Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

Each Thursday at noon in Jerusalem, Sabeel holds a Communion service that is open to the community. It is a time to join together to celebrate the Eucharist, to discuss how the scriptures apply to our lives today, and to pray for the specific needs of this region. Following the 2006 Sabeel International Conference, the Friends of Sabeel coordinators met and discussed the idea of "Waves of Prayer." The premise is that in their respective time zones, individuals and groups around the world will pray together at 12:00 on Thursdays, in solidarity with Sabeel in Jerusalem and with "Friends of Sabeel" worldwide. Starting in Australia, passing through Palestine, and on around the world we will pray for Peace with Justice and focus on specific issues each week.

Wave of Prayer for Thursday, March 25, 2010



Jerusalem remains very tense as Israel continues to belligerently threaten settlement expansion. In the past week, the West Bank has seen four killings by the Israeli military and attacks on Israeli soldiers. In Gaza, Israeli bombings and Palestinian rocket fire have dominated the week's news. God of mercy, in this time of darkness, we pray for guidance and wisdom in order not to destroy the remaining glimmer of hope for equality and peace.

In this Easter season, pilgrims from around the world come to Jerusalem to mark the death and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We pray that the people visiting this land will remember the powerful message of love and nonviolence demonstrated by Jesus. We also pray that Christians from the West Bank and Gaza will be able to worship in Jerusalem without hindrance.

This week, Sabeel is leading members of the local Christian community on a Contemporary Way of the Cross pilgrimage through Jerusalem's Old City. While walking the Via Dolorosa and remembering Christ's suffering, the group will reflect on the current suffering of people in this land. We pray that, in Jesus' response to oppression and death, we will also find ways to nonviolently respond to injustice with courage and love.

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI, a ministry of the World Council of Churches) welcomes its 35th team on Saturday. We give thanks for the important work done by EAPPI, through accompaniment in areas of conflict here and through advocacy in their home countries. We pray for steadfastness for team 35 as they begin their term and for blessings for team 34 as they return home to share what they experienced. Thanks be to God for the work of all people who work for justice.


This week we join with the World Council of Churches in praying for:
China, Hong Kong, Macao

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

Each Thursday at noon in Jerusalem, Sabeel holds a Communion service that is open to the community. It is a time to join together to celebrate the Eucharist, to discuss how the scriptures apply to our lives today, and to pray for the specific needs of this region. Following the 2006 Sabeel International Conference, the Friends of Sabeel coordinators met and discussed the idea of "Waves of Prayer." The premise is that in their respective time zones, individuals and groups around the world will pray together at 12:00 on Thursdays, in solidarity with Sabeel in Jerusalem and with "Friends of Sabeel" worldwide. Starting in Australia, passing through Palestine, and on around the world we will pray for Peace with Justice and focus on specific issues each week.

Wave of Prayer for Thursday, March 18, 2010


Pressure from settlement expansion, encroachment on Al Aqsa Mosque, and Israeli crackdowns on nonviolent protests are bringing Jerusalem close to a breaking point. The tension in the city is higher than it has been in many years. We pray that justice will prevail and peace can be found before tension erupts in violence.


As Christians experience conflict and bloodshed with their Muslim neighbors in Egypt, Iraq and Nigeria, we pray that peace can be restored. May Christians and Muslims around the world draw together and refuse to allow misunderstandings to lead to further violence. Merciful God, bring your children together in their shared humanity.

On Thursday, Sabeel will host a young adult conference in Jericho for over 80 Palestinian student leaders representing 7 universities. The Muslim, Christian, and Samaritan participants from the West Bank will focus on the "Arms Down" disarmament campaign from Religions for Peace. We pray that this experience will encourage collaborative relationships and will equip young leaders in their pursuit of peace.

We give thanks to God for the lives and witnesses of The Reverend Leonard Shaheen, Anglican priest and friend of Sabeel, and Gene Stoltzfus, founding director of Christian Peacemaker Teams. Both men died last week and leave behind legacies that inspire us to remain true to Christ's radical message of justice, peace and love.



