Global Ministries

Below is a statement from the Middle East Council of Churches on the attack in Nice, France on 14 July.

15 July 2016, originally posted here

Press Release No: 16/25
15 July 2016
Brussels
 
Nice attack: Amidst bloodshed, build peace with all people of faith and goodwill
 
The Conference of European Churches deplores the deaths of at least 84 people and the injuring of many more late last night in Nice (France). The attack involved a truck driven through large crowds gathered to enjoy fireworks for the French national celebration. Families, children, parents, and friends from across Europe—and even around the world—were gathered along the Côte d'Azur to celebrate in a joyful way.

France Sets May 30 Date for Mideast Peace Conference [The Forward]
With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters since April 2014 and Washington focused on a November presidential election, Paris has lobbied countries to commit to a conference before then that would set out a framework to get Israelis and Palestinians back into negotiations.

By Stephen Brown*

French President François Hollande praised Protestant churches and organizations for their work in areas such as health, social inclusion and support for refugees and migrants during a meeting on 13 April at the presidential Elysée Palace with 300 Protestant leaders and representatives.

By Sean Hawkey*

Azad** is a refugee from the north of Aleppo, Syria and is currently in The Jungle camp in Calais, France.

“It’s hard here” says Azad, and then falls quiet. “People are hungry, cold, afraid and we can’t do anything”. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor of a small shelter.

There are nearly 7,000 people in the camp. They are fleeing war, repression, economic collapse and climate change in countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

“We have to delete our memories, and the dead cannot come back to life” says Azad “but we still have hope of a new beginning, a different future, the end of the war in Syria. That's all we want for the new year”.

Mere days after terror attacks in Beirut and Paris, the theme of an interfaith meeting of Christians and Muslims at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on “Religion, Peace and Violence” was entirely appropriate, said participants.

Over many years, the National Council of Churches has often expressed our aspirations and sorrows, our confidence and fears, related to an eventual peace in the Middle East.

I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” ⁴⁰And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,^* you did it to me.”—Matthew 25:36-40

In the past few days, we have shared in the public and global outpouring of sympathy and support for the victims, their families, and the people of France, Lebanon, and Russia. We reiterate that expression of solidarity, and our condemnation of these acts of violence, all of which have been claimed by the “Islamic State.”

Commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23 was to have been the principal focus of the service of Sunday morning prayer on 15 November in the cathedral church of Saint-Pierre at the summit of Geneva’s old town. Following terror attacks in Beirut and Paris killing and wounding hundreds of civilians over the preceding days, the prayers of the Protestant Church of Geneva and the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) took on a new dimension.