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CWS Executive Director calls for prayers for consolation, peace, and long-term solutions

November 22, 2006

Church World Service executive director and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough has issued the following statement in the wake of the assassination of Lebanon's minister of industry, Pierre Gemayel, in Beirut on Tuesday.

"The tragic assassination of Lebanese politician Pierre Gemayel in a Beirut suburb has caused tensions to flare and anxiety to rise once again in that corner of God's Earth. We are holding the Gemayel family and all those affected by this latest atrocity close in our prayers.

In this season of Thanksgiving, leading up to the time when Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Christ, we ask that all people join us in praying for peace in the Middle East. We pray not just for a short-term solution to the problems that plague our brothers and sisters in that region. Instead, we ask that people of good will throughout the world join us in reflecting on the spirit of the Prince of Peace and in praying for lasting peace rooted in justice and in love for all of God's creation. It is the will of God that all people enjoy full and peaceful lives, undisturbed by bullets, brutality, and bloodshed, and we pray that God's will be done. "

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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