We mourn along with
the world the victims of the recent terror attacks in Paris, France in a
supermarket and at the office of the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper. Lord, we pray that such violent attacks by
extremists everywhere will end. We also pray that there will be free press and true
freedom of expression practiced with responsibility in every country, and that
such freedom will not only be protected for certain topics and certain
people while excluding others. Lord in
your mercy…
Last week several
people, mostly children, died in both Syria and Gaza from the winter storm that
brought cold temperatures, snow and flooding to the region. In Syria the victims were refugees, and in
Gaza, mostly the displaced and those living in partially destroyed homes due to
Israel’s massive military offensive in Gaza last summer. The world has failed
to protect vulnerable children such as these from a preventable tragedy; God of
mercy, we pray that all will hear their cries.
Lord in your mercy…
On Sunday Jewish settlers
in the nearby illegal Tappuah settlement tore down more than 170 ancient (over 100-year
old) olive trees in the village of Yasuf near Nablus, the third such attack in
the West Bank within three days. Lord, we ask for your protection of around
80,000 families in the occupied West Bank whose livelihoods depend on the olive
tree industry and who are threatened by such settler attacks meant to drive
them out of their lands. Lord in your
mercy…
God of grace, we are
thankful for the many international groups that visit our Sabeel offices
seeking to learn about Palestinian Liberation Theology and the struggles of all
Palestinians under Israeli occupation. We
pray for your blessing upon these visits as we welcome several groups in the
coming weeks. We also pray for our women’s
meeting in Nazareth to discuss the activities for the year. Lord in your mercy…
We pray alongside the
World Council of Churches for the countries of Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey. Lord in your mercy…
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