English April 1 ,2021

 

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

1.04.21

 

This week’s Kumi Now online gathering will look at the living conditions for the residents of Gaza. Two million people live in the enclave, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth. However, the population has been denied access to vital natural resources under the blockade from Israel and Egypt since 2007.

April 5 is Palestinian Children’s Day, April 7^th Kumi Now will host Military Court Watch and focus on Palestinian minors in Israeli military courts.

 

Register here: https://kuminow.com/register/

 

•    Lord, we pray for the people of Gaza as they try to survive under the harsh conditions imposed on them. We pray that the blockade will be lifted and that hope will be restored to them. Lord, in your mercy... hear our prayers.

 

Sabeel, with the cooperation of it friends, is holding online worship services during the season of Lent. On the 27th of March, a worship service a day before Palm Sunday with the Ecumenical Palestine Israel Network in Australia was held. On the 3rd of April there will be a worship service with Friends of Sabeel North America and on the 10th of April there will be a worship service with Friends of Sabeel-Kairos UK.  

 

• Lord, your word is upright and all your work is done in faithfulness, (Ps.33:4). We pray for the preparation of these Sabeel services, that they would reflect your steadfast and faithful love. Lord in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

Hundreds of Palestinians protested in Umm al-Fahm and Qalansawe in Israel on Friday, the 19th of March, for the tenth consecutive week. The demonstrators are challenging the lack of Israeli police action in investigating a recent spate of homicide cases and no attempt to curb a rise in unlicensed arms sales.

 

•    Lord, we pray for peace and justice in the Palestinian Arab community in Israel. We pray that they may have access to due process under the law, without discrimination. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

After twenty years of planning and construction a new wastewater treatment plant has been put into operation in Gaza, with help from German investment. The plant has been built in the town of Bureij and will process wastewater from eleven communities with one million inhabitants. It will be powered by a biogas plant and a solar plant on the same site.

 

•    Lord, we are thankful that many families in Gaza will now have access to potable water. We continue to pray for those people who go for days without running water due to the low levels of freshwater in the ground reserves. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

Dr Beshara Doumani has been appointed the President of Birzeit University at the start of the next academic year. Dr Doumani is currently the Professor of History at Brown University in the US and he established the Centre for Middle East Studies there.

 

•    Lord, we are thankful for the academic gifts of Dr Doumani and we pray that he will lead Birzeit University with wisdom and vision in his forthcoming presidency. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

Living conditions in Gaza have deteriorated with the coronavirus pandemic. Many suffering poverty and illness have turned to the Caritas Gaza Medical Centre for help in their need.

Workers from the Centre have visited 10,000 people suffering from the virus and trying to cope at home.

 

•    Lord Jesus, as we prepare for Passion Week we think of your life on earth and the way you showed mercy to all those in need. Before you faced your death on the cross, you spoke to your followers and told them, ‘I was sick and you visited me,’(Matt.25:35). Thank you, Lord, that the Caritas workers in Gaza live out your call to care for the sick and needy. We pray for protection and strength for them in their work. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

‘Pilgrimages with a Mission’ will be the theme of a webinar hosted by Gied ten Berge (in English) from the Luce Centre for Religious Communication at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, on the 29th of April at 3pm. Gied will be discussing the Palestinian ‘Come and See’ Initiative which was the basis for a PhD thesis, recently translated into English.

Register here: Dibsa 2.7.0 (uvt.nl)

 

•    Lord, we pray that, once the pandemic is over, pilgrims will once again visit the Holy Land to meet Palestinians and to see for themselves what life is like for Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy... hear our prayers.

 

•    We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.