The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has joined members of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East in a letter to President Trump. The letter encourages the president to continue U.S. efforts toward peace in the Middle East.
The ELCA works alongside our companion church in the region, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). The Right Rev. Dr. Bishop Munib Younan of the ELCJHL received the Niwano Peace Prize on July 27 for his work toward interreligious dialogue among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Jerusalem and worldwide.
The letter from interreligious leaders in the US and the prize for Bishop Younan come at a time when there is increased tension in Jerusalem, specifically around access to the Al Aqsa compound. Bishop Younan along with other heads of churches in Jerusalem signed a letter calling for a peaceful resolution that honors the status quo of access to religious sites.
