A nurse at The Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem tends to Areen, a 10-month-old hemodialysis patient from Ramallah in the West Bank on Saturday morning, 8 September, 2018. AVH is the only hospital that offers pediatric hemodialysis for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. Photo by Ben Gray / LWF

Media reports say the Trump Administration will not continue to fund the Lutheran World Federation-operated Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem.  Please call the White House hotline (202-456-1111) to urge them to ensure there is no interruption of assistance for children and others in need of treatment for cancer and additional life-threatening diseases.

Prayer of Intercession:

Look with mercy, gracious God, upon people everywhere who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death. We remember before you today the Palestinians who come for healing to East Jerusalem hospitals, including the Lutheran Hospital on the Mount of Olives. As these hospitals struggle now with keeping their doors open, send your Holy Spirit upon us and all government authorities to provide the support needed for your healing work to continue in Jerusalem; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In her Aug 6 letter to Bishop Azar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), Presiding Bishop Eaton joins Bishop Azar in calling on the Israeli Knesset to rescind the recently adopted law titled: “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People”.

Bishop Azar’s statement on the Jewish Nation-State law calls “on the many citizens of Israel and all people of goodwill to voice their objection to this law, and to stand for a future in which all the people in the land will enjoy equal rights, with equal responsibilities.”

In Bishop Eaton’s letter she writes “Like you, I am quite disturbed about several aspects of this new law. It excludes ethnic and religious groups that have been living in this land for centuries, restricts the international human right to self determination solely for Jews within Israel, determines the status of Jerusalem outside of any negotiation or international agreement, sets forth one language as that of a multilingual nation, and encourages Jewish settlement, which appears to be not restricted to within the de facto pre-1967 borders. A number of these provisions effectively codify a second-class status for all who are not Jews, yet who are citizens or residents of areas under the control of the State of Israel. This is a violation of fundamental democratic principles and internationally-recognized human rights.”

Bishop Eaton calls “upon my own elected officials to object to this law and its intent. I encourage the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and our ecumenical and inter-religious partners to continue together in the urgent pursuit of a future of peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.”

In joining in this ecumenical statement, the ELCA recalls a number of desired outcomes it has stated previously with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

1. Israelis and Palestinians co-existing in justice and peace, as citizens of viable and secure Israeli and Palestinian states.

In that regard, our Palestinian Lutheran partners have often said, the security of Israelis depends on the freedom of Palestinians and the freedom of Palestinians depends on the security of Israelis.

2. An end to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

3. An end to terrorism and violence by individuals, groups, and states.

4. The establishment of and international support for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

5. An end to further expansion of the separation wall on Palestinian territory and the related appropriation of natural resources (e.g., water, farmland).

6. A cessation of all settlement activities and withdrawal from settlements on Palestinian territory to the 1967 boundaries.

7. A negotiated, final status agreement, which includes a “shared Jerusalem” that can serve as a capital to both Palestine and Israel, with access by and full rights in the city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Full text of the “70 Years On: Seeking a Hopeful Future in a Time of Yearning” statement.

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued this statement in response to the decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In an open letter to U.S. President Trump, the thirteen Heads of Churches in the Holy Land including Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), ask the President to take their viewpoint into consideration in the decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) also issued a letter asking President Trump to refrain from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

The LWF Jerusalem Program 2016 Annual Report is printed and ready to be sent out! The report details the activities of the LWF Jerusalem Program, highlighting news and updates from Augusta Victoria Hospital and the Vocational Training Program.

How do I get a copy?

Are you, your church, or your organization interested in reading about what we have been up to? We will happily send you a printed copy (or ten!) of the 2016 Annual Report by mail. Click below to submit your contact information.

Order a print copy here

Read it online here

The Certificate and Gold Medal

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is pleased to announce that on Monday, 20 February The Right Rev. Dr. Bishop Munib Younan was named the 34^th recipient of the distinguished Niwano Peace Award for his work toward interreligious dialogue among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Jerusalem and worldwide.

Each year The Niwano Peace Foundation (NPF) of Japan recognizes an individual or organization that has dedicated their service and scholarship to promoting peaceful cooperation among religions particularly in places of difficulty. NPF focuses on peace within the fields of culture, science and education.

“In a world characterized by leaders who seek to emphasize difference and hatred, Bishop Younan has consistently strived for the opposite. His work emphasizes peace over power and unity over monotheistic domination,” the NPF International Committee wrote.

“The aspiration of the Niwano Peace prize is that it be a spiritual equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize,” wrote Niwano International Committee member Katherine Marshall in a 2011 Berkley Center for Religion blog about the prize.

