Join worldwide peace service for Bethlehem
If you are in Washington DC you are invited to join a special ecumenical peace service in the National Cathedral on Saturday. If you are elsewhere around the world, you can watch the service live at: www.NationalCathedral.org.
"In Bethlehem, Palestinian Christians continue to bear witness to their faith this Christmas, as they have done for generations. Once again, let us join our voices with theirs in seeking and offering hope for a better future," say the organisers.
Prayers, readings, and hymns alternate between Washington, DC and Bethlehem bringing together people of different lands, languages, and ethnic backgrounds in celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace.
Participants in DC include: The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church; The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; The Very Reverend Samuel T Lloyd III, Dean of Washington National Cathedral; and The Reverend Richard H Graham, Bishop, Metropolitan DC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In Bethlehem, participants include The Right Reverend Suheil Dawani, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Right Reverend Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and President of the Lutheran World Federation, and the Rev. Mitri Raheb of Bethlehem's Christmas Lutheran Church.
Formed in 1984, Churches for Middle East Peace is a coalition of 24 Church denominations and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. It works to encourage US government policies that actively promote a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ensuring security, human rights and religious freedom for all people of the region.
The service is at 9.30 for 10am on Saturday, December 18, 2010.