Palestine is Focus for Christian Women's 1994 World Day of Prayer

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

The 107th annual World Day of Prayer will be observed on Friday, March 4. Christian women—Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox—in some 170 countries will hold ecumenical services of rededication to the movement's motto: "Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action." Although prayers of contrition and devotion toward one's own country and community are a regular feature of this annual event, each observance also involves an invitation to churchwomen from a different pre-selected country—Palestine for 1994—to plan a service of common worship "drawn from their own faith, hope, joy, struggles, concerns and sufferings."

Members of the Writing Committee normally are drawn from congregations in scattered parts of the chosen country in order to bring varying regional emphases to the final Order of Worship. Israeli restrictions on travel and meetings in occupied Palestine, however, necessitated that all the writers be selected from Jerusalem parishes. However, the Armenian, Arab/Greek Orthodox, Episcopal, Lutheran, Melkite and Roman Catholic writers represented have produced a varied but cohesive liturgy. Their draft—translated into as many languages as necessary—has been widely circulated throughout the movement's eight geographical districts for suggestions and emendations to make the final form as inclusive as possible.

"From the Holy City of Jerusalem, and in a spirit of reconciliation," says the Call to Worship, "the women of Palestine call again upon you, our sisters and brothers in every part of the world, to unite your prayers with ours. Pray for a just and peaceful solution to bring an end to human suffering, achieve security and ensure peace to all people of the region."

The September/October issue of the Washington Report included Deena Hurwitz's endorsement, as a progressive Jew with a strong empathy for the lot of Palestinian Christians, of the selection of Palestine. More recently, Rabbi Bruce Cohen of Interns for Peace, which trains poor Palestinian and Israeli youth for self-support, has hailed the fact that a portion of the World Day of Prayer offering will go to the Israeli Isha L'Isha hot line for women victims of violence in Haifa. He sees in this a welcome shift "from conversation to constructive action"—a comment totally in keeping with the World Day of Prayer motto.

Because, however, some American Jewish individuals and organizations had voiced objections, Church Women United set up a Sept. 13 forum at New York's Interchurch Center to air and deal with these concerns. Religious News Service had reported that there were strong feelings in certain Jewish circles against the whole idea of treating Palestine as a nation. This, however, had been succinctly dealt with in the World Day of Prayer Leader's Guide, which notes that more than 100 U.N. member states have recognized Palestinian statehood.

Another point, promoted by Rabbi Lori Forman, interreligious program specialist for the American Jewish Committee, was that, though the World Day of Prayer Leaders' Guide contains a letter (see box) from a Christian mother in Palestine to some concerned Israeli women about the destruction of Palestinian homes, family life, property and security by the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, there was no comparable reference to "the suffering caused to Israeli women by Palestinian terrorists." Apparently it was not enough that the Palestinian Christian writers had simply included the comprehensive statement that "the long and tragic history of the persecution of the Jewish people has, all too often, been at the hands of Christians." Nor did the critics seem to recognize the importance of responding to that same paragraph's climactic sentence: "Let us pray our times of worship, dialogue and action will bring us to a time of peace in which Jews, Christians and Muslims can live in peace and freedom."

Since the matter of including any part of that "Mother's Letter" in local World Day of Prayer services is optional, it might be well if more American Christian women had a fuller background for it: In Israel there have been several Jewish activist peace groups made up of women who are repelled by what their sons, brothers and husbands report from their tours of military duty in the occupied territories.

Among the boldest are the Women in Black who, dressed in mourning apparel, carry signs to "End the Occupation" in well-frequented places in Israel. They have persevered despite efforts by Israeli hard-liners to humiliate or deter them.

Other like-minded Israeli women also have encouraged Palestinian wives and mothers. It was to express appreciation for their efforts and as a plea to them to continue that the "Mother's Letter to Israeli Women and Mothers" was written in 1988 by the American wife of a brave but conciliatory Palestinian leader in Ramallah. Three years later it appeared in Perspectives, a limited-circulation, occasional compendium of documents of interest within the Middle East Council of Churches.]

The Sept. 13 Inter-faith Forum, to which all objectors to any aspect of the 1994 World Day of Prayer had been invited, went smoothly, starting with the opening remarks by representatives of the host organizations. The goal of the Forum, as presented by Church Women United's General Director Dr. Patricia Rumer, was to communicate "all of our concerns in a way that will be helpful to the women of our constituency as they prepare for this upcoming service."

Rev. Margaret Orr Thomas, Presbyterian associate for interchurch ministries, further noted the "need to listen, even when it is painful." Eileen King, executive director of the International Committee for the World Day of Prayer, reminded those present that the 1994 service was to be understood not "as a Palestinian service but as a service written by Palestinian women. Its theme is to enter a new reality and see something [you] have never seen before," she added.

Two factors, one startling, added to the overall positive atmosphere of the occasion. Expected were the high-quality presentations from many religious and peaceseeking organizations. More dramatic was the timing. The forum took place only a few hours after the historic handshake between PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn.

How these circumstances may make even more meaningful the March 4 assemblages remains to be seen. Meanwhile, as parts of an ongoing series, the December issue of Churchwoman carries two follow-up articles.

One, by Rabbi Forman, entitled "Prayers for New Beginnings," asks readers to "consider and note the profound psychological and spiritual change which has taken place between Israel and the Palestinians. All who watched the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Sept. 13 and saw Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat shake hands could not but feel the intense sense of awe and wonder that old, bitter enemies . . . today are willing to give up violent means to work toward peaceful solutions. The burden of oppression weighed heavily on both Israelis and Palestinians and I urge you to acknowledge all innocent victims as did Foreign Minister Peres in his address on the South Lawn of the White House."

The other article in Churchwoman, "A View from Palestine," is an interview by Elizabeth Haak with Aida Haddad, Lutheran co-author of the 1994 service. She, too, sees hope, but "with reservations mixed with joy and trust that peace should prevail in this area. Not peace as it sounds through the media but what in fact should be translated into a reality and action."

That peace has yet to extend to everyday life for Palestinians. They, Haddad reports, "now realize that no changes took place on the local level. The security siege and closure of Jerusalem is still going on. People are denied access to the holy places in Jerusalem. Restrictions on entering Israel proper are still in effect."

Still, Aida Haddad's chief desire is for "our friends around the world to understand that our message of hope for peace, justice and love should prevail throughout the world and should reach out to all God's children. Through your continuous prayers and actions, you will preserve with us the solidarity of Christian women around the world with women of other faiths. To continue to support our search for a just and real peace, pray for a just solution to the problem of Jerusalem, which is the seat of the three monotheistic religions—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity."

To learn how the World Day of Prayer plans to make each observance an intimate local experience tied in with a global awareness, request further information from Church Women United, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115, telephone (212) 870-2344, fax (212) 870-2338.

The Reverend L. Humphrey Walz, D. D., retired associate executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is active in denominational and ecumenical peacemaking activities.