The ELCA’s primary companion church in the Holy Land is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). This Arabic-speaking community of faithful Lutherans is the primary relationship through which the ELCA sees the situation in Palestine and Israel. Both churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a global communion whose vital Jerusalem-area program has pursued projects related to health, education and humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territories for over 65 years.
The ELCA, the ELCJHL and the LWF share a long history of nurturing relationships among Jewish and Muslim communities in the Holy Land. The ELCJHL was instrumental in creating the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, whose faith leaders encourage and advocate for the moderate voices for justice and peace among their own people. The ELCA has long and deep relationships with Jewish and Muslim communities that foster mutual understanding and that challenge all to embrace justice, peace and nonviolence.
Through Sumud, the ELCA supports a viable, contiguous Palestinian state; a secure Israeli state at peace with its Arab neighbors; and a shared Jerusalem with equal access and rights for Jews, Muslims and Christians.
You can join the ELCA in this call to walk alongside our siblings in the Holy Land by raising awareness and advocating in your hometown, congregation, school or synod. To get involved, click here.
