Letter from WCC General Secretary
Geneva, 20 July 2006
Dear Friends,
Like many of you, our hearts go out to the people of Lebanon as we watch destruction raining down on a country which has been too often traumatized by war. The killing of civilians, the destruction of housing and infrastructure and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and other nationals is an affront to humanity.
Geneva, 20 July 2006
Dear Friends,
Like many of you, our hearts go out to the people of Lebanon as we watch destruction raining down on a country which has been too often traumatized by war. The killing of civilians, the destruction of housing and infrastructure and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and other nationals is an affront to humanity.
We join with the Middle East Council of Churches in urging you “to intervene firmly with your governments, urging them to exercise pressure for an immediate cease-fire in order to end this dangerous escalation of violence which threatens the whole region.” Sustained advocacy by the ecumenical family is needed to bring about an end to the conflict and to create the basis for peace in the region.
I am writing to you now to urge you to support – and support generously – the ACT International Appeal for Lebanon when it is issued in the next few weeks. We are glad that ACT International is immediately disbursing US$50,000 from its Rapid Response Fund to respond to urgent needs and our Middle East secretary, based in Beirut, will be serving on a committee to oversee the disbursement of those funds.
In the course of the past week, we have heard from many churches and ecumenical partners who feel helpless when confronted with the situation in Lebanon. You, however, are in a position to do something concrete to respond to needs in Lebanon by contributing to the ACT Appeal when it is issued. We will work closely with ACT International to seek ways of increasing MECC’s capacity, both through our office in the region and through our participation in ACT International’s Executive Committee.
A pastoral letter on the crisis is going to WCC member churches in the region, we are writing to the UN Secretary General on the critical need for multilateral action in Lebanon in the wake of the G8 meeting (with copies to the permanent members of the Security Council), we will be organizing an international eminent persons visit to the region as soon as it is feasible, and are exploring other ways of expressing our solidarity and advocating for peace in the region. Your efforts in advocacy and in providing concrete assistance to those in need are a vital part of the ecumenical response.
Thanking you in advance,
Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
General Secretary
World Council of Churches