International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel

4-10 June 2008

A joint advocacy initiative convened by the World Council of Churches

People, parishes and groups in 38 countries and three international ecumenical organizations are involved.  The four action categories proposed for the week are 'Pray, Educate, Advocate, Public Action'.  Here is a summary of the reported events:

Jerusalem & Bethlehem: Leading the world in prayer

• 4 June:  Ecumenical Service in Jerusalem led by Jerusalem church leaders with international and local participation begins the global week of church action. The liturgy is available for use internationally in whole or in part.

• Action week participants around the world send email prayers and wishes back to Palestine for use on 8 June in Bethlehem (see below) and in area parishes, schools and organizations. English or other languages.

• 4-6 June: Bil'in, a Muslim-Christian community cut off from its land by the Separation Barrier, holds an international conference, June 4-6, as part of on-going protests against the barrier's route.  Reading of the meeting's final statement is disrupted by tear gas and rubber bullets.  

• 5 June:  A coalition of church-related organizations stages a cultural and spiritual event in Jerusalem with prayer, local singers, a youth video, 60-year photo exhibit, messages and media representatives.  Theme is remembrance and hope.

• 8 June: Churches in about 100 countries received the Jerusalem Prayer for Sunday,  8 June 2008, from the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. It is available for parish use in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Italian. Palestinian parishes in the Bethlehem enclave and elsewhere are praying it too.

• 8 June: A 60-year 'human clock' in Manger Square, Bethlehem commemorates six decades of Palestinians living as refugees and uprooted people. For coverage of the event, including a web video .

• 8 June:  750 Christian children from the West Bank make a rare visit to Jerusalem to visit Gethsemane, walk the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulcher, listen to stories and release balloons and doves.  Organized by the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation and joined by Jerusalem children.

• Ecumenical Accompaniers blogging about their work in communities in Israel and Palestine and take part in local action week events.

• Jerusalem churches are to issue a public statement concerning the 1948 'Nakba' (catastrophe) for the Palestinian people.

Australia: National press conference, local information kits

• 4 June: Australian churches break new ground with a joint statement and press conference at Parliament House, Canberra.  57 signatories.  Anglican, Uniting Church and World Vision Australia leaders speak about national engagement in achieving a just peace.

• One Member of Parliament enters the church leaders' recommendations into the Parliamentary proceedings. 

• 5,000 education and awareness kits, designed for people and parishes new to the issue nationwide, offer the Jerusalem Prayer, the action week message It's Time for Palestine, church statements and more.  Introduced at the national press conference in Canberra.

• 6 June: A similar launch event  for the state of Victoria held in Melbourne with church leaders. 

• The number of participating church groups builds on last year's strong start.  Prayer, education, advocacy and other action ideas are available online for parish and community planners nationwide. One example -- ecumenical services in NSW with special recognition of Middle Eastern Christians and churches in Australia.

• Church and civil society groups commemorate the 1948 catastrophe for Palestinians with an event at the state Parliament House in Sydney.

• Church leaders are seeking a meeting with the foreign minister.

• NCC Australia has its first-ever resolution on the conflict, an example of ongoing worked linked in part to the annual action week. 

• Several heads of churches in Australia held a joint visit with the ambassador of Israel (2/08), a follow-up in part to last year's action week.

Austria: Prayers and worship

• Pax Christi distributes the action week message and prayer to members and parishes.

• Participation is encouraged by Protestant church leaders and a special service in Linz is held with Lutheran and Reformed churches invited.

Canada: Inviting action

• 2000 subscribers of Kairos have received the Invitation to Action, the Jerusalem prayer and the It's Time for Palestine message - plus request to join the action week.

• Basic information is on the Kairos website

• Some church groups are working on a multi-faith response.

France: Prayer, actions with civil society

• Nine church-related organizations take part in the week.

• Message and prayer distributed widely in Paris and nationwide by Pax Christi France.

• National newspaper La Croix calls the week 'working for peace with bare hands'. Catholic and Protestant media receive the French versions of the Jerusalem Prayer and the message It's Time for Palestine.

• Action week materials have gone to a church Middle East network.

• 4,000 people attended a peace symposium in Paris in May, organized by a civil society coalition that includes various Christian organizations. Palestinians, Israelis and French politicians were among the speakers.

• 50 cities have new olive trees, planted in March with church organizations involved, as signs of hope for peace after 60 years of conflict.

• Christian leaders are planing further responses to the action week.

Germany: Multipliers at work

• Evangelical Church in Germany offers the Jerusalem prayer, other prayers, and links to action week information and resources on-line. 

