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SUMUD

Sumud Lent Series 2025

This Lent, join ELCA Sumud with a six-week series in which Palestinian Christian theologians and pastors will weave together the biblical history of the Holy Land with themes of Jesus’s ministry surrounding empire and justice. Through videos and reflections, we will explore Jesus’s call to disrupt systems of oppression and injustice which still echoes loudly over two thousand years after his death and resurrection. We will have resources available by March 2025 on the Sumud webpage. Special thanks to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and Bethlehem Bible College for their collaboration.

 

Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine 2022

Join us in Sensing Advent: Practicing God’s justice in embodied community

Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine is a four-week virtual pilgrimage from the ELCA’s Peace Not WallsYoung Adult Ministry, Arab and Middle Eastern ministry, and ALAMEH featuring young adult voices from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

In Palestine and around the world, Advent is a time to prepare for Christmas—not only in our hearts and minds, but in embodied traditions that involve all our senses. Decorations, food, music, and gifts can not only express the rich cultural diversity of the church and connect us to our own histories; these traditions can also invite us to practice the joy, abundance, peace-making, and generosity that is the liberative way of Jesus in the world.

This resource can be used by an individual or in a group setting and is available to everyone, regardless of age.

The full resource includes:

Videos

  • Four 5-minute videos (1 video for each week of Advent focused on a specific theme and Biblical text)

Bible Study

  • Includes the Biblical text and discussion questions for each week of Advent, centering and closing prayers for use in a group gathering

Webinar

  • Dec 12 at 8pm ET: Launch webinar to introduce the series theme & structure. The webinar will feature ALAMEH members Pastor Khader El-Yateem, Pastor Rani Abdulmasih and Muna Tarazi. Sign up to view the webinar live.

ALAMEH Statement on Iran

ALAMEH (Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage) issued a statement on Iran, please find it linked below.

ALAMEH Statement on Iran

President Biden visits Augusta Victoria Hospital

The United States President Joe Biden visited the LWF-operated Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) on the morning of Friday July 15. The visit was part of a two-day presidential visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Biden’s visit to the hospital is the first visit of a sitting US president to East Jerusalem. The US President announced a USD 100 million multi-year commitment toward the East Jerusalem Hospital Network (EJHN), of which AVH is a member.

The six chief executive officers of the EJHN members were invited as well as ELCJHL Bishop Ibrahim Azar.  Several AVH medical staff and the LWF Representative, Sieglinde Weinbrenner, attended.

The President in his address emphasized the United States will continue to work with Palestinian leaders, the Israeli government and international partners to ensure that the EJHN remains “sustainable, available, and is able to provide the high-quality care” that Palestinians deserve.

Palestinians and Israelis, he noted, “deserve equal measure of freedom, security, prosperity and dignity, and access to health care when you need it, is essential to living a life of dignity for all of us.”

White House Transcript of President’s remarks

LWI story about the visit

Recorded video of the visited to AVH

Upon the occasion of the visit of President Biden to Palestine and Israel, ELCJHL Bishop Ibrahim Azar, shared a letter with the president about the wider context and effects of the occupation, highlighting the plight of Palestinian Christians.

Heads of churches in Holy Land voice objection to Mount of Olives being included in national park

 

After heads of churches in the Holy Land voiced their objections to a proposal to expand Jerusalem Walls National Park to include property owned by several churches in the city, Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority announced on February 21 that it was freezing the plan.

The text of the Feb 18 letter from Patriarchs about the Mount of Olives can be found here.

The Feb 23 World Council of Churches article about the situation can be found here.

 

ELCA opposes designation of Palestinian HR groups as terrorist organizations

 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joins 14 other Churches and church-based organizations in a letter to Secretary of State Blinken to express concerns about the recent Israeli decision to label key Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations.”

“As Churches and church-based organizations we unequivocally reject this move and call on you to both
demand its immediate reversal and to insist on protection for Palestinian civil society and human rights
defenders.”

Read the full letter here.

