Help Digital Storytellers Travel to Palestine

GOAL NOTE: As we approach and surpass our goal, please note that anything above and beyond will offset the scholarship that Sabeel offered each member of the delegation, freeing that money up for their use in other areas.

WAIT, WHAT, YOU'RE GOING TO PALESTINE?

As many of you know, I traveled to the West Bank last month as part of a Solidarity with the Suffering Delegation sponsored by the Israel Palestine Mission Network , Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center , and Kairos Palestine .

After my return, Sabeel invited me to help organize an experimental delegation, bringing together influencers, creatives, and digital storytellers to amplify the stories of Palestinians whose stories are not always told.

As with my last trip, I could not refuse the invitation to help bring others to see some of what is happening firsthand. We will be going in early May, so here we are, again asking our communities to support our work and help crowdfund this trip.

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?

There is no grand project in the works, no assumptions about the content created, and no expectations that we will make a grand impact while we are there. We will be there to listen to and receive stories, collaborate and create with one another and those we meet, and show our solidarity by showing up, breaking bread, and using our gifts to participate in movements for peace and healing.

WHY GOFUNDME?

This work is expensive, and being a creative who focuses on humanitarian and social causes does not often lend itself to engaging in these kinds of delegations. Simply put, basic travel costs and fair compensation to our hosts are not cheap. That said, we frequently have the flexibility to engage in this work when others do not, so we go on behalf of our communities, colleagues, friends, and family who support us in this work. Because we wanted to include a diversity of lived experiences, we are crowdfunding this together, sharing our resources, influence, and experience so a variety of folx can participate.

The collaboration starts now.

APPROXIMATE COSTS PER PERSON (9 Days, 8 nights)

NOTES ABOUT GIVING:

WHAT IF YOU CAN'T GO? Our friends at Sabeel are in constant contact with us about the prudence of our traveling to the West Bank. With this in mind, even if we have to postpone or cancel, all funds raised will be reserved by Sabeel for the individuals to use on a future delegation

Now, please meet the arts, creatives, musicians, filmmakers, podcasters, and storytellers.

Matthew Black (He/Him) — Singer-songwriter. Musician.

Matthew is an indie-folk singer-songwriter known for incisive lyrics and singable melodies. The literal son of a preacher man, Matthew left his job as a mild-mannered IT manager in 2022 to make music full-time. His sophomore album, A Little Closer, is set for release in 2024.

Addie Domske, Co-Leader (She/Her) — Pastor. Mother. Public Theologian.

Originally from a small borough north of Pittsburgh, Addie is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who nurtures Christian spaces that are queer, anti-colonial, and anti-capitalist. Addie spent the summer of 2013 in the Holy Land with no understanding of Palestinian resistance, but after meeting people on the ground she returned to the U.S. committed to indigenous land sovereignty, both in Palestine and on Turtle Island. This will be her sixth trip to Palestine.

David Ensign (He/Him) — Pastor. Storysinger. Grandpa.

David is a writer, musician, and mostly retired Presbyterian pastor in Arlington, Va., where he has lived for more than 20 years with Cheryl Lederle, his beloved of more years than he can remember. He most recently served as interim executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. David and Cheryl have three adult children and two grandchildren (whose pictures he will happily show you).

Ghazellé (She/Her) —Artist. Songwriter. Abolitionist.

Ghazellé is an LA-born artist, songwriter, & performance coach. She is a Queer, half-Arab, half-Armenian woman. Ghazellé's global engagement includes significant time in Athens, Greece during 2018 & 2021, and NYC in 2023 as part of the SWANA-LA-Connect delegation supporting refugee communities on the ground. Ghazellé's journey, marked by resilience and advocacy, resonates in her dynamic artistry. She is driven to uplift BIPOC, LGBTQAI+ and all vulnerable, oppressed communities as part of her life’s purpose and strives to create ways for her music to be a vehicle for liberation and social justice transformation.

To get to know Ghazellé follow her on Instagram and then head on over to beacons.ai and letscleartheroom.com for more!

Heatherlyn (She/They) — Singer/Songwriter. LIVEstreamer. Healer.

Heatherlyn, Mystical Minister of Song, infuses soul, roots, and rock into their eclectic music, uplifting and embracing the human experience with fierce tenderness. Their name, meaning "flowering, flowing river," reflects the refreshing essence of their music, serving as a channel to help listeners feel, heal, and wash away life's stresses. With deep curiosity and effervescent love, Heatherlyn's voice resonates with diverse vibrations, enriching souls along the journey.

Andre Henry (He/Him) — Musician. Author.

From the shadows of Confederate Mount Rushmore in Stone Mountain, Georgia, just miles outside the Civil Rights capital city of Atlanta, comes a creative truthteller, equipped with revolutionary insight, fierce vulnerability, and conscious, soulful, cinematic, pop anthems.

Merissa Magdael-Lauron (She/They) — Composer/Musician. Educator. Organizer.

Merissa is a 3rd & 4th generation Filipina born and raised in Stockton, California. A Berklee College of Music graduate, Merissa is a composer for Film & TV working with award-winning filmmakers and recording artists; an advocate of human rights especially for Queer, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; and was a band & drumline middle school music teacher in her hometown giving back to the community that made her who she is today. With a love and passion for both music and liberation, Merissa's soul is fueled with the drive to be the change she wishes to see in the world through her music.

Thanh Nguyen, Sabeel Project Coordinator (She/They)— Poet. Musician.

Thanh is a poet and musician from Atlanta, Georgia currently living in Amman, Jordan. Her work focuses on colonial displacement, exile, and belonging and has been featured in Re:Visions Magazine, Silk Road Review, Decolonial Passages, as well as her own artistic productions. Outside of poetry, Thanh also pursues decolonial imaginaries as a project coordinator at Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center based in Palestine.

Bruce Reyes-Chow, Delegation Coordinator (He/Him) — Pastor. Writer. Podcaster.Bruce Reyes-Chow is a sought-after speaker and writer on faith, culture, politics, race, technology, and pop-culture. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and hosts the podcast BRC & Friends. His most recent book, is Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith (Broadlead, 2024). He and his spouse have three adult children, two dogs, and live in San Jose, California.