Hello all,
The Mennonite Church USA is requesting our feedback on the revised resolution
on Israel/ Palestine. We are encouraging you to read the information below and
then complete the feedback form so the team that is revising the original
resolution will know our ideas.
The feedback form needs to be completed by December 20. The links below will
help you understand the background for the resolutions. The Kairos Document is
a plea for help from the worldwide community, and the Kairos Palestine 2016
Advent Alert begs us to help the children who are under siege in Palestine.
During the December we will be looking at the documents in the Adult Sunday
School and invite you to participate. Let’s find out how we can help the
refugees in Palestine and all who have become refugees in the world including
those in Israel.
Here is a poem from the Kairos Palestine 2016 Advent Alert page 43
A Prayer for Refugees:
Almighty and merciful God,
whose Son became a refugee
and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today
are fleeing from danger
homeless and hungry.
Bless those who work to bring them relief
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts;
and guide the nations of the world towards that day
when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Here are the 4 links we we will refer to in the Adult SS:
1) An invitation for counsel and feedback for a revised resolution on
Israel/Palestine.
A resolution on Israel-Palestine was brought to delegates at the Mennonite
Church USA assembly in Kansas City in 2015. Delegates tabled that resolution
asking that it be revised, and called for a period of learning and discernment
as we seek to support Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers. In the fall of 2015,
the Executive Board affirmed a process for revising the resolution.
The writing team welcomes your feedback and counsel by December 20, 2016, using
the feedback form linked below.
The team will review and consider all comments before submitting the resolution
to the Mennonite Church USA Resolutions Committee by the end of January, 2017.
http://mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/seeking-peace-israel-palestine/
2) Here is the original 2015 resolution on Israel/ Palestine presented to the
Mennonite Church USA assembly in Kansas City in 2015.
http://mennoniteusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Israel_Palestine_Resolution_2015April08_English.pdf
3)The Kairos Document :A moment of truth A word of faith, hope and love from
the heart of Palestinian suffering
This document is referred to in the resolution on Israel/ Palestine.
“Why now? Because today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the
Palestinian people. The decision-makers content themselves with managing the
crisis rather than committing themselves to the serious task of finding a way
to resolve it. The hearts of the faithful are filled with pain and with
questioning: What is the international community doing? What are the political
leaders in Palestine, in Israel and in the Arab world doing? What is the Church
doing? The problem is not just a political one. It is a policy in which human
beings are destroyed, and this must be of concern to the Church.”
http://www.kairospalestine.ps/index.php/about-us/kairos-palestine-document
4) Kairos Palestine 2016 Christmas Alert
A Generation under Siege:
The Plight of Palestinian Children
This document refers back to the original Kairos Document and stresses the need
that Palestine children have for peace and normalcy.
http://www.kairospalestine.ps/images/Kairos%20Palestine%20Christmas%20Alert%202016%20Email.pdf
Ann
