U.S. Religious Leaders Just Back from Iran Available to Talk About Recent Meeting with Iranians Officials, Including President Ahmadinejad
Return Coincides with US Decision to Hold Talks with Iran
Thursday, March 01, 2007
[Washington, DC] – Members of a delegation of U.S. religious leaders who returned Monday from a week-long trip to Iran with a proposal for direct, government-to-government negotiations between the United States and Iran are available for interviews and comment. The delegation, which is the first U.S. religious group to meet with an Iranian president in Iran since the revolution in 1979, was encouraged by 's declaration that his country does not intend to develop nuclear weapons and his willingness to enter into direct, face-to-face talks with the United States government.
Next week, the delegation will meet with members of Congress including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Warner, among others.
Jim Winkler is the General Secretary of the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS), the international public policy and social justice agency of The United Methodist Church. He has led delegations to the Middle East, Iraq and Germany seeking peaceful solutions to global conflict and traveled throughout the world to support the justice work of the United Methodist in Africa, Asia and Europe. He has preached and led workshops and training events in Russia, Nigeria, and the Philippines, and is a frequent spokesperson for the justice work of The United Methodist Church to the national and international media.
"The Iranians don't want war. Every political and religious leader we met with said Islam forbids the possession or development or use of weapons of mass destruction of any kind including nuclear weapons," he said. "They would love to talk to the U.S. if there was but some sign of goodwill." –Jim Winkler
Jeff Carr is Chief Operating Officer of Sojourners and Call to Renewal after 17 years of ministry as the Executive Director of the Bresee Foundation in Los Angeles, CA where he was responsible for the overall direction and development of this faith-based organization that provided comprehensive programs for over 3,500 low-income youth and families each year. He was raised in the Church of the Nazarene and followed in his fathers footsteps by becoming an ordained minister in the church.
“We must begin to write a new narrative together. One that comes out of humility, mutual respect, and shared understanding. I am convinced it is the only path for a true and lasting peace with justice.” –Jeff Carr
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