perceive as the continuing threat of war in the Persian Gulf. Most of those participating in the trip signed a November 15 letter to President George Bush (See ENS 90301), pleading for a "negotiated political solution to the crisis," arguing that they were "convinced that war as a means of settling international disputes is in conflict with the teachings of our faith."

Accompanying the church leaders' letter to the President was a strong statement from the recent meeting of the General Board of the NCC that accused the United States following a "morally irresponsible course." The NCC statement said that the military buildup "has led to an expansion of the military capacity of an already grossly over-militarized region."

In addition to Browning, participants in the trip include Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Armenian, Reformed, Methodist, American Baptist, Progressive Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Greek Orthodox, and Brethren church leaders.