Worship
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ELCJHL Pastor Saliba Rishmawi leads the Lord's Prayer at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah. |
The ACT Palestine Forum has invited the world to pray for peace in the Holy Land on the 24th of every month until the occupation of Palestine ends, all violence ceases and there is a just negotiated peace. Gather a few people together at lunch time or join with area churches to host a prayer vigil together with an educational time after prayer. Download these resources:
Bulletin insert to advertise prayer vigil (one half-sheet double-sided)
Palm Sunday Prayer Vigil Bulletin Insert (one half-sheet double-sided)
Palm Sunday Prayer LItany Bulletin Insert (8 1/2 by 11 double-sided)
Lenten Prayer Litany
More prayer vigil resources
Ideas for education.
In 2005, the ELCJHL gave pottery communion sets made in Bethlehem to all ELCA synods, with the hope that the communion sets would travel to each congregation where a special prayer initiative would take place for peace in the Middle East. Talk to your synod office to see if it is still available for use.
Lenten Resources
- Lenten Prayer Litany
- Churches for Middle East Peace Lenten table top tent with pictures and reflections for each week of Lent.
- A Lenten Geography: Stories of Peacemaking from Israel and Palestine - A blog by ELCA member Jan Miller, a Peace Not Walls leader and leader of several pilgrimages to the Holy Land, offers her Lenten reflections for the holy days and Sundays of Lent.
- Holy Lent Holy Land Holy People
A Lenten devotions series that includes true stories from the Holy Land, journeys through the Sermon on the Mount with copy-ready biblical commentary and preaching reflections, and original art from Bethlehem. The adaptable Word document 
also contains music, prayers, litanies, questions for reflection and discussion, and can be used for Lenten mid-week worship or Bible study. It was developed in 2008 by the Peace Not Walls task force of the Southwestern Texas Synod and is offered as a resource to the church at-large.
- New in 2012, a Lenten Study: The Way of the Cross in Mark's Gospel, by the Rev. Liz Knott, the Presbyterian founder of Pal CraftAid, with her view of stations of the cross associated with pictures and realities of the Holy Land.
These studies reflect the views of the writers and organizations that produced them and do not necessarily reflect the views of Peace not Walls.
Holy Week in the Holy Land:
Palm Sunday Prayer Vigil Bulletin Insert (one half-sheet double-sided)
Palm Sunday Prayer LItany Bulletin Insert (8 1/2 by 11 double-sided)
2012 Easter Message by Bishop Munib Younan
2010 Easter Message by Bishop Munib Younan
Read the 2009 Easter messages from two leaders in the Holy Land:
Photos of Holy Week 2010 worship
The Holy Walk of Holy Week - A glimpse into Holy Week in the Holy Land with biblical citations, pictures of holy sites and modern realities.
An Easter Prayer for those in the Holy Land
National Council of Churches Requests Free Access for Palestinians Christians During Holy Week
Pray, educate and advocate for justice in the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel May 28 through June 3, 2012. This is an initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches.
Advent Resources
On the way to celebrate what happened in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, let us not forget the people who yearn for peace with justice now in Bethlehem and all over the Holy Land. Here are some Advent reflections by various people and organizations to help us remember:
Christmas Messages and Resources from Earlier Years
Christmas Message from Pastor Mitri Raheb
2012 Christmas message from Bishop Munib Younan
2010 Christmas messages from the Holy Land
- Jerusalem Heads of Churches
- ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan
2009 Christmas messages from two leaders in the Holy Land:
- Bishop Munib Younan of the ELCJHL in Jerusalem
- Pastor Mitri Raheb of the ELCJHL and DIYAR Consortium and Bright Stars of Bethlehem