World Council of Churches announces World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel

The World Council of Churches calls for all churches to unite for World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel

Please visit the initiative’s website - http://www.worldweekforpeace.org/ - and click the links for resources for prayer, education and advocacy. The Education page is especially helpful: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/wwppi/resources.html#c25059

World Council of Churches
12 May 2010

Churches and peacemakers unite in prayer, education and advocacy for peace in Palestine-Israel.

In countries across six continents, a wide diversity of religious communities, people of faith, human rights and peace organizations are preparing to mark the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel.

The World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, an initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches, will take place from 29 May to 4 June 2010. The aim of World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel is to encourage concerned communities and individuals to make a common witness by participating in worship, educational events and acts of advocacy in support of a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis.

“At a time when both Palestinians and Israelis continue to suffer from the occupation of Palestinian territory, the World Council of Churches has designated this week as a time to pray for a lasting peace that would secure the legitimate rights and justice for both peoples,” says Rev. John Calhoun, the convener of World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel. “In addition, the World Council of Churches also welcomes acts of education and advocacy that would help bring an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine in accordance with United Nations resolutions.”

The activities planned for World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel demonstrate the initiative’s commitment to peaceful action in support of a resolution to this conflict. Local church groups and community activists will advocate with government officials through seminars, public discussions, public demonstrations and open forums about the urgent need to bring to an end the inherent injustices in the situation.

Palestinians and Israelis will also initiate creative actions and tangible expressions of peace in front of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, at the separation wall that divides Bethlehem and in houses of worship in Jerusalem and across Palestine so as to affirm the human dignity and rights of all peoples.

The World Council of Churches invites member churches, religious and community organizations, and all people of faith to join with peacemakers in the region and around the world by participating in the events of the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel.

For more information on the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel and to view a list of events being planned by country, please visit the initiative’s website at http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_4037&mid=2126&aC=df68f80a&jumpurl=1, or send an email to Rev. John Calhoun, convener, at calhoun.wwppi@gmail.com.

At the World Council of Churches in Geneva, contact: Michel Nseir, Michel.Nseir@wcc-coe.org (+41-22-7916052) or Ranjan Solomon, ranjan.solomon@wcc-coe.org, (+41-22-7916398) or visit the website: http://pief.oikoumene.org/

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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

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