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Message from the Program Director
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
The Easter celebration takes me to the Holy Land where Jesus was born, raised, crucified and resurrected from the dead. The holiest days of the Easter celebration in the Holy Land are Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Fire Saturday and Easter Sunday.
On Palm Sunday, traditionally Christians of all denominations and ethnic backgrounds gather together on the Mount of Olives to celebrate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Although the main celebration of Holy Week takes place in Jerusalem, congregation members in each city and village of the West Bank also celebrate Holy Week.
Palestinian Christians who live in the West Bank and Gaza are denied their right to worship in Jerusalem. The Israeli separation barrier and checkpoints delay and prohibit them from entering Jerusalem. They need to apply for permits to go to Jerusalem.
On Good Friday Christian pilgrims from all over the world come to follow Christ’s walk through the Via Dolorosa in the holy city of Jerusalem.
Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb with tears and sadness and lost hope until she met the risen Lord! Her hope was restored. She then went and shared the good news!
Despite the hopeless situation, Palestinians believe they are messengers of hope. An ecumenical group of Palestinian Christians issued a statement called “A Moment of Truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of the Palestinian suffering” (also known as the Kairos Palestine document, available at www.Kairospalestine.ps/).
Let us continue to pray and act for peace and justice all over the world and especially for our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land so that peace, justice and freedom will reign in the land of peace!
For more Easter messages from different religious leaders in the Holy Land, please visit:
Peace and blessings,
Kholoud Khoury
Program Director for Arab and Middle Eastern Ministries
Ethnic Specific and Multicultural Ministries
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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ELCA Peace Not Walls Campaign
Plan to Attend a Peace Not Walls Night May 19 and the Churches for Middle East Peace Conference May 20-21
The Churches for Middle East Peace Conference will be held this year on May 20-21 at the Pryzbala Center at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
On Sunday night, May 19, we will have a Peace Not Walls network meeting beginning with a dinner at 5 p.m. at the Washington Seminar Center.
Hostel-style housing is available at the Washington Seminar Center for $40 a night, and other lodging options are available here. Registration for the Churches for Middle East Peace Conference is $170.
Please let us know if you are attending the evening event by contacting the Peace Not Walls Coordinator Karin Brown by April 30.
International Prayer Vigil for Peace
Join the International Prayer Vigil for Peace, initiated by the ACT
Palestine Forum, to pray for all who are suffering in the Holy Land
and for peace in the Middle East.
This ecumenical prayer vigil will continue on the 24th of every
month until the Israeli occupation is dismantled, violence in the
Middle East ends, and all can celebrate a just and lasting
negotiated resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
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