An Anguished Appeal for “the Animals”
“In a world where human rights are disregarded, perhaps the basic instinct to protect life, even that of animals, might awaken some semblance of action to prevent our annihilation.” – Rifat Kassis, Kairos Palestine
An Anguished Appeal for “the Animals”
We encourage you to read the remarkable, anguished letter from Rifat Kassis of Kairos Palestine, in which he laments his “lost faith in the capacity of countries, politicians, diplomats, organizations and movements to extend their compassion to us, to spare our lives, and to protect us from the genocide that looms over us.” Rifat reminds us that extreme right-wing Israeli politicians have referred to Palestinians as “human animals” and concludes: “In a world where human rights are disregarded, perhaps the basic instinct to protect life, even that of animals, might awaken some semblance of action to prevent our annihilation.” This statement should arouse every professing Christian to immediate action in the cause of true justice and peace in Palestine and Israel. The full statement is available here (search for September 2 posting).
JGML 2024 focuses on “One Year Later”
A signature annual event for CFOS is the James Graff Memorial Lecture. This year’s lecture, on November 4, features Palestinian peace activist Shadia Qubti and Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura exploring the theme, “One Year Later: Our Response to Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing.” This hybrid event will be held in person in Toronto and online.
Complete information is available here. Tickets are available here. Please help us spread the word.
Authentic Christian Pilgrimage
How should western Christians travel to and experience Palestine? In the words of Rifat Kassis of Kairos Palestine, “We need Kairos pilgrims in Palestine and not tourists…”
CFOS has just launched Authentic Christian Pilgrimage (ACP), a toolkit developed in consultation with 20 Palestinian groups. ACP is intended “to ensure that Canadian Christian groups visiting the Holy Land as part of a tour or pilgrimage do so in a way that meaningfully engages the local Palestinian Christian community, acknowledges Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, and operates in a way that is consistent with international law. The hope of ACP is that all Canadian Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land will experience transformation through such a pilgrimage.”
More information and a downloadable PDF of the resource are available here.
If the War Goes On: A Lament for the Anniversary of October 7, 2023
As we approach the anniversary of October 7, 2023 and its aftermath, the Mennonite Church Canada Palestine-Israel Network (PIN) is offering a 4-part liturgical resource for Christian lament during the four Sundays leading to or surrounding October 7. Entitled, “If the War goes On,” this resource raises such questions as, “How do we internalize that our grief for Israeli victims of October 7th is not counter to, but inextricable from, mourning the loss of tens of thousands of Gazans?” Featured are:
Prayers of lament and Scripture readings drawn from the Biblical books of Lamentations, Psalms, and Jeremiah.
Background information and stories, drawn from the voices and personal accounts of individual Palestinians affected by the ongoing carnage. These stories convey the suffering, work and witness of brave and faithful partners.
The 4-part series is unified by stanzas of the hymn “If the War Goes On” with lyrics by John Bell from the Iona Community.
These profoundly moving gifts may be adapted for personal, group or congregational use and may—like all authentic expressions of lament—bring clarity and comfort to those who grieve in the midst of ongoing warfare and slaughter.
To access this resource, click here.
Stay tuned also for a resource for October 7 from CFOS.
Churches Seeking to Respond
For almost a year, Christian churches in Canada have wrestled with enacting Christian witness and mission during the ongoing cataclysm in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023. Their responses have evolved and strengthened as they try to speak truth to power. See, for example, the letter from the Moderator of the United Church of Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau which calls, among other tough measures, that “Canada should suspend diplomatic relations with Israel, given Israel’s flagrant disregard for international law.” The full letter is available here.
Book Study
The Anglican Diocese of Toronto is hosting a book study of The Wall Between by Raja Khouri and Jeffrey Wilkinson. Zoom discussions in September, October, November. A special event with the authors of the book will take place on November 6. More details are available here.