The International Center for Data on Awards (ICDA) ranks the Niwano Award in category three out of five as one of the world’s most prestigious awards. The ranking is based on factors such the award’s international influence as practitioners of award giving, the recognition of award recipients, and as models for other awards.

The NPF International Committee is honoring Bishop Younan for his cultural work in the Middle East and globally of fostering and participating in interfaith dialogue with Jerusalem’s three Abrahamic faith leaders and their communities despite historic tensions among the groups. He was instrumental in leading the Evangelical Lutheran Church in support of ELCJHL women in establishing and adopting gender justice policy in 2015.

Last year, as part of The Marrekesh Declaration, Bishop Younan was strongly promoting equal citizenship that embraces diversity in the Arab and Muslim world.

Bishop Younan is a founding member of several Middle East interfaith groups, Council for Religious Institutions in the Holy Land (CRIHL), The Jonah Group, Al-Liqa’ Center for Religious Studies, and is currently serving two other interfaith groups, The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and The Prize Giving Committee of the Jordanian World Interfaith Harmony Week.

In 2014 Bishop Younan, who is also the President of the Lutheran World Federation was awarded an honorary doctorate of theology from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universtät Münster. In a statement about Bishop Younan’s contributions to peace, the university’s Protestant Theological Faculty said, “Munib Younan acts as an Evangelical theologian and as a reconciling, bridge-builder between both religions and ethnic groups in a very conflict-laden area.”

“He lives and practices his Evangelical perspectives in a very meaningful way, through forgiveness and reconciliation.  Though Bishop of a small church, he has high theological power to make his Evangelical voice active in the Middle East, in active reconciliation work, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and through the educational ministries of his church.”

Bishop Younan’s strong witness for interfaith harmony, for the equal dignity and respect for all people, for non-violence, and for a just peace between Israel and Palestine are qualities that are being recognized.

A ceremony for Bishop Younan will take place in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, July 27^th.

“I come to the table of dialogue with different religious leaders from the three faiths. I come with the suffering of my people under my skin. I come to speak on the future of the people who are living in this land. Religious leaders have a responsibility. Peace and dignity will come with how we educate and how we dialogue and we can reflect this to the politicians,” Bishop Younan said.

Text from: ELCJHL

Media Kit

At the 2016 Churchwide Assembly the ELCA voted in favor of two actions related to peace with justice in Palestine and Israel. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions about both the “Peace with Justice in the Holy Land (Category C1)” action and the “Justice for the Holy Land through Responsible Investment (Category C2)” action.

Join ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and 20 other Christian leaders of national denominations and organizations in calling upon the major 2016 presidential candidates to pledge, if elected, to take urgent and vigorous new steps to seek creative political solutions that will foster a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.

Click here to add your name today!

Brass for Peace make music at the ELCJHL School of Hope, Ramallah. Photo: ELCJHL

Living and working together as people of different faith in the community is increasingly important in today’s global contexts where extremists are bent on using religion to create violence and division, says Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

Reflecting on the annual World Interfaith Harmony Week observed during the first week of February, Younan said religious leaders play a critical role of educating people to see “the image of God in the other. This will help us to live in a better world—a world of acceptance.”

World Interfaith Harmony Week seeks to tell people that religions, including the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, are about loving the good and the neighbor, Younan said.

King Abdullah II of Jordan initiated the week, with support from political and religious leaders in the country. During the period, Muslim and Christian leaders address public gatherings on what it means to live together as people of different faiths. As the ELCJHL runs schools and other institutions that enroll Christians and Muslims as part of its diaconal outreach, the interfaith week is an occasion to affirm that “we can live side by side,” Younan adds.

Text and photo from LWF news release. Click here for full text.

The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL,) and Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy were named co-winners of the 2015 Olof Palme Prize this January for their “courageous and indefatigable fight against occupation and violence.”

Bishop Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sent a letter of congratulations to Pastor Raheb on January 14, 2016. In her letter to Raheb, Bishop Eaton writes:  “At a time when Jerusalem and the West Bank are experiencing a sustained period of heightened tensions, and when Bethlehem and Beit Jala are sites of random attacks and violence, you and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) have been singled out for your constant call for hope against fear and for peace with justice for all who live in the land we call Holy.”

Bishop Eaton concludes, “This award gives honor to you for your scholarship and activism and to the ELCJHL for its deep commitment to advocating for an independent Palestine and secure Israel co-existing with peace and equality for all. We in the ELCA are honored to be a close companion to the ELCJHL, working and praying with you for peace in your homeland in our time.”

Pastor Raheb and Levy will receive the award in Sweden on January 29.

Click here to see the full letter of congratulations from the ELCA.