14/2/13 - English

Lord, while the world is focused on so much unrest in the Middle East it seems that Palestine has been forgotten.  And yet we who live here are daily made aware of the continuing hardships of living under occupation.  This past week alone, homes were destroyed, people arrested, land confiscated.  40 members of one family were made homeless when their house was demolished in Beit Hanina; 80 Palestinian civilians were arrested in the West Bank, including 8 children and 3 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.  Lord, we thank you that you have not forgotten these, your children.  Let their stories continue to be heard until justice and peace reign.  Lord, in your mercy…

But Lord, there are still more stories that need to be told.  How many of us are aware of the 4,656 prisoners who are being held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, a figure that includes 178 administrative detainees, 11 women and 177 children?  How many recognize the name, Samer  Issawi ,a young man who has been on a hunger strike for more than 200 days and is now in critical condition?  And how many of us think of the families of these men, women and children who cling to the hope that their loved ones will someday return.  Please keep us mindful of those who suffer, of those whose names we know and those we don’t.  You know their names, Lord; You know their families and friends.  Bless them with the strength that only You can give.  Bless them with Your love and presence.  Lord, in your mercy…

Lord, not only is the political world in turmoil and transition, but this week brought news of changes and transitions within the Church.  Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation after 8 years of serving as the Bishop of Rome.  The Roman Catholic Church now looks to the end of February when a successor will be chosen.  This week in Damascus, amid the violence and civil war that continues in Syria, John Yazigi was enthroned as the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, pledging to work for peace and pray for unity. In Egypt, the recently named Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, will chair the first meeting of the Egyptian Council of Churches with the aim of uniting Egyptian Christians on social and political issues.  Lord, these Churches and their leaders need your wisdom and guidance.  Give them courage to be prophetic voices in a world in need of leadership.  Lord, in your mercy…

Here at Sabeel, Lord, our programs continue.  We ask your blessing and leading as Assis Naim and members of the Jerusalem Executive committee travel to Nazareth this Friday to meet with the staff and committee there on the work of Sabeel in the Galilee for the coming year.  We pray for Sabeel’s Young Adult dinner and Quiz night program this Friday in Ramallah, that it may be a time of community building and fellowship.  Lord, in your mercy…

Finally, we pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the countries listed on this week’s ecumenical prayer cycle: for Belgium, for Luxemborg, and for the Netherlands.  Lord, in your mercy…