From Presiding Bishop Rowe: How to Stand With the Church in the Holy Land

Our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, offers some practical tips on how we can show solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land.

The small Christian community in Gaza is under immense danger, along with church-run institutions and hospitals. I urge you to read Bishop Sean’s letter on how American Christians can help. Here’s an excerpt:

Archbishop Hosam and the Diocese of Jerusalem are committed not only to providing Christian hope in the midst of the current hopelessness, but also to creating conditions that will bring about a lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Because U.S. policy plays an outsized role in this conflict, we Episcopalians in the United States have a particular responsibility to support this work by advocating to our government to support a permanent ceasefire and a solution that provides a just and enduring peace. Most of all, we must decry in the strongest possible terms any U.S. or Israeli proposal for ethnic cleansing or the removal of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.

Our Office of Government Relations helps us make our voices heard in Washington, D.C., ensuring that we can speak as Christians guided not by any political party, but by the redemptive love of the Risen Christ. You can find more information and tools for advocacy on the church’s website.

As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we can also support the Diocese of Jerusalem as it continues its ministry of peacebuilding and reconciliation and prepares for the rebuilding of its ministries after the war. As I have done several times, I invite you to join me in making a generous donation to the Good Friday Offering or the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem, both of which provide urgently needed funds for the ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.