A pastoral letter of remembrance and mourning

07 October 2025

Beloved sisters and brothers

7 October 2025 is the tragic anniversary of an outbreak of violence that has led to hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the lands called Israel and Palestine and also in the larger region.

We acknowledge that the image of God is in every man, woman and child: every death resulting from oppression, starvation, imprisonment and violence is a tragedy.

We grieve the repression, the disregard for human dignity , and the dispossession over decades that led up to the current crisis.

We denounce genocidal acts that seek to snuff out a people and their culture. We denounce Christian teachings that justify and undergird cruelty, superiority and violence.

We open our eyes to see and our ears to hear the cries of the suffering. We confess our failures to respond to their pain.

We call ourselves to act in solidarity with those who are wounded and oppressed. We commit to truth-telling and justice that leads to peace and safety for all in the region and beyond.

Along with our Palestinian Christian siblings from the Sabeel liberation theology movement, we cry:

All powerful God, we remember that “when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17) Lord, where is your message of freedom amidst the suffering of those unjustly detained and tortured?

Help us bear witness to those who are suffering and increase our actions so that your justice may be fulfilled.

Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.

O Lord, how we long to see your peace reign in our world.

We long to see your peace in Palestine and Israel, as well as for MWC member churches in other parts of the world who are also suffering political violence or war in DR Congo, India, Myanmar, Ukraine and USA; and ongoing social violence in many parts of Latin America.

May your peaceable kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And may we be participants of your peaceable kingdom!

Our words seem small and inadequate in the face of the crisis, yet we reaffirm our conviction that

“The Spirit of Jesus empowers us to trust God in all areas of life so we become peacemakers who renounce violence, love our enemies, seek justice, and share our possessions with those in need.”
(Shared Conviction 5)

shared convictions

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace, amen.