Christian Leaders Call for Partnership in Middle-East Reconciliatory Ministry

A host of top Christian leaders gathered in London’s Westminster Chapel Monday Nov. 21st, to inform people and to call for prayerful support of the works of The Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle-East (FRME).

|PIC1|The FRME is an organisation being largely led by Canon Andrew White, who has worked in the Middle-East region since before the Gulf War. The organisation is the only evangelical body in the world, which is running both the religious track of the Middle-East Peace Process, as well as working on the complex search for peace in Iraq. In addition to this, the organisation runs the Israeli Palestinian Institute of Peace, and is at the forefront of peace making in Iraq with the Iraqi Institute of Peace.

A highly distinguished board has graced the FRME, with several former ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries, and the Chairman is Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

In addition to the FRME’s political and diplomatic work, it is also running one of the largest churches in Baghdad, as well as supporting the evangelical church in Gaza.

Attending the event also were Mahesh Chavdah, senior pastor of All Nations Church, Charlotte NC, as well as evangelist J.John, who is a figure-head of the Namaan Trust, which seeks to make known the healing love of Jesus throughout the Middle-East. It supports some of the most desperate and needy individuals in the region, and particularly works among sick children.

Canon Andrew White is the leader of St George’s Church in Baghdad, where earlier this year in September, the entire lay leadership of the church are feared dead after going missing. Canon White said he had been told on 13 September that the Anglican team was attacked while returning from Jordon on the notoriously dangerous road linking the Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

|QUOTE|“It is the most dangerous area in Iraq,” he had previously reported. “One of two things must have happened. They either got kidnapped or they died. But we have had no ransom demand or anything.”

Speaking about the FRME, Canon White said to Christian Today, “FRME is a relatively new organisation which seeks to promote peace in the Middle-East as a whole and so work in Iraq, Israel, Palestine and other areas also.”

“At the moment with elections coming up in Israel, Palestine and Iraq, there is a considerable amount of openness about our work.

|AD|“One of the things we are doing in Iraq is actually helping prepare elections and this is a massive thing. We are continuing looking at how we can best take forward the religious track of the peace process.”

Testifying the need of a religious voice in the peace process in the Middle-East, Canon White reported to Christian Today, “One thing we have to realise is that the Oslo process was a totally secular process and one of the reasons we feel it failed is because the Middle-East is a profoundly religious region. So it is very difficult to have any process of anything, let alone peace, without dealing with the religious issues.”

Citing an example, Canon White explained, “For example Jerusalem, how can you deal with Jerusalem without taking into consideration the Holy site?”

White continued saying, “So one of our aims is to enable the religious dimension of peace-making to be returned to the process. Though we are very clear that we don’t think we can do everything, nor do we think we have the answers to everything, so we work closely with the non-political leaders also.”

The event also saw lively testimony of the work the FRME and the Namaan Trust by evangelist J.John, who spoke of the relief work Canon Andrew and himself had led in the region amongst children and other devastated people of the Middle-East.

Concluding the event, the FRME asked for support for their works, particularly in prayer, but also asked for unity in partnership among all Christian organisations in the works that are being undertaken in the Middle-East.