Andre Gingerich Stoner is director of Holistic Witness and Interchurch Relations for Mennonite Church USA
By Andre Gingerich Stoner
The daily news from Israel/Palestine is distressing. Teenagers are kidnapped and killed. Children are shot down while playing on a beach. Arrests, bombings, rockets. The casualties mount. Each threat or act of violence is used to justify further violence.
This is a time for lament and grief. Let us sit with the pictures of families at funerals, of buildings destroyed, of people fleeing in fear. Let us mourn. Let us weep. Let us cry out to our God in grief.
A fragile olive shoot in the south Hebron hills in the West Bank.
This is a time for prayer. Prayer for victims. Prayer for those caught in the cycle of violence. Prayer for those reaching out and building bridges in the midst of the violence.
This is a time to spend time with Jesus and deepen our commitment to his courageous, creative, risky way of making peace and right relationships.
Here are a few resources to help inform our lamenting and to help put feet on our prayers.
- Information about Mennonite Church USA initiatives
- “Arabs and Jews Refuse to be Enemies” and other bridge-building efforts in the midst of war
- Statement from the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestineand updates from Palestinian Christians
- Work of Mennonite Central Committee in Gaza and advocacy with Congress to support a just peace
- Opportunities to connect with others through Mennonite Palestine Israel Network (MennoPIN)
- Resources from the Peace and Justice Support Network to “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem” on Peace Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014