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, May 5, 2011
► We pray for genuine unity in Palestine as Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Wednesday that includes the formation of an interim government and elections within a year. We pray that this long-called for reconciliation between the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Egypt's announcement to open the Rafah border with Gaza, will help lead to the even longer desired lift of the siege of Gaza, end to the Israeli occupation and a sustainable future for Palestine.
► As Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was commemorated on April 24 and Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated in Israel on May 2, we remember all those who have been affected by the violent and devastating actions of racism, discrimination and hatred. We pray that we can all learn from the past to stop current and future violent manifestations of intolerance.
► Our prayers are with the people of Nablus, who in recent weeks have experienced increasing right-wing Jewish settler activity centered on unauthorized attempts for a permanent Israeli presence at Joseph's tomb despite available Israeli armed escort to the tomb. With the settler's voiced plan to start a settlement in the heart of Nablus in a similar fashion to how the first settlement began in Hebron, we pray for an end to these attempts and the increased violence and military presence in Nablus that they entail.
► We hold in prayer the participants of Sabeel's post-Easter programs in Jerusalem: the Clergy Meeting on Wednesday, May 4, and the Young Adult BBQ on Friday, May 6. As these ecumenical gatherings take advantage of holiday permission given to some Palestinian Christians to enter Jerusalem during the Easter season, we pray that the clergy and youth from the different churches in Israel, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank will be inspired with ideas to serve the community in new ways.
With the Prayer Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for:
Sudan, Uganda
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/prayer-cycle.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment