In late July, the ELCIC National Office – in conjunction with the Eastern Synod – announced the launch of a joint appeal to support the ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).
The ELCJHL Appeal has a set goal of raising $50,000 to assist in supporting the vital work of the ELCJHL to embody faith, resilience and hope of a just peace.
“Thank you very much for your generous support and for always being with us, accompanying us in our ministry as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land,” said ELCJHL Bishop-elect Rev. Imad Haddad in a video message to the ELCIC.
“Your support is meaningful for us, it will help us continue to minister, to be with the people, to continue opening our schools and giving severance to our teachers. But at the same time it will help us help families who are in very bad situations because of the current political circumstances that we are going through in the Holy Land.”
Currently living in an apartheid situation in the West Bank, Bishop-elect Hammad and his church have been battling arson within their villages, roadway blockades and expensive permits that are now being required just to travel from town to town when performing wellness checks on members of their churches.
“This will help us be a church and be with the people,” he continued. “It will help us get to the people who are most vulnerable and suffering from the unjust of humanity from the political situation. It will help us accompany people in their lives as they go through the valley of death into new life and a bright future.”
In the letter sent out to the church from National Bishop Susan Johnson, Bishop-elect Larry Kochendorfer and Eastern Synod Bishop Carla Blakley, the ELCIC leaders asked the church to consider praying for peace, learning about the work of the ELCJHL and to give generously to the appeal.
The full letter can be read, and donations can be made at: https://elcic.ca/holy-land/. Watch the full video message from ELCJHL Bishop-elect Rev. Imad Haddad here.
