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Grace and peace to you,

Today, on the anniversary of October 7, 2023, we pray for all of God’s beloved people who have been affected and caught in the heartbreaking and devastating violence in the Holy Land. There are so many lives that have been impacted – the horrible numbers of those killed, wounded, kidnapped, and so much more do not begin to cover the tragedy that continues to unfold. While the complexity of the situation is more than can be written here, as Christians and people of God, we do know this: All life is sacred. Each person is beloved of God.

As many of you know, the ELCA has a longstanding relationship with our Palestinian Lutheran partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELJCHL). We pray and advocate for them and all other Christians in the Holy Land and elsewhere. We continue to partner and pray for our Jewish siblings in the United States, Israel, and throughout the world. We work for peace and hold our Muslim neighbors in prayer in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and beyond. 

You are invited to use the resources that the ELCA has provided to learn more about Sumud – the ELCA initiative for justice in Palestine and Israel.

You are also invited to use these ELCA worship resources in the days and weeks to come.

Further, there are several ELCA documents available that guide our pastoral response to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Additional resources are available from Churches for Middle East Peace. (If you missed their online Ecumenical Service of Lament earlier today, we will share a link of the recording in our Wednesday prayer message.)

On this day we pray: 

Eternal God, whose steadfast love never ends, we ask that you look upon the nations now engaged in war and hasten the day of peace. Look in mercy on those exposed to peril, conflict, sickness, and death; and show compassion to the dying. In your good providence, remove all causes and occasions of war. Incline the hearts of all people to follow the path to peace and concord, that war may cease and the day of reconciliation may come quickly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (ELCA Prayer Book for the Armed Services, p. 71)

Kyrie Eleison,

Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee