The Things That Make for Peace

Middle East regional representatives present at the WDPIC 2017 International Meeting.

​The World Day of Prayer Committee of Palestine is grateful to God for so many blessings among which is the challenging responsibility of living and witnessing in and from the land of Jesus’ resurrection which announced the message of liberation, salvation and peace. No less important is the privilege of belonging to the WDP movement for over half a century, learning from and sharing with sisters around the world creative ways of becoming more involved in prayerful actions to do the Will of God. “Showing forbearance to one another in love preserves the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3), enforcing respect and equality among all of God’s creatures.

Praying from the Middle East with our sisters from Suriname in 2018 and with the Slovenians in 2019, we realize that the grievances of female human beings, though not identical, are basically similar. Though many people believe that man and woman were created to be equal (Genesis), they ignore or deny women’s rights to live in dignity despite religious teachings, all universal laws and human rights conventions. “All God’s Creation is very good” reminded us our sisters from Suriname, yet we have depleted and destroyed the earth, and we neither protect nor respect the environment.

In Palestine, we can still hear Jesus crying over Jerusalem “If you had known on this day the things which make for peace” (Luke 19:41). The injustice that is prevailing in Jesus’ Land has been so outrageous that back in 1994 the WDP of Palestine invited sisters from around the world to “Come, See and Act” hoping that together, we could  reestablish unity, reconciliation and a just peace. Today, the suffering of the oppressed, mostly children and women, is even more acute but the world refuses to learn “the things that make for peace.”
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Slovenia’s theme “Come to the table: everything is ready” is inviting us to accept the challenge of actively sharing and joining all those who are willing to be part of the Kingdom of God.

​- Nora Carmi, WDPIC Regional Rep. of the Middle East