For Jesus is our peace… and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
–Ephesians 2:14
You came to us to demolish barriers between people,
To establish peace and to unite hearts
And to create a new ‘human being’ who does not know enmity but only love.
Look at us all, we who live on this land that you, yourself, sanctified.
You made it a land of encounter and reconciliation with all human beings.
Look at us in your sacred land,
We still live separated by walls
Though we believe that you love us all, with the same love for all.
Have mercy upon us and hear our prayers.
(Psalm 4:1)
God, the walls still exist and they are high
Not for protection but for isolation and separation, ignorance, discrimination and killing.
The walls are silent but they create strife and drive love away.
Your children are fighting.
Change their hearts,
Change the expenses of building walls and make these expenses for building fraternity
and love among your children.
Have mercy upon us and hear our prayers.
They say they are afraid
They say they are satisfied and content
They say they do not want to know anything about what lies on the other side of the wall.
And we say we are besieged and our life is in a big prison.
There is anxiety in our hearts and confusion in our speech.
Have mercy upon us and hear our prayers.
Each September the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum of the World Council of Churches invites participation in World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel, a week of advocacy and action supporting an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and a just peace for all in Palestine and Israel. Congregations and individuals around the globe who share the hope of justice unite during the week to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness.
A liturgy for the World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel was developed by the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum of the World Council of Churches and focuses on “walls.” The service is flexible, designed for use in different contexts, whether a Sunday morning communion service or a special World Week of Peace event.
Click here for a pdf copy of the entire service.
Participants are invited to reflect on the meaning of walls: The Separation wall which is the longest and highest wall in the world and which divides people, families, and communities, humiliates the Palestinians, and builds a culture of fear and separation; and on the walls in of local neighborhoods and communities.
Our hope is that this liturgy would inspire us to break down walls of prejudice, fear and violence in our own communities, and would activate communities across the world to speak out against the scandalous wall separating Israel and Palestine.
Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum
To access the complete service click here.
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