Mel Lehman works to build understanding and peace between Americans and the Middle East . He directs an organization called Common Humanity which maintains a website www.CommonHumanity.org
He first traveled to Iraq in Christmas of 1996 as a communications executive of Church World Service of the National Council of Churches. After 20 years at Church World Service he left in 1998 to spend more time working to help end the U.N. economic sanctions on Iraq . He has made a total of 7 trips to Iraq and altogether has spent some 4 months there. His work has included editing a newsletter, publishing articles, and speaking. In December of 2002 he led a delegation of doctors to Iraq to teach medicine and was invited back again by the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
Unfortunately the U. S. invasion several months later has prevented his work inside Iraq since then. He has continued to work on building understanding between Americans and the Middle East . He has organized 4 Concert for Peace Tours which have brought Syrian musicians to American churches where they have been enthusiastically received. He has taken Christmas cards from children in American churches to children in churches in the Middle East as part of a pen pal exchange. He has published several articles and occasionally speaks about peace in the Middle East , and is currently working on a book about peacemaking from a Christian perspective. Each year he helps lead a team of doctors to Syria to lecture on medical issues.
Mel Lehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After attending Eastern Mennonite College he received Master’s degrees from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University in New York . He currently lives and works in New York City . He is 61 years old. His alma mater, Eastern Mennonite University , recently published an article in its alumni magazine about his work:
ML9612921@aol.com
