Church World Service welcomes international peace delegation

October 1, 2007

Rev. John McCullough and David Weaver of CWS with members of the Living Letters delegation visiting the U.S. last month. Photo: Jerry Hames

The religious community must work for peace while also standing against injustice, bigotry, and racism, Church World Service Executive Director Rev. John McCullough said at a reception for a “Living Letters” delegation visiting the U.S.

The delegation, sponsored by the World Council of Churches and the Decade to Overcome Violence, includes a South African church leader once jailed for his anti-apartheid activity, a public health specialist from Lebanon, an ecumenical officer from Brazil, and a Pakistani human rights lawyer and member of the country’s Human Rights Commission.

The delegation was welcomed to New York by church and ecumenical leaders on September 21, which marks the annual International Peace Day and International Day of Prayer for Peace.

Noting that New Orleans was on the delegation’s itinerary, McCullough referred to the unjust treatment of six black high school students in Jena, Louisiana. The delegation is traveling to New Orleans to see first hand the struggles of the communities most impacted by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath which has led to ongoing communal violence.

Other stops include Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. In each city, the delegation is visiting sites related to individual or corporate acts of violence or peace, and participating in panels and worship services lifting up the need to overcome violence.

“Living Letters” is an ongoing project of the Decade to Overcome Violence program that works to facilitate engagement with churches from areas of conflict around the world. The delegations listen, learn, and share perspectives with host countries on violence and peacemaking.

Members of the delegation visiting the U.S. are general secretary of the South African Council of Churches Rev. Edwin Makue, director of development at the Saint George Hospital in Lebanon Lina Moukheiber, ecumenical officer of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil Marcelo Schneider, and civil rights lawyer and human rights activist in Pakistan Aneeqa Maria.