Churches lament war’s anniversary

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This article was published 04/10/2024 (685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Christian churches and groups are speaking out and calling for prayers, political action and donations as the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war approaches.

If the War Goes On is the title of a new resource from the Mennonite Church Canada Palestine-Israel Network for churches that want to remember and lament the attack and war.

The resource, which enables people to reflect on the situation through songs, prayers and stories, is designed to enable people to “keep holding in our hearts the people and the churches of Palestine, and others living in zones of war and oppression.”

The resource invites users to remember Israeli and Palestinian victims of the conflict, while asking what mourning looks while the war continues.

“This is a time for lament and for being in solidarity with Palestinian Christians,” said Byron Burkholder, chair of the Palestinian-Israel Network, adding the conflict has been hard on Palestinians and Israelis.

Burkholder’s own church, Home Street Mennonite, will be using the resource Sunday. The service will conclude with a list actions people can take such as prayer, contacting politicians to call for a ceasefire and donating to help people in Gaza.

“People may feel powerless, but there are things we can do,” he said.

Along with stories and background information on the conflict, the resource includes four services of lament.

The bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, including Jason Zinko, bishop of the Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod, have released a letter of “prayer and concern” for all who have been impacted by the war between Hamas and Israel.

The war started with the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, followed by the subsequent war in Gaza.

“We grieve deeply with Palestinians and Israelis who have lost loved ones and whose lives have been horrifically impacted by this violence,” the bishops said, adding they are also concerned for all “who are facing displacement, hunger, injury, illness and trauma as a result of war, especially as tensions escalate.”

They called on members of the church to fight antisemitism and Islamophobia, and to pray and advocate for “an enduring and sustained ceasefire; an immediate flow of life saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance; the release of all captives; an end to all arms transfers to Israel; and an end of to the occupation so a just peace can begin.”

Mennonite Central Committee released a statement saying its efforts to provide food for people in Gaza is being hampered by Israel’s government.

The government is hindering its efforts and the work of other aid groups by not issuing work visas to aid workers and by “deliberately obstructing food and other essential supplies from entering Gaza,” the committee said.

MCC called on its supporters to urge the Canadian government to “press Israel to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law” and to “push for increased humanitarian aid access.”

It also called on supporters to ask the Canadian government to continue to cancel arms permits issued before March and for continued diplomatic engagement toward a ceasefire.

The statement concludes by calling on supporters and others to pray for peace in Palestine and Israel.

Michael Blair, general secretary of the United Church of Canada, sent a letter to the prime minister in August urging the federal government to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel “until it has complied with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.”

”Quiet diplomacy is not working,” he wrote in the letter, calling on the government to “take such a bold and daring stand for justice.”

This is the first time that the church has asked Canada to issue that kind of sanction on Israel, Blair said.

While the Church appreciates how Canada has made statements calling for a ceasefire, “much more is clearly required,” he said, adding the government should “work towards a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.”

Members of Kairos Canada, including the Anglican, United, Catholic, Christian Reformed churches and others, also issued a statement. They are calling on Canadian Christians to lament, pray and act for peace in Palestine and Israel.

“We believe that peace can only exist along with justice, human dignity and freedom,” Kairos said in the statement. “We believe that war, violence, and the irreparable loss of lives will never be the solution to past violence, as more pain will never balance the scales of suffering.”

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