December 2, 2003

Statement by The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and President, Lutheran World Federation.

As Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders, we have no choice but to come to Washington, D.C. today; for we believe working for peace together with justice in the Middle East reflects a central moral imperative of our common Abrahamic faith. We believe peace in the Middle East is key to reducing tensions throughout the world. With the vast majority of Palestinians, Israelis and Americans, we abhor violence in all its forms as contrary to God's will to hold heaven and earth in a single peace.

We do not minimize the complexity of the Middle East conflict. We recognize that our relationships with people and communities living in the midst of violent confrontations on the ground sometimes have led us to significantly different perspectives on the conflict.

Yet this day we come out of a common conviction that it is time for interfaith cooperation to provide leadership for a lasting Middle East just peace. This press conference is far more than a momentary symbolic gesture of religious cooperation. Rather, it marks the beginning of a sustained effort to exercise the power of our leadership uniting Jews, Christians, and Muslims in this land to boldly and persistently work for peace in the Middle East.

The perilous lack of progress on the Road Map leaves us rightfully impatient. Doubts about the seriousness of the United States' commitment to the Road Map must be replaced by the evidence of the strong leadership we witnessed from President Bush and his administration last spring. Actions in recent days, including sending U.S. envoy William Burns, is a sign of such leadership and commitment.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative signed yesterday in Geneva gives us tremendous encouragement about the importance and timeliness of active interfaith cooperation for peace in the coming weeks and months.

We are very encouraged by the growing and remarkably bipartisan congressional support our interfaith delegations call for peace is already receiving. We are pleased to be joined at this press conference by Senator Chafee of Rhode Island and Representative Houghton of New York and thank them for their presence and for their leadership in their efforts.

With great resolve, we will utilize the extensive communication resources within each of our organizations to build a broad public constituency working for a just peace in the Middle East. We are exploring the possibility of organizing a series of interfaith peace activities here in Washington, D.C., in coming months. We will encourage members of our religious communities to continue to pray daily for peace. We will support the formation in all parts of the country of regional and local interfaith religious groups modeled on this national leadership delegation and our advocacy platform. We will carry our message to this administration and Congress through the ongoing mobilization of our members.

The 5 million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of which I serve as presiding bishop, will continue to send delegations of U.S. bishops to the Middle East to listen and work for peace. We will continue to seek volunteers to participate in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel and to support Palestinians and Israelis working for a just peace. We will continue the prayer vigil for peace in the Middle East, which we began in December 2000.

For far too long, acts of violence and failed negotiations have been the dominant news stories out of the Middle East. Today, we believe renewed hope on the path to peace is the story to be told. Together, we interfaith religious leaders will walk that road until we reach the destination of a lasting Middle East peace with justice.