The Middle East - Marking One Year10/7/2024  photos: MECC-DSPR, ACT Alliance This week (Monday, October 7) marks one year since the escalation in violence in the Middle East, in which 1200 Israeli citizens were killed by Hamas and more than 200 Israelis were taken hostage, and one year since Israel’s ensuing response: bombardment in Gaza and the West Bank, and the spread of the war in the Middle East. As of this writing, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced – many of them multiple times – from their homes to other parts of Gaza, and made refugees in neighboring countries. Amid this humanitarian crisis of still untold proportions, in recent days, the violence and threats have expanded into Lebanon, even as the war persists in Gaza and the West Bank.
reports from the Middle East6/3/2024  Deir al Balah, central Gaza - photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa; provided by MECC-DSPR As part of last week's meeting, the Week of Compassion Board of Stewards was joined by Dr. Peter Makari, Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe with Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, and by Rev. Prof. Mitri Raheb, Founder and President, Dar al-Kalima University (Jerusalem and Gaza), for an update on the situation and response in Gaza.
Stories were unsurprisingly heartbreaking and the situation is very dire – yet efforts by ecumenical partners to provide aid and assistance continue amid countless obstacles. That We Might Have Life5/7/2024 supporting students displaced in the Middle East Crisis
aid in the Middle East3/7/2024 assisting Palestinian refugees in Jordan Week of Compassion remains alert to the ongoing needs in the midst of the Middle East crisis. In conversation with our colleagues at Global Ministries, especially Peter Makari, GM’s Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe, Week of Compassion continues to respond.
Most recently, Week of Compassion through Global Ministries is responding with the Middle East Council of Churches’ Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees in Jordan. Given the already significant economic crisis in the region, which has affected Jordan as well, and the desperate situation of Palestinian refugees amid the ongoing crisis and the defunding of the UN Relief and Works Agency, partners are stepping in to fund initiatives that would ordinarily find support from other sources. As other partners’ funds are being delayed or diverted to care for the extreme needs of refugees during this conflict, emergency funds like the Week of Compassion and Global Ministries response through DSPR are crucial, both as an expression of interfaith solidarity, and to address these critical needs. ongoing response in the Middle East1/30/2024 reports from Global Ministries and Middle East partners photo : DSPR Recently, Dr. Peter Makari, Week of Compassion's long-time colleague who serves as Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe with Global Ministries, met with partners responding in many parts of the world, including “one of our Palestinian partners which works in Gaza, and of course the situation remains desperate there,” Peter said. “He [this partner] has insisted on the importance of advocacy.”
As ground operations continue in Gaza, and voices worldwide clamor for the needs of the most vulnerable, Week of Compassion remains in contact with partners like Global Ministries, and the Middle East Council of Churches, in their efforts to provide humanitarian response to profoundly traumatized communities. news from MECC12/14/2023 an update from the Middle East Council of Churches Our Disciples & UCC colleagues at Global Ministries (Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ) have shared recent updates from the Middle East Council of Churches, one of our primary partners responding to the ongoing war in Gaza. As violence has continued, MECC's Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees has continued its focus on those forcibly displaced to the southern area of Gaza.
Their attention is especially on women and children, providing psychological first aid, health/nutrition and medical supplies, and cash distributions where possible for those still on the move. We remain in close contact with Global Ministries, MECC, and other ecumenical partners in the region, and hold close in daily prayer those who are placing themselves at great risk to care for these most vulnerable individuals and communities. Shalom. Salaam. Peace. on the Middle East11/13/2023 a statement from the Common Global Ministries BoardLast week, Week of Compassion's Board of Stewards met in Tucson AZ for its fall business meeting. The gathering included a site visit with the Arizona Disciples Border Initiative, exploring the complexities of the border crisis, and the response offered to asylum seekers at Casa de Misericordia in Nogales MX. The Board also spent time in conversation with Tamara Rodenberg, president of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries, exploring Week of Compassion’s support for young adults, students, and seminarians in its mission and work.
Between these significant conversations, the Board was joined by Peter Makari, Co-Executive of Global Ministries, for context and updates from partners in the Middle East. This statement, released today by Global Ministries, holds compassion and justice at the forefront. Week of Compassion is grateful to serve with our partners responding in the midst of this crisis. |
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