I received an alert that the Pastors for Peace Caravan was stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border this morning.  31 computers destined for Cuba were seized.

As always, the Pastors for Peace buses are carrying medicines and other materials to show their solidarity with the people of Cuba. Rev. Thomas Smith, President of  the Board of Directors for the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization/Pastors for Peace stated, "We've had 31 computers seized by the Customs and Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border. These computers were destined for classrooms, clinic and hospitals in Cuba. These are 31 classrooms, clinics and hospitals that now will not have the opportunity to have computers."

The Presbyterian Church (USA) kicked off its 218th General Assembly in San Jose, CA by electing a moderator who blogs.  The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco, was elected as moderator on Sunday.

SAN JOSE, June 21, 2008 — Minutes after being elected moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow said during a press conference he was eager to get back to his hotel room.

It was not that he wanted to get a well-deserved rest after Saturday night’s speech, question-and-answer session, and his second-ballot election.
Instead, Reyes-Chow said he was more keen on checking the Internet buzz his election was generating.

Reyes-Chow, a 39-year-old San Francisco pastor, husband and the father of three daughters between the ages of four and 11, said that blogging and using Facebook and other social networking sites "is part of my way of being, how we naturally engage with people."

In the past several years, several mainline Protestant denominations have given consideration to their investments in the light of the conflict in Israel/Palestine and the denominations' stated commitment to a just peace.  Regional bodies of the United Methodist Church, like the New England Annual Conference, have taken actions advocating divestment from companies profiting from the occupation.  However, since most of the Church's investments are held by the national body (the General Conference), the statements by regional bodies (Annual Conferences) are mostly symbolic.

The United Methodist General Conference begins meeting today.  Among the many items of business it will be considering is the "Methodist Federation for Social Action Petition: Promoting Peace through Ethical Investment," a resolution calling for

a process of phased, selective divestment from companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and other violations of human rights in Palestine/Israel.

 

On Democracy Now this morning Amy Goodman has a story about war tax resistance by a Portland couple,

Pat and John Schwiebert have been war tax resisters for the past thirty years. John Schwiebert is a retired pastor who spent more than four decades as a United Methodist minister. His wife Pat Schwiebert is a registered nurse who founded support groups for parents who have lost their children.

These reflections on taking Jesus down from the cross and laying him in the tomb complete the series of Stations by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron about their faith in the light of Palestinians' suffering under occupation:

Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.


As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.

The Challenge of Peacemaking

"Nonviolent resistance to tyrants, oppressors and brutal invaders is not for fools or cowards. It demands courage and daring of the highest order. It requires discipline, training and a willingness to face death. Are there tough, brave volunteers for that kind of costly, demanding battle? Would the nonviolent troops be available to be trained by the thousands and then tens of thousands to form disciplined Christian Peacemaker Teams ready to walk into the face of danger and death in loving confrontation of injustice and oppression?"

(Ron Sider, Nonviolence: The Invincible Weapon, p. 95)

One of the tenets of Liberation Theology is that Christ suffers along with the oppressed.  The verse from the Spiritual "Nobody knows the trouble I seen, nobody knows like Jesus" resonates not only in the African American Church, but in other communities hungering for justice, believing that God has not abandoned them.  

These reflections on Jesus stumbling and Jerusalem women weeping continue the series of Stations by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron about their faith in the light of Palestinians' suffering under occupation:

Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.

As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.

One of the tenets of Liberation Theology is that Christ suffers along with the oppressed.  The verse from the Spiritual "Nobody knows the trouble I seen, nobody knows like Jesus" resonates not only in the African American Church, but in other communities hungering for justice, believing that God has not abandoned them.  

These reflections on Jesus' mother, Veronica and Simon of Cyrene continue the series of Stations by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron about their faith in the light of Palestinians' suffering under occupation:

Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.
As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.

One of the tenets of Liberation Theology is that Christ suffers along with the oppressed.  The verse from the Spiritual "Nobody knows the trouble I seen, nobody knows like Jesus" resonates not only in the African American Church, but in other communities hungering for justice, believing that God has not abandoned them.  

Over the next few days, I'll be sharing a series of reflections by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron about their faith in the light of Palestinians' suffering under occupation:

Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.

As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.

Holy Week began with the annual Palm Sunday procession.  Members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams joined Palestinians on the first leg of the journey from Bethany to the Wall.  Internationals, Israelis and Palestinians on the other side of the wall continued the procession from Bethphage through ancient gates into Jerusalem.  These reflections from CPT and from Reformed Mission Workers, Marlin and Sally Vis, are reprinted with permission.

As I reported in a previous diary, on Wednesday, February 13, the town of Beit Ummar was put under curfew and was declared a closed military zone.  Some tragic events had occured in Beit Ummar a few weeks prior.

On Friday, January 25 two young Palestinian men, Mahmoud and Muhammed Sabarnah from Beit Ummar were killed after entering the settlement of Gush Etzion.  Over the next few days, Christian Peacemaking Teams sent out several reports giving more context to the incident and its aftermath.