Alka's Angle March 1, 2024

Dear Broadway Community, 

As some of you may know, last Sunday airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, and while we can all argue about whether this is the right approach, it also does not take away from the fact that another human life is lost! 

This past Wednesday we hosted a prayer vigil at church- in memory of Aaron, with an invitation to the larger community to continue our quest for justice for our Palestinian siblings who are being displaced and killed in numbers beyond our imagination. One of the speakers at the prayer vigil commented that we as Americans are becoming immune to these killings- and I feel it held some in it, at least for me. I seems that I am becoming so desensitized that I do not feel the severity of the situation, or is it because I am removed from it far enough to not feel the pain? And yet, I don’t think we are that far removed! Because our faith calls us to be our siblings keeper, and because, we know that our liberation is dependent on their freedom!

And- so this Lenten season, as we continue to explore ways we can rise up to be faithful to God’s call on our lives, I invite us to join in the effort towards a “Free Palestine.” Our United Methodist Board of Church and Society invites us to join our Bishops and other ecumenical partners in calling the U.S. government to:

• Support an immediate ceasefire, de-escalation, and restraint by all involved.
• Ensure immediate and adequate access to and provision of humanitarian needs.
• Press all parties to abide by the Geneva Conventions and customary international law.
• Demilitarize the conflict by withholding further arms shipments, and 
• Negotiate the immediate release of all civilians being held hostage and ensure international protection for all civilians, including Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

This new action alert calls for ceasefire, de-escalation, and restraint by all and invites us to contact our elected officials to call for a Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. It only takes a few moments of our time and has the potential to save many lives!

Next week, I hope to talk more about the Gaza pilgrimage, but until then let us continue to follow Jesus who always addressed the injustices, exorcised evil from communities and shared love with all people. Let us continue to commit ourselves to sharing the love of God with all people to the best of our ability, and become agents of hope in this world.  

Beloveds, may we be blessed, and be a blessing to all we meet, and I look forward to seeing you all at church.