Lutherans Respond to Crisis in the Middle East

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) contributed $60,000 to the church's International Disaster Response fund to support people affected by the crisis in the Middle East.
"Ever since the latest outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, tensions have mounted with fingers of accusation pointed in both directions," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission.
"It is almost as if a war has broken out, especially when the Israelis bombed the West Bank town of Ramallah and Gaza on Oct. 12 in response to the murder of two Israeli soldiers," Ishida said.
Casualties have mounted among Israelis and Palestinians, he said. "More than 140 people have died and thousands have been injured, most of them Palestinians."
Church-related organizations, including the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees/Gaza Area of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Near East Christian Council Committee for Refugee Work of the International Christian Committee (ICC), are addressing issues affecting people in the Middle East.
The MECC and ICC are members of Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF. Proposals from MECC and ICC have been submitted to ACT to help the "most vulnerable families affected by the current unrest and violence in East Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip," Ishida said. Components of the proposals include: + the provision of food relief supplies to families who have lost their income sources; + the provision of medical supplies and emergency kits to hospitals and clinics, as well as to rural villages that have no access to main hospitals; + the provision of medical apparatus for assisting and/or rehabilitating the physically impaired; and, + trauma counseling. The funds sent by the ELCA will help support the relief efforts coordinated through ACT. The ELCA International Disaster Response sent $35,000 to support the work of Augusta Victoria Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives; $10,000 for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine); $10,000 to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to assist Palestinian hospitals in Gaza; and, $5,000 for MECC. LWR works overseas in relief and development on behalf of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Members of the ELCA contribute funds to the church's International Disaster Response fund. Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International Disaster Response helps relief agencies provide funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials and supplies. Funds are also used to rebuild communities and to repair structures destroyed by major disasters. Augusta Victoria Hospital, owned and operated by the Lutheran World Federation, has "always been a key facility to which the Palestinian population has looked for medical treatment. The hospital has been prepared for the worst in the midst of a tense atmosphere," Ishida said. Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72 countries, representing 59.5 million of the world's 63 million Lutherans. "Augusta Victoria is operating as best it can considering the restrictions on entry into Jerusalem imposed by the Israeli authorities," Ishida said. "The hospital is not able to get patient referrals or to schedule diagnostic or surgical procedures because of the ongoing closures. Part of the problem is hospital staff not being able to come to work due to these closures. Clinics of the primary health care system in Palestine, the LWF's Village Health Clinics in particular, are unable to function because health care providers cannot access their clinics in the West Bank villages," he said. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) continues to struggle not just in the context of the current crisis, but also in terms of the ongoing difficulties of being a small church in an unsettled situation, Ishida said. "Many young Palestinians have been the victims of violence." The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) has 3,000 members in six congregations in Amman, Jordan; Beit Jala; Beir Sahour; Bethlehem; East Jerusalem; and Ramallah. The ELCJ is the only "indigenous" Lutheran church in the Middle East. The church joined LWF in 1974. In an open letter to the ELCA issued Oct. 25, the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the ELCJ, said, "As the Lutheran bishop in Jerusalem, I appeal to you, as sisters and brothers in Christ, do not leave us alone." In his letter, Younan called for "international protection for the Palestinian people." Among other items, he asked the ELCA to "pray for the Christian churches in Jerusalem and their prophetic role for a lasting, comprehensive, just peace and reconciliation in our area." Younan asked the 5.15 million members of the ELCA to assign Nov. 5 as "Sunday for special prayers, solidarity and support for the Christian witness and mission of the ELCJ and for the children who are living in horror and fear in our country." He also asked the ELCA to pray for "peace in the land of the Resurrection." -- -- -- INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:

When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors of major
disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin
Islands, please include:

ELCA International Disaster Response
PO Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
1-800-638-3522

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html