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Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

For Immediate Release

Unitarian Universalist President Calls for Middle East Cease-fire

(Boston, MA - March 27) Saying that the "escalating levels of violence and reprisal between Israelis and Palestinians" compels him to speak out, the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Univeralist Association, has written a pastoral letter to Unitarian Universalists calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East region.

In the letter, Sinkford cites the goal of establishing "a Middle East where the state of Israel is confident in its security and the Palestinian people have not only their own state but also a sense that justice has won out." He cites the "Petition for Peace" signed by more than 235 Unitarian Universalist ministers at their recent Convocation in Birmingham, Alabama, urges Unitarian Universalists to educate themselves on this complex issue, and provides references to a number of resources that will assist them in doing so. The pastoral letter also notes the interfaith work done by one Unitarian Universalist congregation on this issue as a possible model for other congregations to emulate.

Sinkford concludes his letter by writing, "I dedicate myself and my administration to joining with religious people everywhere who will commit to working toward a richer imagination on how to achieve peace. May the new imagination start now, within each of us. The killing must stop."

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, creedless religion with Judeo-Christian roots; it traces its history in North America to the first Pilgrim and Puritan settlers and has numbered among its members five U.S. presidents. The UUA, headquartered in Boston, MA, was formed in 1961 through the consolidation of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. More than 1,050 congregations in North America belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association.

For further information, please contact John Hurley, UUA Director of Information, at jhurley@uua.org, (617) 948-6131 or Janet Hayes, Information Officer, at jhayes@uua.org, (617) 948-4386.

Unitarian Universalist Association
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