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MIDDLE EAST This
page offers events and news in the diocese, related to the peace efforts
** YOU ARE INVITED to participate in the historic TransNational Video Conference for Peace ** Speaking for Peace from Jerusalem and Washington The Powerful Voices of Religion and Civil Society PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERY - MOTHER'S DAY SALE
The Embroidery Project will hold its fourth annual Mother's Day sale of embroidery from Palestinian refugee camps and cooperatives in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria . The sale will take place at Westmoreland United Church of Christ, 1 Westmoreland Circle , Bethesda, from 5 to 8 p.m. April 15 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 16. There will be a large variety of handmade items in a wide price range for sale - from embroidered beaded wool scarves to colorful coin purses. For more information contact: Gretchen Theobald 202/244-2753 gtheobald@mindspring.com This opportunity to purchase high-quality Palestinian crafts is made possible by the Palestinian Embroidery Project, which uses the sale of embroidery to provide income to women in refugee camps and to educate Americans about the Palestinian experience and cultural heritage. The Palestinian Embroidery Project works with refugee cooperatives supported by established nonprofit organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the YWCA and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). ______________ The First Alexandria Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy Land The first Middle East Interfaith Summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the participation of the leaders of the three monotheistic faiths, issued the following declaration on January 21, 2002. The declaration pledges the signatory faith leaders to use their religious and moral authority to work for an end to violence and the resumption of the peace process. It also calls for the establishment of a permanent committee of leaders from the three religions in the Holy Land, to pursue the implementation of the declaration. On May 5, 2002, the Middle East Peace Committee hosted an Interfaith Prayer Vigil at the Washington National Cathedral, sponsored and endorsed by leaders from the Abrahamic faiths. The vigil was an expression of solidarity with the intent of the declaration: a “commitment to ending the violence and bloodshed that denies the right to life and dignity” and “to live together as neighbors, respecting the integrity of each other’s historical and religious inheritance”. For these days ahead we offer some of the words of prayer from the Litany for Peace, used on that occasion. “Gathered in the spirit of truth and peace and unity, let us call upon the name of the Lord saying, Lord of peace, hear our prayer. Have mercy, we pray, in a world where there is often speech without communication, relationships without justice or love, and where people are separated by barriers of history. Lord of peace, hear our prayer. Bless all communities of faith and their leaders as they work for justice and peace everywhere in the world. Guide and sustain the leaders of all nations that they may become successful in building a sound and humane world order. Lord of peace, hear our prayer. Draw
all nations to an appreciation of the wondrous diversity of your creation.
Convert our minds and enlarge our imaginations so we may gratefully receive
your gifts without fear. Make us faithful to the vision you have given
us: a time (top)
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