BEIT SAHOUR – On Saturday, January 4, 2014, a group from Erich-Maria-Remarque Realschule in Osnabrück, Germany visited the Evangelical Lutheran School in Beit Sahour to sign a school partnership. This partnership was signed by representatives of both schools in cooperation with the German Palestinian Association. The goals of this partnership include the following: • To build … [Read more…]
French President, François Hollande, met with Christian leaders in Jerusalem on Monday, November 18th, at St. Ann’s Church in the Old City of Jerusalem to discuss the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the issues surrounding Jerusalem. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos, Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, and Archbishop Youssef Jules El Zereyi of the Greek Catholic Patriarchate, … [Read more…]
JERUSALEM – With many people around the world, I am deeply troubled by the apparent use of chemical weapons inside Syria. Such weapons have no place in our world and their use by any party is unacceptable under any circumstance. While the use of chemical weapons is wrong, the forms of intervention being predicted thus … [Read more…]
A delegation of Christian leaders meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (third from right) at his Ramallah office on May 18. He said it was a “matter of high national interest” to help Palestinian Christians stay in their native country. Diversity and peaceful coexistence are key to Palestine’s survival, he said. PA Minister … [Read more…]
Despite assurances from the Israeli government, ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan (pictured, at right) and Anglican Bishop Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani (at left) were denied entry to Gaza today. They were traveling with the heads of churches of Jerusalem to visit Christians in the region. The two are the only Palestinians in the group and the … [Read more…]
Bishop Younan told a conference of 400 people on Saturday, November 3, that it is the responsibility of all Christians world-wide and the entire international community to help the Palestinians achieve some justice that will lead to peace He said the situation is getting very difficult for all Palestinians. The Bishop spoke at Sabeel’s 6th … [Read more…]
The traditional Reformation service was celebrated as usual on October 31, a festival communion service in 6 different languages. Many local heads of churches attended the Reformation Service even though their tradition does not celebrate it. In addition, His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos II came to the reception following the service for the first … [Read more…]
Christians packed the Church of the Dormition on Thursday to pray for peace in the world, but especially for peace with justice in the Holy Land. Christian and Muslim Palestinians in Bethlehem – most of whom cannot go to Jerusalem – gathered for a service of their own. About 70 people gathered around Rachel’s Tomb, … [Read more…]
This year we were blessed to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays at the same time as the Holy Month of Ramadan. Both Ramadan and Yom Kippur call for repentance and fasting, and Sukkot invites pondering the wanderings in this life, as it commemorates the Hebrews wandering homeless in the wilderness of Sinai after their deliverance … [Read more…]
The closing day of the weeklong LWF Council Annual Meeting began with a prayer service at the wall, praying for an end to divisions, walls, violence and occupation. It ended with the Council adopting a statement calling for the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a two-state solution with a shared Jerusalem. … [Read more…]