Dear Friends,
The ACT Palestine Forum (APF) recently launched the Ecumenical Prayer Vigil for Peace in the Middle East. The Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem Program invites you to join with brothers and sisters around the world in praying for peace on the 24th of every month. This global movement will continue until the Israeli occupation is dismantled, violence in the Middle East ends, and all can celebrate a just and lasting negotiated resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
By engaging in this vigil we are declaring that God’s grace is the source of all peace and through prayer we are humbling ourselves to God’s will for all creation. We offer this prayer vigil as an opportunity for congregations to incorporate the welfare of the people of the Middle East into the heart of their church life: in their worship, in their learning, and in their advocacy.
We urge people to see this prayer vigil as an outpouring of concern for Palestinians and Israelis – Christians, Muslims, and Jews – whose lives are overtaken by broken relationships and the conflict that flows from these divisions.
Both February 24, 2013 and March 24, 2013 are Sundays, so this is a perfect opportunity to launch the prayer vigil in your congregation!
Please sign up for the monthly Prayer Vigil today . . .
A FEW EASY STEPS:
1) Go to www.actpalestineforum.org
2) Click on “Join a Prayer Vigil” and read about the vigil.
3) Click on “Sign up your prayer vigil” or click on “Sign up your congregation“.
4) Fill out and submit the form, and actively participate in the Prayer Vigil on the 24th of every month.
5) THEN! Click on Prayer Vigil “Resources” and contribute to the prayer vigil by offering a resource . . . A prayer, a sermon, a song, a Bible study or some other discussion resource, etc.
6) Finally, promote the APF Prayer Vigil . . . put a link to the APF Prayer Vigil on your church/organization website, promote the prayer vigil in your newsletter or E-newsletter, encourage others — when they ask, “What can we do to help?” — to participate in the Prayer Vigil.
PLEASE, let others know you are participating in the prayer vigil, and get connected with other participants in your town or across the globe! Please register here: https://actpalestineforum.org/
In God’s Peace,
Rev. Mark Brown and the Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem staff
