International religious group prepares for regional mission

A nine-member delegation of the Church World Service (CWS) is set to visit West Africa in July in response to a call for help from churches in the region, CWS said in a news release. The delegation, to be led by CWS Executive Director John McCullough, hopes to meet the presidents of The Gambia, Guinea Liberia and Sierra Leone, the oecumenical and inter-faith councils in the four countries, and the US ambassador to each between 2 and 18 July, the release said. "The councils of churches along with an inter-religious group in the Mano River Union countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone pressed their countries' presidents to meet together twice in the past 18 months to address the urgent issues facing their countries," Rev McCullough said. "Now they are asking us to meet with their presidents to strengthen the churches' work for peace and human rights. We're watching Liberia with both anxiety at the worsening security situation and hope that a much anticipated peace conference can take place in [the Liberian capital] Monrovia in July," he added. He said the July visit and a subsequent programme-planning one were steps toward defining future CWS support for oecumenical partners in West Africa and generating better understanding of the West Africa region among North American Christians. "Following our visit we will work our membership to be supportive of the need for peace and reconciliation in the Mano River Union countries, and in particular the work of the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)," he said. "We would especially like to draw to their attention the plight of women and children, including child soldiers, HIV/AIDS, and internally displaced persons and refugees," he said. The organisation wrote in March to US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to inform them of the West Africa visit and to seek their support. It also met with US State Department staff on 4 April to discuss the upcoming trip, the release said. The CWS delegation expects to spend 2-6 July in Guinea, 6-9 July in the Gambia, 9-14 July in Sierra Leone and 14-18 July in Liberia. It will be hosted by the council of churches in the respective countries, the release said. The CWS, an international humanitarian agency founded in 1946, brings together 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations and some 50 million Christians in the United States. It aims to strengthen partner churches' work for peace, human rights, reconciliation, reconstruction and sustainable development, the release added.