Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Schools start again in Gaza
Weekly prayer from Sabeel, in #Jerusalem
Wave of Prayer: This prayer ministry enables local and international friends of Sabeel to pray over regional concerns on a weekly basis. Sent to Sabeel’s network of supporters, the prayer is used in services around the world and during Sabeel’s Thursday Communion service; as each community in its respective time zone lifts these concerns in prayer at noon every Thursday, this “wave of prayer” washes over the world.
Loving God, this week around 240,000 children in Gaza went back to 252 UNRWA schools to start their delayed school year. Many UN schools have served as shelters during and after Israel’s 50-day military offensive that caused massive displacement. Lord, as UNRWA applies the first stage of its emergency education response, focusing on physiological support and recreational activities, let your light shine on the educators and give the children of Gaza a sense of renewed hope for their families and futures. Lord in your mercy…
God of grace, we pray for the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPI), the annual advocacy initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum of the World Council of Churches, which starts September 21. During this week, be with congregations and individuals as they pray, educate and advocate in support of Palestinian political prisoners incarcerated by Israel and for an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. Lord in your mercy…
In the last weeks the Israeli government revealed its master plan to forcibly relocate as many as 12,500 Bedouin people from their ancestral lands east of Jerusalem. This was done without consulting the Bedouin tribes, in violation of Israeli Supreme Court recommendations. We pray that this latest unjust plan will not be implemented, as it is part of a long and unacceptable history of discrimination against the indigenous Bedouin community. Lord in your mercy…
Lord, we ask for your blessing on Sabeel’s programs this week including a young women’s trip to Haifa, a women’s meeting in Jerusalem, and German, French and Swedish group visits to Sabeel Nazareth. Lord in your mercy…
We also especially lift our gratitude to you for our new interim executive director, the Rev. William Roberts, from British Columbia, Canada, who will be joining us at Sabeel Jerusalem in the near future. After a long search, we look forward to the new energy and expertise that he will bring to our ministry. God of wisdom, we ask that you bless him and the Sabeel board, staff and volunteers as they all prepare for this exciting new chapter at Sabeel. Lord in your mercy…
We pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the countries of Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Lord in your mercy…