In 2014 EPF PIN member Jo Bronson shared a report from Usama Nicola of Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center in Bethlehem. Jo is back on the ground and we share this update from her: I am Jo Bronson and currently teaching at the Episcopal Technological Vocational Training Center (ETVTC) in Ramallah, Palestine. I was […]
Editor’s note: Michael Kurth sits on EPF’s National Executive Council and convenes the Young Adult Network. He’s a seminarian and traveled to Israel/Palestine in March with a group of EPF PJN members and friends. He reflects on his time on the ground. In moments of summer solitude and sanctuary (of which there seems to be […]
Our friend and colleague Dick Toll preached on 30 July at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Portland OR. We invite you to consider how working towards the kingdom of God as Dick sets out in his sermon might move us towards that more costly discipleship as we work for justice. Sermon, July 30th, Gospel Matthew […]
The Palestine Justice Network (PJN) of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship decries the undemocratic act of the government of Israel on July 24 in barring entry to Israel by five Americans. We join interfaith partners in this condemnation, including Jewish Voice for Peace and the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church. These five travelers – […]
Kevin Antonio Smallwood is a seminarian at The School of Theology at Sewanee, T’19. He traveled to Palestine/Israel earlier this year with EPF PIN members and friends. He reflects on his time on the ground. It has been about fifteen weeks since my time in the Holy Land and while the days have passed the […]
Open Letter from The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine (NCCOP) to the World Council of Churches and the Ecumenical Movement Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. (Isa. 1:17) Background As we meet this month in Bethlehem in occupied Palestine, we are still suffering from 100 years of injustice and oppression […]
EPF PIN member Harry Gunkel writes about his time in Gaza earlier this year. An early morning in March in Gaza. At the end of my three-day visit there, I am on my way to the checkpoint to return to Jerusalem. The streets are strangely, unusually quiet. It is Friday, prayer day, everything is closed, […]
As the fiftieth anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem nears, the Israeli government has intensified its efforts to criminalize the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement – BDS – which seeks, through non-violent economic pressure, to bring about a peaceful end to the occupation. In recent weeks, for example, it has […]
I once listened to a priest preach on searching for God by likening this to the search for a restaurant in an unfamiliar city: when you’re looking for a restaurant, you tend to see restaurants everywhere; if you intentionally look for God, you will see God everywhere. On this my tenth trip to Palestine (from […]
Editor’s Note: On 18 February Maurine and Bob Tobin were able to deliver funds that their last group, sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Maine and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship of Maine, designated for the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center in Ramallah. Here’s their report: Visiting with Giovanni Anbar, Director of the Episcopal Technological […]
How long oh Lord? The cry of the psalmist. A 2002 book edited by Maurine and Bob Tobin asked ‘How Long O Lord?’ A compilation of Christian, Jewish and Muslim voices from the ground, the voices cried out then in ways similar to Dick Toll’s cry in this reflection. The EPF PIN member and long […]
A sense of urgency came over me when I learned that my husband Boyd and I (Boyd convenes the education work group of EPF’s Palestine Justice Network) were awarded a grant to work in youth ministry in Israel and the West Bank. My mission was to work in summer camps for children in the region, […]