Churches for Middle East Peace

Join a gathering of Lenten pilgrims from 96 communities and 15 countries to walk for peace in Gaza and to raise funds for Gaza Relief

Here in Harrisonburg on Holy Saturday, March 30, we will walk eleven (11) miles - or parts thereof - about twice the width and half the length of Gaza. We'll be stopping for meditation and prayer at various spots along the route.

You can walk all 11 miles or join us for just a leg of the pilgrimage.

For more information, or to express interest, go to gazaceasefirepilgramage.com and follow to Harrisonburg.

Want to join us in making a difference? We're raising money to benefit Churches for Middle East Peace, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to funding aid for Gaza.

More information about Churches for Middle East Peace: Beginning in '84, CMEP is a coalition of more than 30 national Church communions and organizations. We believe that the policy perspectives and experience in the Middle East of our member communions and organizations should be better known and directly influence U.S. foreign policy. Our work is based on the understanding that sound and holistic U.S. policy is crucial to achieving and maintaining just and stable relationships in the Middle East.

Palestinian Christians are calling on us to walk with them. It started with a Kiwi named James Harris who, heartbroken and feeling helpless, was moved to walk the distance of Gaza in prayerful solidarity. His impromptu actions raised over $5,000 for relief organised by Palestinian Christians in Australia. His mustard seed action grew as friends in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and then the USA came on board. In short, we felt the Holy Spirit moving. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me. North American donations are going to Churches For Middle East Peace.

More information about Churches For Middle East Peace: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of 30 national Church denominations and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. It works to encourage U.S. government policies that actively promote a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ensuring security, human rights and religious freedom for all the people of the region.

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit Churches For Middle East Peace, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Churches For Middle East Peace: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of 30 national Church denominations and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. It works to encourage U.S. government policies that actively promote a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ensuring security, human rights and religious freedom for all the people of the region.

We are a group of Christians in Kingston, ON, participating in a Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage on March 9. The Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage is a network of autonomous Christians groups with shared convictions who are engaging in a prayerful show of solidarity in cities around the world, where people during Lent will walk the length of the Gaza strip.

The 3 fundraising priorities of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage are:

1. Relief - Humanitarian relief in the form of food, water, medical supplies etc.

2. Refugees - Supporting those who are seeking safety.

3. Arrival of Relief and Refuge - Groups working to make sure the relief is arriving to those in need and refuge is being provided to those seeking safety.

The funds raised on GoFundMe for Kingston's Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage will be directly donated to Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), an American organization working to mobilize Christians to embrace a holistic perspective and to be advocates of equality, human rights, security, and justice for Israelis, Palestinians, and all people of the Middle East.

Funds raised will be distributed by CMEP equally in the following 3 categories:

1. The first third of funding will go towards humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter. These funds will, in part, be distributed by CMEP’s board denominations working on the ground in Gaza to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) which have long-standing presences there. Other funds will be allocated to trusted humanitarian organizations working in Gaza, as recommended by partners, colleagues, and board denominations.

2. The second third of funding will support efforts for Palestinian refugees seeking safety in the United States and Canada with little or no government support. These funds will be distributed with the help of our 30+ board denominations and organizations that are active across both countries.

3. Finally, the last third of the funds raised will support CMEP’s church-based educational programming and advocacy efforts in the U.S. and Canada. Some examples of these efforts include meetings with communities across the U.S. to discuss the war and its consequences; D.C.-based advocacy with congressional offices, State Department officials, and the White House; and the development of educational resources and briefings used by CMEP’s constituents around the world. CMEP’s mobilization efforts include gatherings like previous White House prayer vigils calling for a ceasefire and ending all violence. All of our work is done in close consultation with our partners on the ground in the Holy Land.

Our prayer is that this Lent as we meditate on the life and passion of Jesus, we might deepen our solidarity with what our Palestinian sisters and brothers are experiencing daily. We are committed to taking seriously the body of Christ in Palestine’s costly testimony to the truth of what is happening. Like Israeli human rights organisations and Jewish peace groups, we too want to accurately name what Palestinians are undergoing as fitting the legal definition of apartheid and military occupation. We heed the wisdom of experts who overwhelmingly identify genocidal intent in the ongoing war against Gaza and we are committed to its prevention. As Jesus teaches, we are seeking to “simply let our yes mean yes” and speak plainly the truth. We do so following the lead of so many Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians who have been on the forefront of the nonviolent movement, in calling for an enduring ceasefire and an end to occupation so a healing peace can finally begin.

Want to join me in making a difference? A group of us in Colorado are raising money to benefit Churches for Middle East Peace, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Churches for Middle East Peace: Beginning in '84, CMEP is a coalition of more than 30 national Church communions and organizations. We believe that the policy perspectives and experience in the Middle East of our member communions and organizations should be better known and directly influence U.S. foreign policy. Our work is based on the understanding that sound and holistic U.S. policy is crucial to achieving and maintaining just and stable relationships in the Middle East.