"Who will roll the stone away?" A Lenten litany and prayer by Diane Roe, working with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Hebron. WCC Central Committee member part of US church leaders' delegation to the Middle East A WCC Central Committee member, Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson of the United Church of Christ, participated in a high-level delegation of American church leaders to the Middle East. The delegation visited the Holy Land from 7 to 12 December to express solidarity with local Christian churches and encourage Israeli and Palestinian political and religious leaders to renew efforts for a peaceful resolutiion of the recent crisis. Delegation website The delegation's final press release

Prayer Vigil for Peace in the Middle East Please join in an ecumenical prayer vigil for the Christian communities in Jerusalem, for all those who are suffering in the Holy Land - Palestinians and Israelis -, and for peace in the Middle East. The vigil begins on the first Sunday in Advent, December 3, and will continue until the violence ends and a peace agreement emerges. It is based on an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) initiative and is being organized by the ecumenical working group Churches for Middle East Peace. Prayer Vigil website Churches for Middle East Peace Referrring to the Vigil, the Rev. Mark B. Brown, Assistant Director from the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs in Washington, DC, says that "Some people are surprised when we say that this prayer vigil will continue until the violence ends and we can celebrate a just and lasting negotiated resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Perhaps, like apartheid in South Africa, the conflict in the Middle East is so complicated and the anger runs so deep that it is difficult for many of us to pray with confidence for justice and an enduring solution. But by engaging in this vigil, we are participating in a countdown, not to Armageddon, but to reconciliation. We are declaring that God's grace is the source of all peace and through prayer we are humbling ourselves to God's will for all creation." "We offer this prayer vigil as an opportunity for congregations to incorporate the welfare of the people of the Middle East into the heart of their church life: in their worship, in their learning, in their giving, and in their advocacy. We urge people to see this prayer vigil as so much more than just words in a formal liturgy, but rather as an outpouring of concern for Palestinians and Israelis - Christians, Muslims, and Jews - whose lives are overtaken by broken relationships and the conflict which flows from these divisions."