• Mission society calls 23 partner churches in 10 countries to take part in the week - Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, South Africa and the Middle East.  Jerusalem Episcopal Bishop Dawani is meeting church leaders and preaching at an international council meeting June 11.

• Message and prayer for the week circulated to 15,000 subscribers of the Schneller mission magazine in Germany and Switzerland, and available online.

• Reports from around Germany include: a bishop shares the resource material with parishes in one state; a parish joins in commemoration of the 'Nakba' in downtown Frankfurt and uses the prayer and message in church; pastors in one district plan daily local events.

•  13-15 June: Pax Christi Middle East Commission Germany is holding a consultation on churches and the Israel-Palestine conflict, linked to the action week and the WCC's Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum.

• Church and Peace International publicizes the action weeek with its membership in Germany, France and Switzerland.

• Berlin photographer offers photos to action week participants.

Hungary: Three new steps for peace 

• 8 June: Joining for the first time, 1200 parishes of the Reformed Church in Hungary have the Jerusalem Prayer for use during the week and at the church's national synod.
• To stress the need for a just peace, the Reformed Church president has written to Hungary's parliamentary leader, foreign minister, the US and Russian ambassadors and the foreign policy chief of the EU.
• Hungary's first Ecumenical Accompanier, now in Israel-Palestine, is getting church-wide publicity related to the action week.

Ireland: Sharing pilgrims' hopes for peace

• 8 June: Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican leaders 'live' on national TV tell about their recent visit to Israel/Palestine. They usie the Jerusalem prayer and action week message in Ireland in June, as they did in an ecumenical service at Shepherds Field, Beit Sahour, in April.
• The Church of Ireland (Anglican) has sent the prayer to every parish to include in the liturgical calendar.

Italy

• Members of the Franciscan secular order support the week with prayer and education.

Norway: In church, with government and on the street 

• 6 June: Palestinian Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan meets the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreigh Affairs, Mr Raymond Johansen.
• 6 June:  Public demonstration outside parliament in Oslo with Ecumenical Accompaniers carrying "Stop the Occupation"signs in Hebrew, Arabic, English and Norwegian.  Bishop Younan (above) and a former Ecumenical Accompanier speak.  The event is modeled after actions by Women in Black in Jerusalem.
• 8 June: The Norwegian foreign minister and Palestinian Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan speak at a multi-religious 'peace service' at Ris Church, Oslo, featuring Arabic and Jewish music and the action week message.
• 8 June: Congregations asked to focus church services on "Peace in Palestine and Israel". Norwegian versions of Jerusalem prayer and the It's time for Palestine message went to all congregations in April.
• Churches encouraged to invite former Ecumenical Accompaniers to speak.
• Congregations informed about the WCC-led Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum and its Amman Call, which provide a common platform for the action week and other advocacy.
• Seven organizations involved in the week's events: Church of Norway, Christian Council of Norway, YMCA/YWCA, Friends of Sabeel, Karibu foundation, the Norwegian Church Academies and Norwegian Church Aid.
• Prominent Palestinian Church leaders will meet with politicians during visits to Norway throughout the year.

Netherlands: Prayers, concerts, films and a seminar

• 8 June: Congregations invited to join in the Jerusalem prayer and liturgy.

• Concerts in four cities by Palestinian-Dutch symphony commemorate the 60 years since the "Nakba" with Arabic and Western classical music.

• 6 June:  Inter-religious seminar on theology, ideology and the conflict organized by Taskgroup Turningpoint in cooperation with Friends of Sabeel Netherlands.

• Launch of youth website on Israel and Palestine.

• Congregations invited to see and discuss a Palestinian village film, Bil'in My Love.

• Churches sponsor showing of documentaries on the conflict from Israeli points of view .

• Pax Christi IKV takes part in the action week nationally and in the Middle East. 

Pax Christi International: Reaching leaders and 100 member organizations

• The Invitation to Action, message and prayer went out to some 100 member organizations around the world with information in French, Spanish and English.

• 5-6 June: Pax Christi leaders from Europe and North America hold a peace vigil and report on action week participation during a meeting in Antwerp, Belgium.

• Middle East members used action week resources in a regional meeting in May.

Philippines: Jamming for peace, making local connections

• 7 June: Youth Café mixes singing and jamming with peace discussions among young people from four national church and interfaith associations.

• 7 June:  Public prayer vigil after the café uses the Jerusalem prayer and It's time for Palestine message, sponsored by four national Catholic and Protestant groups.

• Film festival on Palestine targets public audiences with features and documentaries.

