The Rev. Dr. Munib Younan
Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
P.O. Box 14076
Muristan Rd.
91140 JERUSALEM

Dear Bishop Younan,

On behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I am writing to express profound concern for you, our sisters and brothers in Christ. Our hearts are heavy as we read about and see images of the violence being inflicted on both Israelis and Palestinians. This suffering and loss of life are inexcusable before God. As followers with you of the Prince of Peace, and as children of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, we long for peace and a just resolution to the escalating conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people. I want to respond directly to your call to us earlier this week to participate in interventions and actions "to create hope in a hopeless situation".

The steadfastness of the Evangelical Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is a reminder of this hope we have in Christ Jesus. The church's strong witness for coexistence grounded in peace with justice permeates every level of congregational, educational, and diaconal service. Our faith is strengthened by knowing how, even in the midst of great difficulties, the Body of Christ is working in Palestine and Jordan for the good of all communities.

Along with the witness of your pastors and lay leaders, your witness, Bishop Younan, has strengthened our confidence that peace can indeed be achieved among the two peoples and three religions that share the Holy Land. Your statements, speeches, and sermons have been a model for promoting both political and interreligious coexistence, along with your strong support of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, which you helped found.

We are grateful for your continued uplifting of the voices of moderation and against extremism and support to you in these efforts. We appreciate the long-standing work of the ELCJHL schools in demonstrating the importance of education through a curriculum based on peace, nonviolence, peaceful co-existence and the strengthening of civil society for the benefit of all communities. We understand that this present crisis has further hurt the financial wellbeing of the ELCJHL schools, as many parents are now unable to pay tuition. We encourage ELCA members and congregations to assist the ELCJHL by making contributions through the ELCA.

At this time of great uncertainty, we join you in your call for a cessation of all hostilities between Israel and Hamas and a return to direct peace talks to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable peace based upon a two-state solution and adherence to international human rights and humanitarian law. We wish to convey our solidarity with you and the members of ELCJHL congregations, joining with you in prayers for peace. I encourage all ELCA congregations to participate in a minute of silence as we together pray for peace in the Holy Land.

While I lament that my plan to be present with you and with the leaders and members of the ELCJHL later this month has been postponed, I look forward to our time together in Jordan and the Holy Land. We deeply regret that the most recent round of negotiations have not reached a successful outcome that will led to peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike. We reaffirm our pledge to work diligently with you and all people of good will to urge political leaders in the United States and around the world to contribute to ending this conflict by addressing its root causes so a sustainable peace is possible. May God be with you, your church and all the people of the Holy Land.

Sincerely,

You're Invited ...
As the new fiscal year gets under way and the new council begins to meet, we will be trying something a little bit different this year. We will be reading a book together entitled, Holy Currencies, by Eric Law.

In this book, Law focuses on six blessings that characterize many missional and sustainable faith communities. These six blessings are: Time & Place, Relationship, Truth, Wellness, Gracious Leadership and Money. He refers to these blessing as currencies because in order for these blessings to thrive they must flow like the current of a river.

We invite you to consider reading Holy Currencies along with the council. We have purchased a few copies of the book and they will be available in the church library (in the Commons) shortly, but you are also invited to purchase your own copy. This book is available on Amazon and from Chalice Press. We will also be offering an Adult Faith Conversation opportunity for the Winter session (beginning in January) that will focus on Holy Currencies and the six blessings it highlights. We hope you'll join us in this valuable learning for the sake of the whole community.

On Sunday, September 7th, we will kick off the Fall season by joining congregations all over the country in serving our neighbor! The day will begin with worship at 9:30am, followed by opportunities to serve our community outside and inside our building.

We will gather after worship on September 14th to share photos and stories of our "God's work. Our hands." experience!

We are reaching out to a variety of groups to see how we might be of service on that day. If you have an idea or know of a group or individual who could use our help, please call the church office and let us know.

Stay tuned in August as we roll out the service projects we will be participating in and let you know more about how you can get involved.

             And, so that you can say boldly, "Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt!"

Don't wait too long!
The deadline for submitting t-shirt orders (in order to have them here by September 7th) is August 8th. You can order your t-shirt now and pay for it when you receive it. Call or e-mail us at the church or place your order this Sunday after worship.

BOUNDARIES, facilitated by Chris Moore, will focus on the book, Boundaries, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This book addresses specific issues that confront today’s Christians, such as having trouble saying no and living a life that feels out of control. Often, Christians focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limits and limitations. Let’s explore together what it means to set healthy boundaries in our lives.

THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS: WISDOM OF THE TWIN will be facilitated by Anke Brandstater. Using a book written by Lynn Bauman, we will explore the Gospel of Thomas,
a non-canonical gospel that was written in the early second century. This gospel consists only of sayings of Jesus – no miracles, no journey descriptions, no birth or death narrative. But they are often so powerfully expressed that they force the reader to stop still for a moment and take a whole new look at life.

The mission is looking for a couple of people with medical backgrounds, (MDs, Dentists, Optomitrists etc), as well as a few people who would be interested in working with the building teams. Cost will be @ $2,800.00 per person, which includes airfare, lodging meals and transfers.

If you are interested in this mission opportunity, or have questions, please contact Ginger at ginger_pierce@msn.com (notice that's an underscore) or by phone at 503-641-4585. Time is flying, and the mission would appreciate hearing from you within a couple of weeks.

Thank you,
Ginger Pierce