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ELCA Blogs

Peace Not Walls

LWF’s Augusta Victoria Hospital among East Jerusalem hospitals suffering from PA financial crisis

Six hospitals in East Jerusalem, including the Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital, face difficulties because of the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis.   The PA is dependent upon foreign aid, which has been reduced from the Gulf States and Washington.  Washington withheld $192...

Former President Jimmy Carter leads “The Elders” to Jerusalem

A delegation from the group “The Elders” visited Palestine recently to see and hear about the situation on the ground and see the work of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem.  The Elders is an independent group of respected leaders...

3rd Anniversary of the Palestinian Kairos Initiative produces new document

The Kairos movement began 3 years ago from Bethlehem when a group of Palestinian Christians released a document called A Moment of Truth: a Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering.   Recently, a gathering was held...

ELCA, other US churches call for examination of aid to Israel

Concerned about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and the commitment for a just peace, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and other U.S. Christian leaders are...

Lutheran Schools in Holy Land Give Hope

A delegation from the Lutheran World Federation, including LWF President Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and LWF General Secretary Martin Junge visited one of the ELCJHL schools in Ramallah recently.  Bishop...

LWF delegation visits Jerusalem programs fortifying Palestinian health care and job training

At Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in Jerusalem, they are used to hearing appreciation from grateful parents and patients.  AVH is the only place in the West Bank that offers some services, such as pediatric kidney dialysis and state-of-the-art radiation oncology treatment.   They also enable...

CMEP bulletin on Palestinian non-member statehood, background on Oslo and recent events

Churches for Middle East Peace outlines recent events including the Palestinian bid for non-member status, speeches by both Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the UN, recent protests in Palestine and the financial problems as well as...

LWF works with Jordanian NGO to prepare Syrian refugees for winter

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of the ACT Alliance, has recently started offering emergency assistance in the Za’atri Refugee Camp in Northern Jordan, which is growing rapidly and now houses over 90,000 people, the largest number of Syrian...

Listen to former Ecumenical Accompanier on a BBC podcast

Jane Harries, a Quaker from the United Kingdom, has recently returned from a three–month stint in the West Bank, working with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). She was based in Yanoun, a small Palestinian village near Nablus, living with...

Syrian and Lebanese Christian partners of PCUSA speak about recent violence and unrest

Presbyterians have had partnerships with Christians in Syria and Lebanon since the early 1800s. Two of their partners recently spoke in New York about how the church is responding to the current crisis in Syria, a crisis that impacts Lebanon. Watch...