Jerusalem Peacebuilders to present on “Nurturing Peacemaking in the Holy Lands” at Jan. 18 Mission Thursday webinar

“Post Tenebras Lux: Nourishing Peace and Leadership in the Holy Lands Today” will be the theme of the Mission Thursday on Jan. 18, as Jerusalem Peacebuilders presents a webinar about how the mission group declares and enacts hope amid the desolation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.  The Latin phrase Post Tenebras Lux means “After darkness, light.”

Sponsored by the Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN), the webinar on Zoom will feature the Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter, founding director of Jerusalem Peacebuilders (JPB) and his colleagues Sarah Benazera and Zak Adileh.  The one-hour webinar will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and is free and open to the public.  Register here at Eventbrite.    

Here is Canon Porter’s introduction to the theme:

Three months ago, Hamas militants killed 1,200 children and adults, seized 240 hostages, and shattered life for the people of Israel. Not since the Holocaust of the 1940s had so many Jews died violently in a single day. The terror of that assault triggered Israeli attacks on Hamas that have displaced 1.5 million Gazans, flattened entire neighborhoods, and claimed over 22,000 lives, most of them noncombatants. This is the largest death toll for Palestinian Arabs since the Nakba in 1948.

The bloodshed and horror have traumatized two entire populations, 14.5 million Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs – each now living in fear, wracked with grief, and divided by anger and accusation. For those who follow the star to Bethlehem, can we even dare to hope for healing and peace?

Just as Good Friday precedes Easter, a moral reckoning for all parties involved (governments and non-state actors, local and international alike) in this growing tragedy will be necessary before the cycle of violence can abate and healthy political structures that pursue virtue, justice and equality emerge. Such vulnerability and honesty require first addressing the collective traumas that dominate Israeli Jewish and Palestinian identity.

This healing work is the interfaith ministry and mission of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. Founded in 2011, Jerusalem Peacebuilders operates interfaith peace and leadership programs for Jewish, Christian and Muslim high school educators and teens in Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Britain and the United States.  In 2022 and 2023, its programs impacted over 10,000 youth and adults.

JPB’s curriculum consists of four cornerstones: identity, communication, recognizing conflict, and managing conflict. We explore these foci through learning, prayer, play, and dialogue. By working in small groups, participants experience a re-humanization process of greater self-awareness and empathy for the other.

The Jan. 18 webinar will not be recorded and will be accessible only by real-time attendance.

Mission Thursdays are a monthly offering of GEMN to the mission community, the Episcopal Church and to our ecumenical and global companions.

Participants in Jerusalem Peacebuilders’ Leadership Institute canoeing in Brattleboro, Vermont

Top photo: Easter morning at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Posted in Diocese of Jerusalem, Jerusalem Peacebuilders, Mission amid Danger, Mission Leaders, Mission Thursday, News.

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