Israel/Palestine
Palestine-Israel Learning Tour
As part of Mennonite Church Canada’s call to prayer and discernment on Israel-Palestine, Missions, Peace & Justice Ministry invited anyone interested to consider participating a Palestine-Israel Learning Tour June 17-30. Alina Balzerson participated in this pilgrimage on behalf of Stirling. We gratefully acknowledge a $500 grant from Mennonite Church Eastern Canada to support Stirling’s congregational-based learning initiative, which was further supported through Stirling’s MissionTravel Fund.
A call for study and discernment
As a follow up to a November 12, 2017 Peace Sunday visit from Rabbi David Mivasair, Stirling created settings to further explore topics raised in his presentation. One setting was a series in adult faith formation in January and early February 2018. During the series, the following resources were identified to aid in the ongoing process of study and discernment:
The Parliamentary ePetition for Peace In Palestine
MCC’s Cry for Home (Israel/Palestine) campaign. This site has basic information and background as well as some engaging videos.
Several columns that report and comment on the MCC campaign: A Cry for Home and A Cry for Home; Some Jewish views.
MCC Canada letter on Jerusalem.
A CBC opinion piece published in January of this year.
In an adult Faith Formation class on January 28, Kathy Bergen shared from her extensive experience in Palestine/Israel. She recommended the following resources:
a list of ideas on what we can do in response to the situation
specific suggestions on how to respond through a boycott of certain products
the website of the Mennonite Palestine Israel Network (MennoPIN)
"Come and See" - a Palestine-Israel Learning Tour Opportunity, June 17-30, 2018.