A delegation of 13 U.S. religious leaders, including Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations, will visit Iran February 17-25 to deepen dialogue between religious and political leaders there in the hope of defusing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The group is scheduled to meet with former President Mohammad Khatami and current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to a new release from the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) (http://mcc.org/), one of the trip' two organizers.

The group's schedule also includes meetings with religious leaders in Tehran, Qom and Isfahan, including Iranian Evangelical Protestant leaders, the Archbishop of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Iran, and Muslim religious leaders in the city of Qom. Qom is considered a holy city in Shi'ite Islam.

The U.S. delegation consists of leaders from the Mennonite, Quaker, Episcopal, Catholic and United Methodist denominations, as well as the National Council of Churches, Pax Christi and Sojourners/Call to Renewal in Washington, D.C. The trip comes after 35 religious leaders met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad during his September 2006 visit to New York.

‘Our primary goal is to engage in dialogue with a variety of Iranians,’ said Ron Flaming, MCC international program director.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_82397_ENG_HTM.htm

 Article from: Episcopal News Service