• Action week prayer and message are distributed to all member churches of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

• 300 Filipino children see films and hear stories about Palestinian children; the group, from poor families who are refugees or victims of extra-judicial killings, sends cards, drawings and letters to children in Palestine in return.

• Activities are seen as part of a long-term strategy to form Palestine solidarity groups in schools and churches. Participation in the week links local struggles to the experiences of people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

South Africa: On church agendas

• Church leaders received the action week prayer, message and invitation to action.

• Representatives of the South Africa Council of Churches may meet with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• South Africa-Palestine solidarity group received a report about the week.

• Ecumenical Accompaniers to participate.

Sri Lanka: Solidarity informed by experience

• The Reconciliation and Peace Desk of the Church of Ceylon is working to educate parishes about Israel-Palestine.

• Jerusalem prayer shared with all parishes of the same church, which writes that Palestine and Israel are "very much in our thoughts and prayers".

Sweden: Parishes welcome to add their voices

• Swedish translations of Jerusalem prayer, It's Time for Palestine message and other materials in parishes for the action week and posted on church web sites.

• Participation of former Ecumenical Accompaniers sought.

Switzerland: Individual parish actions

• Prayers and discussions on action week themes take place in individual parishes.

• EPER (Swiss Protestant Aid) supports the week and commemorating the 60 years  of the Palestinian 'Nakba'/catastrophe of 1948.

• June 13: A monthly Vigil for a Just Peace in Bern uses the action week prayer and message.

United Kingdom: A life-sized wall and 60 tolls of a bell 

• 3 June: Scottish parliamentarians, church leaders and representatives of the Iona Community, Scottish Jews for Justice, Scottish Islamic Foundation and members of the Cross Party Group on Palestine launch the action week at the Scottish Parliament.

• Scottish churches and parishes receive action ideas from an advocacy network Action of Churches Together in Scotland.  Scottish Episcopal Church sends newsletter to all clergy and synod members.

• An Edinburgh parish puts up a 25-foot high banner of a section of  the Separation Wall, to stand for three weeks including the Edinburgh World Justice Festival.  

• Jerusalem prayer available in Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed and Quaker congregations accross the United Kingdom.  Christian Aid's website promotes the week.  Individual parishes report back, including a cathedral where the prayer and its Jerusalem liturgy sparked discusssion.  One Methodist church in Northern Ireland used the prayer in regular worship, Sunday School, a youth gathering and at a home for the elderly.
• 40 priests led by a former Archbishop of Canterbury brought the action week prayer and It's Time for Palestine message home for parish use, after a visit to Jerusalem.
• Pax Christi UK has turned the It's Time for Palestine message into a litany for peace with six readers and pauses while a bell tolls once for each year since 1948.

United States: Sharing the news

• 10 June: National organizations in New York City hold a ecumenical service at The Interchurch Center using the Jerusalem liturgy and prayer.  A 60-year photo exhibit from Sabeel Canada is also on display.
•  Members of Churches for Middle East Peace are invited to join in sending peace prayers to Bethlehem.
• News of the week, its prayer and message is in a variety of church networks, including Peace with Justice Coordinators of the United Methodist Church, a young adults network of the WCC, and a list of 800 Minnesota parishioners concerned about peace in Israel/Palestine.
• June 8: In one of the Sunday observances, 30 Muslim, Jewish and Christian students hold a service for peace at an inter-faith seminary course in Connecticut .
• The week coincides with a number of local events including a 'Peace Not Walls' exhibit at regional Lutheran synod in Las Vegas.

World Vision International: 30,000 prayers

• Endorses the initiative and the action week message "It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace". 

• Jersusalem Prayer sent to some 30,000 staff worldwide.

• Participating in local events in Jerusalem and Bethlehem as well as national events in Australia (see above).

• Seeking opportunities to contribute to the hope for peace, justice and reconciliation and to support those caught in the conflict including Palestinian and Israeli children to achieve a dignified life.

Plus: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, Uganda, and others

• The  action week prayer and message are in parishes in these countries and  many others, thanks especially to member organizations of Pax Christi.
• Individuals and groups in these countries join the week by sending prayers and good wishes to Palestine.

World Council of Churches: Inviting participants to share their strength

•  Convening the action week and its international planning group.

• The message It's Time for Palestine, the Jerusalem prayer, news, advocacy policies and an Invitation to Action are available on the WCC website in English, French, Spanish and German.

• Translations of the It's Time for Palestine message and the Jerusalem prayer are also available from national participants (above) in Arabic, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Italian.