Advocacy Summer School

 

Through advocacy, the ELCA community can create lasting, systemic change. If you want to get involved in faith-based advocacy, but aren’t sure where to begin, sign up for Advocacy Summer School. The five-part online series is being offered by ELCA advocacy, in collaboration with ELCA Peace Not Walls.

The first session will take place on August 11. It will paint a picture of what advocacy is and how advocacy is shaped with a faith foundation, especially as members and affiliates of the ELCA. Future sessions will cover ways to carry out advocacy work and specific policy issues where the Lutheran community can make an impact.

Sign up for one session or all five to learn about how we can lift our voices together to advance the common good. Each virtual session will include a 30-minute virtual presentation followed by an optional question & answer session for 15 minutes.

**NOTE** you have to register for each session to receive a unique zoom link for each session.

SESSION 1: Wed. Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. EDT

Wondering about how advocacy fits into our Christian and Lutheran presence in policy discussions? Session 1 of Advocacy Summer School will paint a picture of what advocacy is and how advocacy is shaped with a faith foundation, especially as members and affiliates of the ELCA. With discussions, examples, and ways to connect, register for “What is faith-based advocacy?” today!

Register here for SESSION 1: https://bit.ly/1B-ELCAAdvocacySummerSchool

 

SESSION 2: Wed. Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. EDT

If you want to be part of moving the needle on a policy matter, Session 2 of Advocacy Summer School can demystify and encourage your participation in the process. Knowledge from ELCA advocacy and Capitol Hill staff as well as state and personal experiences will help you understand this access point with policy decision makers. Register for “How do I approach policy makers?” soon!

Register here for SESSION 2: https://bit.ly/2B-ELCAAdvocacySummerSchool

 

SESSION 3: Wed. Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. EDT

Gaining attention for your advocacy aims can amplify your efforts. Tips for using op eds, letters to the editor, event attention and social media are among topics highlighted during “How Do I Use Media for Impact?”, Session 3 of Advocacy Summer School.

Register here for SESSION 3: https://bit.ly/3B-ELCAAdvocacySummerSchool

 

SESSION 4: Wed. Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. EDT

Hear from ELCA Peace Not Walls network members, partners and staff for a faith-centric update on what is happening in the region and with Lutheran affiliated ministry. This issue-specific Session 4 of the ELCA Advocacy Summer School series will help update your appreciation of current issues as we walk alongside our siblings in the Holy Land.

Register here for SESSION 4: https://bit.ly/4B-ELCAAdvocacySummerSchool

 

SESSION 5: Wed. Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. EDT

The human journey of children of God lurches many of us on a passage as immigrants. Hear about root causes and experience of individuals and ministries, including the ELCA AMMPARO strategy – an acronym that mirrors the word “amparo” in Spanish that means the protection of a living creature from suffering or damage – and ways policy intersects with immigration pressures. This issue-specific Session 5 of the ELCA Advocacy Summer School series will highlight current realities.

Register here for SESSION 5: https://bit.ly/5B-ELCAAdvocacySummerSchool

ALAMEH statement on recent violence in Jerusalem and Gaza

The Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage (ALAMEH) issued a statement today regarding the situation in Palestine and Israel.

ALAMEH encourages us to learn more about the situation: “If you want to help, the first step is to become informed. Seek out Middle Eastern members of your community who have a direct connection to the Holy Land. Engage your heart and mind, and take the time to read and understand beyond the headlines. Then contact your elected
representatives and make your voice heard.”

Read the full statement here: Statement of ALAMEH concerning the recent violence in Jerusalem and Gaza

COVID-19: “Tree of Life” initiative launched by Palestinian bishop

Prompted to remember those who have died of the virus, Bishop Azar launched a memorial to plant an olive or native tree for every person lost to COVID-19. The Tree of Life initiative was announced in December and launched in late March. The initiative is managed the Environmental Education Center, an educational ministry of the ELCJHL.

Read the full Lutheran World Federation story here.

2021 Easter Message from ELCJHL Bishop Azar

As we approach Holy Week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land’s Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar shares his Easter message based on Mark 16:3 “Who will roll the stone away for us?”.

Read the full Easter message here.