At its July 2016 Assembly, Mennonite Church Canada passed a resolution calling for greater advocacy for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. Since then, a network of working groups and individuals across Canada has helped to implement the resolution through calls to prayer, workshops and sermons, educational resources, and calls to economic and political action. This page offers key documents from MC Canada, and from our active Mennonite Church Manitoba working group.
For more resources and information, please visit this page at CommonWord.
Visit the Mennonite Church Canada Palestine-Israel Network page
Events and Opportunities
Holy Land Pilgrimage 2024
May 11-26, 2024
Come and See! Join an eye-opening alternative tour of Israel and Palestine that may change your life!
An encounter of the land where Jesus walked and where the church was born.
An introduction to the theology and experience of Palestinian Christians.
A window into the political realities of Palestinians and Israelis in various settings.
A participation in the biannual “Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference in Bethlehem, with the theme: “Do Justice, Love Mercy: Christian Witness in Contexts of Oppression”.
A journey that begins with pre-pilgrimage orientation and continues with post-pilgrimage advocacy.
For a lot more information, visit the MC Canada PIN page: www.mennonitechurch.ca/pin/pilgrimage
Holy Week in Jerusalem
This month, Islam’s season of Ramadan coincides with the Passover and Easter holy days of Judaism and Christianity. In each of the three Abrahamic faiths, these are days of remembrance, repentance, and celebration of the life that God desires for humanity. The streets of Old Jerusalem are alive with lights, pilgrimages and processions.
And yet the season is also marked by the tensions that plague the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Many Muslim and Christians from the West Bank and Gaza are arbitrarily denied permits to worship in Jerusalem. Violence often erupts in the areas around Western Wall and Al Aqsa mosque—especially when Jewish and Muslim holy days overlap.
As followers of the Prince of Peace, let us lift up in prayer the people of Palestine and Israel at this time—that peace with justice may dawn. To resource our prayers, we suggest the following:
1. An article on this year’s overlapping religious holidays and the tensions that accompany them: https://religionnews.com/2022/04/08/jerusalem-and-the-tyranny-of-the-religious-calendar/
2. Prayers voiced by Palestinian Christians via Sabeel Wave of Prayer: https://sabeel.org/category/wave-of-prayers/
3. Beautiful mediation of Palm Sunday lament and Easter hope from Bethlehem pastor Munther Isaac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKV19rNBWcA
Mailing List
Fact Sheet and Ottawa Letter on Bedouin Displacement in Palestine and Israel:
Speaker’s Bureau:
Seasonal Resources
Advent
Meditations
Bethlehem Then and Now Christmas meditations
Zatoun Peace Box
Purchase a box of fairly traded olive oil based products from the West Bank
Peace Box on the Zatoun website