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The Delegation:
Dr. Thelma Chambers-Young,
Chair; Progressive National Baptist Convention; Mrs. Sandra Ann Pyke
Anthony, African Methodist Episcopal Church; Ms. Linda Ann Bales,
director of the Population Project of the General Board of Church and
Society, United Methodist Church; Rev. Dr. Rhashell Debra Hunter,
director of the Racial, Ethnic and Women's Ministries Program,
Presbyterian Church (USA); Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of
the Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (USA); Ms. Shirley Ann
Nichols, member of the Coordinating Cabinet of the Presbyterian Women,
Presbyterian Church (USA); Rev. Lois Martha Powell, team leader of
Justice and Witness Ministries for Human Rights, United Church of Christ;
Rev. Susan Gwen Turley, Swedenborgian Church; Ms. Arlene Connie
Tyler, president of the Women’s Department, Progressive National
Baptist Convention, Inc.; Dr. Iva Elaine Carruthers, Proctor
Conference, United Church of Christ; Rev. Andrea Lucille Clark,
assistant pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Tulsa, Okla., (National Baptist
Convention); Ms. Angelita Clifton, student, Drew Theological
Seminary, American Baptist Churches USA; Rev. NaShieka Dawn Knight,
associate minister, Greater St. John (Baptist) Church, Upper Marlboro,
Md.; Rev. Jacqueline Y. Lynch, associate minister, Saint Matthew's
Community AME Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church; Ms. Deborah
Leah Stapleton, lay minister, Fountain Baptist Church (Summit, N.J.)
and a student at Drew Seminary.
National Council
of Churches staff :
Dr. Antonios
Kireopoulos Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell
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| "I hope
we will hear the concerns of women in the region and stand in
solidarity with our sisters and brothers who are caught in the
middle of the conflict."
Dr. Thelma Chambers-Young, delegation
chair
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Daily
Report of the National Council of Churches' delegation of women church
leaders to the Middle East
Faith to Faith: The Possibility of Peace
By Angelita
Clifton
Standing on holy ground I heard God’s voice
reverberating in the wind, “Love thy neighbor.” Listening to
suffering spirits I heard God’s voice resonating deep within,
“Love thy enemies.”
In the midst of this sacred place, decimated by lost love, my
soul wept. Above the rumbling of tanks and the cocked chambers of
submachine guns I could hear the Word of the Lord wrestling within my
heart. Screaming in the silence of my sadness, I heard my Father whisper
“with love all things are possible!” Questioning the possibility of
peace, as I stood in the spiritual center of three of the world’s great
religions , my thoughts transcended the earthly realm. The Word of God
reached deep within the sacred space of my heart and the glory of His
“Kin-dom” vision birthed this prayer.
“God
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, lift the
suffering spirits of Your people. I petition You for mercy and grace for
all those who suffer through war, continued bombings, and sanctions. I
beseech You, bury the cries of the thousands who grieve the death of
their children, the death of their spirits, the death of safety and
well-being. Resurrect united voices around the world, transformed by
love, crying out for peace. Help us, Father, to support efforts that
create peaceful relationships within the global community, resisting any
barriers to the oneness found in You. Help us, Lord, to avoid any
dispute which brings further devastation. Enable our political leaders
to gain wisdom that provides security for all, not based upon the threat
of power but birthed in the vulnerability of compassion. Give us a
vision of social inclusion for all citizens of the “Kin-dom.” I pray for
justice and peace, a justice that tears down walls which divide nations,
a peace that builds bridges of hope rather than those that divide the
family. God help us come together, faith to faith, empowered by Your
love shared amongst one another. This is my prayer… Amen, Amen, Amen!”
The question -- is peace possible? -- must be
surrendered unto God. The better question: how will they know you
are My disciples? The answer, “by the way you love one another!”
“Faith is
believing what you do not see; the reward of faith is to see what you
believe.”
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