This week we join with the World Council of Churches in praying for:
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

Each Thursday at noon in Jerusalem, Sabeel holds a Communion service that is open to the community. It is a time to join together to celebrate the Eucharist, to discuss how the scriptures apply to our lives today, and to pray for the specific needs of this region. Following the 2006 Sabeel International Conference, the Friends of Sabeel coordinators met and discussed the idea of "Waves of Prayer." The premise is that in their respective time zones, individuals and groups around the world will pray together at 12:00 on Thursdays, in solidarity with Sabeel in Jerusalem and with "Friends of Sabeel" worldwide. Starting in Australia, passing through Palestine, and on around the world we will pray for Peace with Justice and focus on specific issues each week.

Wave of Prayer for Thursday, March 11, 2010



This week, many people and countries are marking and celebrating International Women's Day. We give thanks for the sumud, the steadfast resilience, of Palestinian women living under and trying to resist occupation and the systemic violence it entails. We pray for Palestinian, Israeli and all women and men who stand firm for equality, justice and right relationships.


Tonight, in the midst of Lent, Sabeel will host a service in Gethsemane Church to pray for all who suffer from poverty, natural disasters, marginalization, violence or whatever elements limit life. Please pray for our world and all that it contains, that all may come to know life in fullness, everywhere.

This Saturday the Catholic Scouts, with help from Sabeel, are organizing an egg hunt for children in orphanages in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. We give thanks for those who work in these orphanages and pray for the children who grow up there. We offer also our prayers for all the children of Palestine and Israel, that they may grow up into a hope-filled future.

As Bethlehem Bible College begins its "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference, we give thanks for all those who will speak and participate - as well as those who are organizing it. We pray that hearts and minds will be moved, that new advocates will be born to speak out around the world in the cause of justice and peace for this land and its peoples.



This week we join with the World Council of Churches in praying for:
Myanmar, Thailand

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

Each Thursday at noon in Jerusalem, Sabeel holds a Communion service that is open to the community. It is a time to join together to celebrate the Eucharist, to discuss how the scriptures apply to our lives today, and to pray for the specific needs of this region. Following the 2006 Sabeel International Conference, the Friends of Sabeel coordinators met and discussed the idea of "Waves of Prayer." The premise is that in their respective time zones, individuals and groups around the world will pray together at 12:00 on Thursdays, in solidarity with Sabeel in Jerusalem and with "Friends of Sabeel" worldwide. Starting in Australia, passing through Palestine, and on around the world we will pray for Peace with Justice and focus on specific issues each week.

Wave of Prayer for Thursday, March 4, 2010



The Old City of Jerusalem was quarantined on Sunday, with a cordon of police barring all Palestinian males under 50. Heavily armed Israeli riot police attacked Palestinian youths who had encamped all night in the Al Aqsa mosque. Israeli settlers, celebrating the festival of Purim, were understood to be attempting to invade the compound, and the youth were seeking to prevent them. All residents of the Old City suffered. We pray for an open and free Jerusalem where all people may live in dignity and peace.

Sabeel's departments have started the year in full swing. The Women's and Community programs have already held programs in Jericho and Birzeit and the Clergy have had a major conference. This weekend, the youth from Nazareth, the West Bank and Jerusalem will gather in Ramallah for worship and fellowship and go to Nebi Samuel to plant olive trees. We give thanks for these programs and offer our prayers for all those who participate, as well as all who lead and coordinate them.

March 2010 marks the 100th year of the building of the Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse. With a presence since the late 1800's, we give thanks to God for the great cloud of witnesses - including Sabeel's Vice President and Clerk to the Friends, Jean Zaru - who have offered worship in the meetinghouse and service beyond it to the people of this land in the pursuit of justice and peace. Hear our prayers for a good week of celebrations ahead with food for heart, soul and body.

While welcoming the rain here in Jerusalem, we recognize that we seem to live in a world which is truly groaning, with ferocious winds, torrential rains, floods, snows and another destructive earthquake. Our hearts turn to those who have been so horribly affected by these natural travails and we pray that through the earthquake, wind, and fire, we might also listen for and hear God's still, small voice of calm.


This week we join with the World Council of Churches in praying for:
Andorra, Austria, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland