On September 17, 1978, after thirteen days of negotiations at Camp David, two framework agreements were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House and witnessed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The first framework (A Framework for Peace in the Middle East) dealt with the Palestinian territories and was written without the participation of the Palestinians and had little impact and was condemned by the United Nations. The second of the frameworks (A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel) led to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.
Thirty-six years later, many of the reasons for the treaties have returned and history repeats itself only on a more powerful, dangerous scale. The 1970 Prayer for World Peace is needed even more today.
Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; For the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right. May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred. We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others. Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all men were created.
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