The war between Hamas and Israel, with its terrible carnage and hostage taking, stirs up deep feelings. From anger and sadness, horror and judgment, to fury and profound helplessness. As the war between Hamas and Israel rages on, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing renewed calls for a cease-fire in Gaza from foreign officials and Israelis, especially now that it has been confirmed that leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah have been killed in recent days. A weeks-long assault by Israel in northern Gaza with a near-total blockade on aid deliveries of food, water, electricity, fuel and medicine to the region is moving a humanitarian crisis into a humanitarian collapse. With the area’s last operational hospital on the verge of failing, and emergency responders unable to move freely amidst airstrikes, the U.N. says people in northern Gaza are running out of ways to survive. Families evacuating to southern Gaza and now those in Lebanon, moving along the supposed “safe routes,” along with displaced people already in refugee centers, are being targeted by airstrikes, a violation of international humanitarian law. What can we do for our suffering neighbors in the Middle East?
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) belongs to the ecumenical group Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), which has pushed for the ceasefire since November 2023, when the Rev. Bronwell Boswell, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), co-signed a letter asking the Biden administration to promote de-escalation. In February 2024, Rev. Boswell and other church leaders traveled to DC to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The leaders also pressed U.S. government officials to renew funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and to work for the release of all hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Recently, the new Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Jihyun Oh, reaffirmed the Church’s solidarity with the people of Palestine and Israel who seek peace.
Even when we feel overwhelmed, there are things we can do to help those who are suffering. We each have the ability to take redemptive action.
- To pray.
- To donate to humanitarian relief agencies like World Central Kitchen, Doctors Without Borders, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and others.
- To reach out to those in our community with loved ones in the Middle East, to listen their stories and discover how to support them and their families.
- To contact our local elected officials and members of Congress by phone or email and express our desire for an immediate cease-fire, funding for humanitarian aid, and diplomatic efforts to discover a path to peace.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells, former dean of Duke University Chapel, now vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London offers these wise thoughts:
It sometimes sounds facile to pray for peace amid the rage of war. But it depends on what you mean by peace. The peace of still waters and quiet rest is certainly a fantasy in the midst of widespread horror. But maybe peace is more like the sword that divides rage from anger. Rage inflames and inflates; anger can pinpoint a problem and isolate it, with the precision of a word.
The way to dispel rage is not to oppose it with alternative rage. The conflict in the Holy Land, in that sense, amplifies many contemporary disputes, wherein both parties can become so overwhelmed by wrongs inflicted on them, and so convinced that these wrongs justify a response of limitless violence, that each side’s rage only amplifies that of their opponents, in an inferno that eventually consumes all their children.…It’s rage, not peace, that’s based on fantasy. Rage assumes a story by which I obliterate you and all is resolved. But it’s not resolved: it’s just stoking up further rage for another explosion sometime later. By contrast anger can stir us to action, such as the brokering of cease-fire, the measured and evenhanded witness of the wider community, the careful identification of and holding to account for wrongs done, the patient hearing out of resentments and fears, the finding of a path through to mutual security, dignity, understanding, respect, and hope.
Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells
Prayer:
God of mercy, compassion and constant love. We pray for your children at war in your holy land. Calm the souls bent on vengeance and destruction. Change the hearts of those plotting death and devastation, raise up leaders within warring factions and in the international community, who have the courage and the wisdom to turn violence into reasoned argument, and listen to the pain until a path forward emerges. Let all those who trace their past back to Abraham find their common future in you through Christ, your Son, our crucified companion, now and forever. Amen.
(Adapted from a prayer by Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells, vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London)
Let me know if I can be an ear for your concerns or an aid in prayer.
– Rev. Dr. Sarah Nave
Pastor, Parkview Presbyterian Church
Parkview is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Last Updated: November 7, 2024 by Office Manager
The War in Gaza: What Can We Do?
The war between Hamas and Israel, with its terrible carnage and hostage taking, stirs up deep feelings. From anger and sadness, horror and judgment, to fury and profound helplessness. As the war between Hamas and Israel rages on, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing renewed calls for a cease-fire in Gaza from foreign officials and Israelis, especially now that it has been confirmed that leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah have been killed in recent days. A weeks-long assault by Israel in northern Gaza with a near-total blockade on aid deliveries of food, water, electricity, fuel and medicine to the region is moving a humanitarian crisis into a humanitarian collapse. With the area’s last operational hospital on the verge of failing, and emergency responders unable to move freely amidst airstrikes, the U.N. says people in northern Gaza are running out of ways to survive. Families evacuating to southern Gaza and now those in Lebanon, moving along the supposed “safe routes,” along with displaced people already in refugee centers, are being targeted by airstrikes, a violation of international humanitarian law. What can we do for our suffering neighbors in the Middle East?
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) belongs to the ecumenical group Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), which has pushed for the ceasefire since November 2023, when the Rev. Bronwell Boswell, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), co-signed a letter asking the Biden administration to promote de-escalation. In February 2024, Rev. Boswell and other church leaders traveled to DC to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The leaders also pressed U.S. government officials to renew funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and to work for the release of all hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Recently, the new Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Jihyun Oh, reaffirmed the Church’s solidarity with the people of Palestine and Israel who seek peace.
Even when we feel overwhelmed, there are things we can do to help those who are suffering. We each have the ability to take redemptive action.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells, former dean of Duke University Chapel, now vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London offers these wise thoughts:
It sometimes sounds facile to pray for peace amid the rage of war. But it depends on what you mean by peace. The peace of still waters and quiet rest is certainly a fantasy in the midst of widespread horror. But maybe peace is more like the sword that divides rage from anger. Rage inflames and inflates; anger can pinpoint a problem and isolate it, with the precision of a word.
The way to dispel rage is not to oppose it with alternative rage. The conflict in the Holy Land, in that sense, amplifies many contemporary disputes, wherein both parties can become so overwhelmed by wrongs inflicted on them, and so convinced that these wrongs justify a response of limitless violence, that each side’s rage only amplifies that of their opponents, in an inferno that eventually consumes all their children.…It’s rage, not peace, that’s based on fantasy. Rage assumes a story by which I obliterate you and all is resolved. But it’s not resolved: it’s just stoking up further rage for another explosion sometime later. By contrast anger can stir us to action, such as the brokering of cease-fire, the measured and evenhanded witness of the wider community, the careful identification of and holding to account for wrongs done, the patient hearing out of resentments and fears, the finding of a path through to mutual security, dignity, understanding, respect, and hope.
Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells
Prayer:
God of mercy, compassion and constant love. We pray for your children at war in your holy land. Calm the souls bent on vengeance and destruction. Change the hearts of those plotting death and devastation, raise up leaders within warring factions and in the international community, who have the courage and the wisdom to turn violence into reasoned argument, and listen to the pain until a path forward emerges. Let all those who trace their past back to Abraham find their common future in you through Christ, your Son, our crucified companion, now and forever. Amen.
(Adapted from a prayer by Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells, vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London)
Let me know if I can be an ear for your concerns or an aid in prayer.
– Rev. Dr. Sarah Nave
Pastor, Parkview Presbyterian Church
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Category: Public Statements Tags: Middle East, Rev. Dr. Sarah Nave
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