Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of March 14, 2022

Last week Sabeel invited forty-five women from different church backgrounds in Jerusalem to attend a discussion. They were asked to reflect on plans for activities for Sabeel women over the forthcoming year.

• Lord, in your sight every believer is chosen and precious and we all have a contribution to make. We thank you that the voices of so many women from different church traditions were recently heard at Sabeel. May the women be blessed as they participate in the activities and may they strengthen their bonds of friendship and support for one another. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

Sabeel received the sad news of the death of Martine Millet on Wednesday, the 9th of March. Martine was a member of Friends of Sabeel France.

• Lord, we pray for the family and friends of Martine as they mourn her loss. We thank you for her faithful support of Sabeel. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

In the lead up to Easter, Friends of Sabeel Australia, in partnership with Sabeel, are organizing a series of four online events. The first event was held on Saturday, the 12th of March. It marked the launch of a new organization called Palestinian Christians in Australia (PCiA), which aims to support local community groups of Palestinians in their advocacy work.

• Lord, we give thanks for the work of Friends of Sabeel across the world. We pray particularly for the launch of PCiA, in partnership with Friends of Sabeel Australia and for their Lenten programme. We pray that Palestinians in the diaspora will persevere in their efforts to call for justice and peace in Palestine. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

On Thursday, the 10th of March, the Knesset passed the new Citizenship Law. It replaces a temporary order introduced in 2003, which was renewed annually. The law discriminates against  those Palestinians who are Palestinian by heritage and Israeli by citizenship. It prevents them from extending citizenship and permanent residency to their Palestinian spouses, if they come from the occupied Palestinian territories or Gaza. It will force thousands of Palestinian families to emigrate or to live separately.

• Lord, we pray that the Israeli government will stop passing laws which discriminate against Palestinians. We pray that this racist law will be challenged and defeated in the Israeli Supreme Court. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

There has been another attack on the Orthodox Monastery in Nablus, at the site of Jacob’s Well. The monastery and the Superior, Archimandrite Justinus, suffered a previous attack on the 24th of January. He has survived no fewer than thirty-two life threatening attacks.

• Lord, we pray that Archimandrite Justinus will recover fully from this recent attack. We pray that the Palestinian Authority will thoroughly investigate this latest incident and bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

Women in Palestine celebrated Tuesday, the 8th of March, as International Women’s Day. On the eve of this day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that only 17% of Palestinian women currently participate in the work force in Palestine, even though they outperform Palestinian men in terms of educational attainment. Women only make up 11% of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body in Ramallah.

• Lord, help us to remember that we are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’,(Ps.139:14). So many women in different countries still face discrimination, but Palestinian women also contend with the oppression of the Israeli occupation. We pray for strength and courage for them as they seek to overcome the obstacles they meet. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.