11/30/2016 2:00:00 PM

CHICAGO – In a letter to President Barack Obama, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), asked the president to allow Palestine’s application for full membership in the United Nations to move forward before he leaves office in January.

“I write to you as a Christian leader committed to seeking a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Our Church’s relationship with our Christian companions in the region affords me with a keen awareness of the immense, daily suffering that persists because of the failure to resolve the conflict,” wrote Eaton. “I request that the U.S. further demonstrate its support for self-determination and freedom by allowing the State of Palestine’s application for full membership in the United Nations to proceed before you conclude your term of office.”

The 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved a resolution that included a commitment to encourage the ELCA’s members, congregations, synods and agencies to urge the U.S. president to not prevent Palestine’s application for full membership in the United Nations to proceed.

To read Eaton’s letter, visit ELCA.org