Warren Wong sent this prayer and says, "This was the prayer offered by Scott Pomerenk, chaplain for California's General Convention deputation. Many felt this help set the tone and open hearts during our deliberation and vote last month."
Lord, your servants Abraham and Sarah showed hospitality to your messengers in the desert. May we be hospitable to one another as we deliberate and vote on this issue. Give us charitable spirits towards one another, so that love will prevail even where we disagree.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us, God, to align our hearts with your will. May this vote take your church where you would lead it, and may our actions carry out into the world. You know, O Lord, how you would have us vote; let the Church speak with your voice.
Fill every one of us with compassion for all in the Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians—and for all in other nations who are touched by this conflict, who are wounded by past injustice, who grieve losses, who are sorrowful over the continued hostility.
Passions run high, God. Let us be kind to one another after this vote. Let us accept the will of Convention, and pledge to love one another despite difference, to continue to be in relationship and strive for justice and peace for all, that we may live together in your beloved community.
We ask all these things in the name of your son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
Amen
The Diocese of California considered a resolution calling for divestment at its convention in October. Here’s the text:
PROMOTING JUSTICE AND PEACE IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Resolved, That the 165th Convention of the Diocese of California expresses its concern over the renewed violence by both sides in Israel/Palestine and, in particular, the loss of so many civilian lives in Gaza, and encourages the two parties to engage in talks to end Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, its blockade of Gaza, and the continued expansion of Israeli settlements;
Resolved, That the Convention expresses its profound love and concern for all the people of the Holy Land, both Israelis and Palestinians, and rejects attempts to equate honest and legitimate criticism of unwise policies of the Government of Israel with anti-Semitism; and
Resolved, That the Convention submits the following resolution to the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church:
Resolved, The House of ________ concurring, That the 78th General Convention encourage the Church to divest from any investments it might have in Caterpillar, G4S, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions, whose products and/or actions support the infrastructure of the occupation; and be it further
Resolved, That the 78th General Convention encourage Episcopalians to boycott products, such as Soda Stream, that are manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
We share some testimony from supporters of the resolution here.
From The Reverend Vicki Gray, Deacon, Christ Church Pinole:
This resolution comes after 47 years of occupation; 22 years of a “peace process” that has only provided cover for the occupation; 10 years of the Episcopal Church’s futile policy of constructive engagement; and 2,000 deaths this summer in Gaza, 400 of them children.
The time has come for action.
The Methodists have acted. The Presbyterians have acted. Now it is our turn…our turn to say, “Enough!”
The time has come, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said, to apply to Israel the same sort of economic pressure that peacefully forced the powerful in South Africa to the table.
I know that some call this resolution one-sided. It is. For the situation it addresses is one-sided. One people – the Palestinians – are on their knees. The other – the Israelis – have a gun to their heads. And we – we Americans - have paid for the gun.
“But what about Hamas?” some object. Hamas, however, is a creation of the occupation, its feeble homemade rockets no match for Israel’s F-16s. It draws its strength from the hopelessness and frustration of a people that, for years, has been blockaded, starved, and bombed. Want to get rid of Hamas? End the occupation, lift the blockade, treat the people of Gaza with some measure of dignity.
I know too that some in the Bay Area Jewish establishment have threatened to end our interfaith dialogue if we pass this resolution.
You should know, however, that there are also Jews in the Bay Area, including rabbis, who support this resolution. An expression of that support is on your table.
They are mostly young people who find that the “Israel, right or wrong” attitude of the older establishment conflicts with the universal message of the Prophets concerning peace and justice.
Theirs is part of a growing movement of young Jews and Christians who seek synagogues and churches that are relevant. For their part, they are building such synagogues.
The question before us is whether we are up to building such a church.
There is yet another question. If we vote down this resolution, the two establishments – Jewish and Episcopalian – can continue the “dialogue.” The question is: What do we talk about?
In closing, let me just add: Friends don’t ask friends to close their eyes to injustice. Friends don’t ask friends to ignore their conscience as the price for continued dialogue. Friends don’t dictate to friends what they can or cannot talk about. And friends don’t act as enablers of their friends’ bad behavior.
Let us act as our conscience dictates, confront injustice, and hold open our desire for honest, sincere dialogue. That is what friends do.
From The Reverend Margaret Trezevant, School for Deacons, Diocese of California
As Christians, we have an obligation to address injustice, even if that means speaking the truth to our friends. We cannot allow ourselves to be silenced by the threat of being accused of anti-Semitism. This is a sham argument, intended to intimidate and silence those who feel compelled to speak out against policies that have left the Palestinian people virtually imprisoned for 47 years and creates an atmosphere where there cannot be peace for either the Palestinians OR the Israeli people. The occupation must stop.
This is not a resolution against the State of Israel. It is not a resolution that condones the bombing and rocket attacks on Israeli cities. I must make that very very clear. It is a resolution that stands up to the terribly unwise policies of the Israeli government that will continue to put its own people in jeopardy in addition to continuing the suffering of the Palestinian people.
We are seeing more and more Jewish people who can no longer be silent about Israel’s actions which do not, in any way, reflect the tenets of their religion. They are more and more discomfited by the brutal and illegal actions of the Israeli government. We must stand with them, to let them know that we will stand with them in the face of the bullying tactics being used to silence them and us.
The Episcopal Church must take a stand that refuses to accept accusations of anti-Semitism in its quest for justice. The voices of opposition to these very unwise policies are growing. We must have the courage to support our Jewish brothers and sisters in their opposition.
We must send our own legislators a message that we are watching, we are voting, we are imploring our Israeli neighbors to come to the table and work for peace.
