Ecumenical Delegation to Return with Report on Middle East Visit

|TOP|A three-member ecumenical pastoral delegation, entrusted with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the current conflict in the Middle East, will return from Jerusalem after spending an intense 2 days in Beirut.

The delegation, composed of representatives from the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of France, and the World Council of Churches (WCC), set sail from Cyprus to Beirut last Wednesday.

The president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, the [Roman Catholic] Archbishop of Tours (France) Mgr. Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin, representing the Catholic Bishops' Conference of France, and WCC programme executive on racism, Ms Marilia Alves-Schüller, stayed in Beirut for two days before travelling (via Larnaca and Tel Aviv) to Jerusalem, where they spent another two days before returning.

In both cities, they listened to people's experiences of the conflict, prayed together with local Christians, and met with government officials and members of civil society organisations.|AD|

Having witnessed at first hand the terrible toll on civilian populations as well as the destruction caused by the current conflict in the region, the three members of an ecumenical pastoral delegation will report on their experiences at a Press Briefing on Wednesday 16th August, at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

As well as reporting on what they saw and heard and their discussions with authorities and local populations, delegation members will describe the situation of churches and Christians in the region, and comment on what the latter see as possible ways forward out of the present crisis.

The general secretaries of the CEC, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), and the WCC - the Venerable Colin Williams, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, and Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia respectively- as well as Action by Churches Together (ACT) International director Mr John Nduna, will welcome the delegation to Geneva and answer questions on their organisations' policies and actions in relation to the present conflict in the Middle East.