Peace Not Walls
A special ELCA campaign calling for efforts toward a viable, contiguous Palestinian state; a secure Israeli state at peace with its Arab neighbors; and a shared Jerusalem with equal access and rights for Jews, Christians, and Muslims
Welcome to Peace Not Walls, the campaign of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to learn, pray and act for peace with justice in the Holy Land.
Many walls stand in the way of peace for Israel and Palestine: walls of violence; of occupation; of political corruption and lack of will; of ignorance, mistrust, and fear of the “other.” We, as Christians, believe both that the gospel breaks down the dividing walls of hostility among people (Ephesians 2), and that God calls us to work actively for reconciliation in the world (2 Corinthians 5).
ELCJHL Anniversaries
Recently the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) celebrated a trio of anniversaries: its own 50th anniversary, the 30th anniversary of the Arab bishopric, and 170 years of evangelical Lutheran witness in Palestine. With the theme of "Living Witness - Creative Diakonia," the anniversaries were marked with dancing, exhibits, speeches and praise to God on May 16-17. Read the English and Spanish translations of Bishop Munib Younan's sermon delivered during the celebratory worship service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem, on May 17. (Visit www.elcjhl.org for photos and more news about the celebration.)
New Initiative Planning Youth Trip
A new initiative that grew out of Southeast Michigan Synod’s tradition of taking youth to the Holy Land is inviting other ELCA synods to send youth (ages 15 through 22) to join in a leadership and peace-building youth trip to the Holy Land July 8-22 of 2010. Southeast Michigan Synod, a companion synod of the ELCJHL, is taking the lead with the New England Synod, the other ELCJHL companion synod, as well as other synods and congregations interested in the Middle East. This is a great next step for the heightened interest in the Holy Land generated by the Bishops’ Academy trip there in January. For more information, please contact peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org.
2009 Bishops' Academy Trip
Bishops from the ELCA and ELCIC visited Israel and the West Bank Jan. 6-13, and a few visited Jordan Jan. 3-6. The 44 bishops met with religious, political and community leaders in the region, and visited sacred sites. The visit focused on supporting the mission and ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), learning about what life is like for Israelis and Palestinians, and advocating for peace and justice for all people there.
All are invited to use the numerous resources that have been posted to assist bishops and their constituents to address Middle East peace-making in the areas of Awareness, Accompaniment, Advocacy, and Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relationships.
New Items
New Palestine map cards - Free cards featuring (on the reverse side) a map of the West Bank; links to Peace Not Walls, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem websites; and this quotation: “…I define myself as an ardent Zionist that thinks that the best for the Jews in Israel is that we abandon the territories and we dismantle settlements and we try to reach a reasonable settlement with our Palestinian partners.” Shlomo Ben-Ami, Former Israeli Minister of Public Security and Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2006. To order cards, email peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org or call Mia at 800/638-3522, ext. 2642.
Situation Update Page - This new page offers updates on the situation in Israel-Palestine from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA).
Speakers' Bureau - Do you need a Middle East peace-related speaker for an upcoming congregational or synod event? The Peace Not Walls team can assist you by consulting the database of potential speakers in many regions of the ELCA. Please send queries to peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org.
Videos:
- Building Holy Land Peace - MN Congressman Keith Ellison joined Ambassador (Ret.) Warren Clark, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, in speaking on “Building Holy Land Peace: Will Americans Play a New Role?”