23/5/13 - English

Lord God, last week we watched as Israel further segmented West Bank land with a new road closure between Ramallah and Jericho, not only frustrating Palestinian travel between two important West Bank cities, but also isolating four villages that lay along that road. Lord, we also continue to witness widespread acts of settler violence against Palestinians, especially in the Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah areas. Lord, please do not allow these radical settlers to continue uprooting trees, attacking villages, or beating Palestinian individuals; may they be brought to justice! God, we are grateful for signs of hope like the Palestinian activists’ demolition of part of the wall separating the two Palestinian villages of Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis, yet the wall remains. Lord, from all these things and from the entire Occupation that sustains them, please bring us deliverance. Lord, in your mercy...

Lord, as US Secretary of State John Kerry has been attempting to revive negotiations between Palestine and Israel, we find ourselves horrified by the blatant anti-peace policies Israel is implementing. God, we cannot help but be astounded that instead of removing four illegal settlement outposts, Israel authorized them last week, and meanwhile three more East Jerusalem homes were demolished in At-Tur, directly affecting several Palestinian families. God, may the international community rise up and call Israel to account for these crimes! May the state not be allowed to persist in speaking peace while enacting violence on the Palestinian people. Lord, in your mercy...

God, here at Sabeel, we give thanks for the launch of Yasmine Perni’s film “The Stones Cry Out: The Story of the Palestinian Christians”, and for the three well-attended film-showings in Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem last week. We also offer up heart-felt gratitude for the work of long-time friends of Sabeel Kathy Bergen and Doug Dicks; we praise you for their commitment to justice and peace-making in the Middle East. Lord, in your mercy...

God, as we pray about violence and responses to violence here in Israel and Palestine, we pray also for the victim’s of nature’s violence in Oklahoma City. We grieve alongside the Oklahoma communities who were hit by a deadly tornado on Monday. With a death toll of 24 that is expected to rise, including many children, we pray for rapid crisis relief responses and ask that you would comfort each shocked and grieving family. Lord, in your mercy...

Finally, we pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the peoples of Malawi and Zambia. Lord, in your mercy...