Support for our Siblings in Palestine and Israel: Special Giving Opportunities
For 30 years, Christ Pres has enjoyed a generative and fruitful relationship with the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Christmas Lutheran Church, Bright Stars of Bethlehem, and Dar al Kalima University of Arts and Culture.
Through the years, our Christian fellowship with our siblings in the Holy Land has nurtured our faith in Christ’s capacity to be and bring hope into even the most dire of circumstances. Mitri Raheb, his congregation, colleagues, and students have modeled what it means to be channels of God’s love for all people — Christian, Muslim, Jewish, secular, Palestinian, Israeli, American, and those whom no nation will claim.
In these days, Rev. Raheb, his colleagues, students, and the people they serve, once again, live in an active war zone. Bethlehem has been closed on all sides, meaning students can’t reach the University; classes are virtual at this time. They’re not sure if the Gaza Satellite Campus is still standing. University students and staff are continually being traumatized. Others have already lost their homes and even their lives. Late last week, Mohammed, a beloved Gaza Satellite Center volunteer, who worked with children in an art therapy program, was killed while calming traumatized children at the Gaza hospital that was bombed.
In the midst of it all Rev. Raheb shares, “We are concerned about the high number of civilian casualties, irrespective of if they are Palestinians or Israelis. We call for the Geneva Convention and International Humanitarian Law to be guaranteed by the international community. We call for an immediate ceasefire, opening the borders for humanitarian aid and food to enter Gaza, and courage to address the root cause of the problem: the ongoing Israeli occupation.”
Rev. Raheb and Bright Stars have created a humanitarian fund that will be offering psychosocial support to students, as well as training our MA students in the Art Therapy program to be equipped to work with the traumatized children/youth both now during the war and once the war ends. And, of course, the University continues to tend to the immediate needs of any and all staff, students, and neighbors whom they can reach.
In response to the horrific suffering of so many — and — our long-time partners’ ongoing work to be agents of healing and peace in this region, the CPC Session invites you to join with long-time members of the congregation in sending support to Rev. Raheb and Bright Stars of Bethelehm.
If you would like to do so, you can give on our website or send a check made payable to Christ Presbyterian Church with a note in the memo line, “For Bright Stars.”
The Session also recognizes that many members of our congregation have other connections to people living in Israel, Palestine, and Gaza. If you would like to help us learn more about the partnerships and friendships you have with those offering relief and care in the midst of war, please write us at session@cpcmadison.org. We are committed to joining Jesus in seeking to amplify nonviolent voices and expressions in support of justice, peace, rebuilding, reconciliation, and constructive relationships among and between Israelis and Palestinians.
‑Pastor Jessica
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