COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Renewing its commitment to diversity, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) elected a Palestinian-American as moderator, its top post. The Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel said he will spend his year-long term focusing on worldwide evangelism and racial and ethnic issues within the Church, according to the Associated Press.
Abu-Akel, 58, won 57 percent of votes on the opening night of the Church's 214th General Assembly. He defeated two pastors from California. More than 7,000 delegates are attending the assembly, which runs June 15-22.
Ordained in 1978, Abu-Akel spent 21 years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta until last year, when he founded the Atlanta Ministry with International Students. Abu-Akel fled Palestine in 1966, immigrating to the United States.
Following his election, Abu-Akel called for creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the AP. He also endorsed the Mission Initiative, a proposed $40 million fund-raising campaign. The campaign will support international missions and new racial and ethnic church development in the United States.
