The Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is among 22 church-based denominational leaders who penned a letter to President Biden urging a ceasefire and demilitarization of the crisis in the Middle East. The letter was coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace, of which the Disciples are founding members.
The leaders wrote, “We, the heads of churches, denominations, and church-based organizations in the United States, write with utmost urgency after over 100 days of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Too many people have suffered. Too many lives have been lost. We urge you to exhibit strong U.S. leadership and immediately call for a comprehensive permanent ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and lasting peace.
The time for a comprehensive ceasefire is now. Every day of continued violence not only increases the death toll in Gaza and the cost to civilians but also fosters further hatred toward Israel and the United States and irreparably damages the moral standing of the United States in the broader Middle East.”
Several signatories of the letter, including Rev. Hord Owens, were in Washington, DC where they delivered the letter during meetings with staff at the State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and with Ambassador Rashad Hussain, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024.