Violence and chaos in the Middle East have left many around the world hopeless and feeling helpless. As followers of Jesus, we refuse to be sidetracked by the temptation to despair.
Prayers for Peace (P4P) provides a way for Christians of diverse political and theological backgrounds to stand up for peace and unite in supplication to God with a special focus on prayers for the Holy Land. Prayers for Peace provides Jesus’ followers with the common language of prayer around which to mobilize their energy and passion for the land that gave birth to our faith. To combat the prevailing images of discord, Prayers for Peace will highlightpeace-building organizations that we may pray for them as they live out the reconciliation offered in the Prophets and Jesus’ message of peace.
Prayers for Peace is thankful for the partnership of our board member organization Christians for Social Action in writing and sharing these prayers.
By: The Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell, Dean of St George’s College Jerusalem
St George’s College Jerusalem is the Anglican Centre for Pilgrimage in the Holy Land. It was founded in 1920 and was intended to operate as a theological college for the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. In the last thirty years, we have become more of a pilgrimage centre where engagement with the Land, the history and the people are taken more seriously than in many pilgrimage organisations.
St George’s College runs pilgrimages for Anglicans and Christians of other denominations around the world. Our pilgrimages are predominantly religious in nature but we are committed to ensuring that people engage in the political realities of Israel and Palestine today. We highlight the injustices experienced by Palestinians as a day-by-day reality. We deal with modern history as well as ancient history. We make sure that our pilgrims engage with the Wall of Separation and understand the real impact of it on Palestinian lives. We also make sure that people hear and understand Jewish narratives and not always in a negative light. However, we do not simply set up a cheap equivalence. We are clear that Israel’s occupation is an injustice which, whilst it continues, is a barrier to constructive talks.
The work ofthe World Student Christian Federation- Middle East (WSCF-ME) in the pursuit of peace and Christian unity throughout the Middle East.
By: Mira G. Neaimeh
WSCF-ME (World Student Christian Federation- Middle East) has been and still is engaged in the peace processes in the Middle East since its inception 60 years ago. As an integral part of this region, WSCF-ME found itself automatically involved in the advocacy for the rights of its members and youth, as well as the education around the different aspects of peace and their ways of implementation within specific communities. Thus, peace processes are all part and parcel of our identity in this turbulent area, with a tireless quest for this so-called “peace” and its manifestation in our different countries alongside church and local communities.
Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6 🌿 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 🌿 Colossians 3:1-4 🌿 John 20:1-18
After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb… there they encountered an angel that said to the women:
Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead…” (Matthew 28:1-7)
Job 14:1-14 🌿 Psalms 31:1-4, 15-16 🌿 1 Peter 4:1-8 🌿 Matthew 27:57-66
Choose one of the scriptures of today’s lectionary passages and engage in the practice of imaginative prayer.
Find a comfortable place with few distractions to sit. Still yourself and pray for God to meet you in your imagination; pray the Holy Spirit would guide your wonderings and prevent that which may call your attention away. Perhaps rest your hands, palms up, on your lap as a physical sign of openness.
As you read, do so intentionally, slowing to picture interactions or phrases visually. Imagine you are the director of a video clip. What is the geography surrounding you? What noises would you hear? Is it light or dark? What emotions arise as you sit with the scripture passage? Consider all the sights and sounds, emotions, tastes, and scents, and ask God to meet you there.
There is no need to get stuck in the details; if you’re not struck with an image or a sense of something, continue reading and ask the Spirit to pique your curiosity and spark your imagination. Consider how our brothers and sisters in the Middle East might encounter these scriptures today.
God, we thank you for your presence in our lives and for the gift of imagination. We believe you, we give thanks, and we ask you to meet us in our times of darkness and despair.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 🌿Psalm 22 🌿 Hebrews 10:16-25 🌿 John 18:1-19:42
Any visitor to the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane on the base of the Mount of Olives knows the color of the church’s stained glass windows. A dark rich purple represents the robe Christ wore just before his death. The light inside the church looks dark and somber. Built to commemorate Christ’s betrayal, the garden and holy site are a good place to remember and reflect upon the crucifixion.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. -John 13: 14 (NRSV)
In the Lenten season of the liturgical calendar, Maundy Thursday is a day to commemorate the last meal that Jesus ate with his disciples before his crucifixion. And it is a day, or evening, that is often commemorated with foot washing ceremonies. The act of washing the feet of those we are in community with is a practice that might be dear to some of us, off-putting to others, or perhaps for some, seemingly outdated.
As we wait upon the realization of God’s perfect peace, we can grow weary, worn, and wondering. As we wait for Easter Sunday, may we be heartened by the great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12, run with perseverance, and keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”
It is Tuesday of Holy Week, just a couple days from Palm Sunday. It is interesting how Palm Sunday is often described as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And yet, what was triumphant about this humble Jewish man riding down the Mount of Olives, across the Valley of Kidron, and into the Old City of Jerusalem? The people cried out adulations to him, but the praise of humankind was temporary and fleeting. For in the days hence, that very same crowd would turn their backs on Christ and instead release the convicted prisoner Barabas into freedom. How could Jesus ever be reconciled to his people after such betrayal?
Already, this year has been filled with conflict, death, despair, and destruction. Memphis, Moon Bay, Jerusalem, Jenin, Ukraine, Armenia, Brazil, and on and on. May the words of Psalms 36:5-11 remind us of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, abundance, life, and light.
Liturgy of the Palms: Matthew 21:1-11 🌿 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Passion: Isaiah 50:4-9a 🌿 Psalm 31:9-16 🌿 Philippians 2:5-11 🌿 Matthew 26:14-27:66
Palm Sunday continues to be one of the most sacred days leading to Easter – especially in Jerusalem. Crowds start their procession on the top of the Mount of Olives. The sacred city of peace can be seen in the distance, with the golden Dome of the Rock glistening in the sun. The world’s holiest city to the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – Palm Sunday exists as one of the holy days observed in Christianity.
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Written about in the Gospels, we are told that if the people did not cry out to worship Him, even the stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). Words often sung on Palm Sunday include: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9)
A Palm Sunday hymn that has been sung for 14 centuries to commemorate Palm Sunday is “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” by Theodulf, Bishop of Orleans. Theodulf spent the last two years of his life imprisoned for treason against the King of France, and thus his declaration of Christ as the “Redeemer King” remains all the more bold.
During medieval times, and we can imagine later celebrating Palm Sunday in Jerusalem during the Crusades, this hymn was used as the procession where priests and people would gather outside of city walls and march toward the gates. Much like Palm Sunday is celebrated today, people waved branches and flowers, singing the words “All glory, laud, and honor.” During medieval times the procession would follow a living representation of Jesus seated on a donkey; then, before the gates were opened, a children’s choir would sign in Latin the refrain – echoed by the crowd. At the completion of the procession, the group would enter the cathedral for mass. On this Palm Sunday, sing or read through this historic hymn as a prayer of praise.
