Newly-updated Church Toolkit for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking

Churches for Middle East Peace has updated its successful "Church Toolkit for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking."

This email is also available online at: www.cmep.org/Alerts/2008July8.htm

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is pleased to release its newly updated "Church Toolkit for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking." The Toolkit was first created in May 2006 and is designed to equip local churches and activists with tools to engage in awareness-building, education and advocacy activities in their communities.

This summer and fall will be an exciting time with the run-up to the November election and preparations for a transition to a new Administration and the 111th Congress. It is vital that church advocates work now to energize existing networks and build new ones to ensure that Middle East peace efforts continue now and are made a top priority in January 2009.

CMEP encourages you to download the Toolkit and use it to augment your current activities or begin new initiatives. You might use the Toolkit to establish a new committee or group dedicated to peacemaking. Or you might share it with your church leadership, whether it be your pastor or priest or social action committee chairperson. You might also want to pass it along to other churches in your area.

Below are links to access the Church Toolkit, an excerpt from the introduction, which provides a summary of the purpose of the Toolkit and the resources it provides, as well as comments from advocates who have used the Toolkit. If you would like to have a copy of the toolkit mailed to you or if have any questions, please contact the CMEP office at info@cmep.org.

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Access the Toolkit
View Toolkit as a Webpage - http://www.cmep.org/Toolkit/Church_Toolkit.htm

Download and Print Church Toolkit as a PDF file - http://www.cmep.org/Toolkit/CMEP_Toolkit_for_web.pdf

To Download and Print the Toolkit, along with the included Resources go to the Toolkit Homepage - http://www.cmep.org/Toolkit/Church_Toolkit.htm

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Excerpt from the Introduction and Guide to the Church Toolkit for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking

Many American Christians share a concern for peace in the Holy Land. They are drawn to this troubled region because of their spiritual connections to the places of Jesus' ministry, their relationships with the struggling Christian community, their concern for the suffering peoples of the conflict and their commitment to peacemaking. They often want to learn more about current events in Israel and Palestine and to better understand the conflict and possibilities for its resolution. At the same time, many see the complexities and controversies of Israeli-Palestinian issues and wonder where to begin.

Many churches and church organizations have policy positions and statements on the Middle East, mission personnel serving in the region and relationships with Holy Land churches. If you and your congregation or committee are just getting started, look for resources from your church or denomination. Learn more about the Christian community in the Holy Land - who they are, where they live, where they worship and how the conflict is affecting them. Pray for the Christians in the Holy Land. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - a lasting peace for the two peoples and the three faiths. Using church guidance and resources, take action in support of peacemaking.

The Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Church Toolkit is designed to assist congregational leaders in planning a worship service, prayer vigil, adult Sunday School series, workshop, panel discussion, advocacy initiative or other community activity by highlighting topics as well as resources for more information.

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What People Are Saying About CMEP's Toolkit:
"Thank you for the toolkit. I plan to give the members of our Missions Committee a copy of this toolkit for them to read and to discuss how our church can use the information. I feel that it will be a helpful tool to get us further involved in working for peace in the Middle East."
Sue Woodling - Raleigh, North Carolina

"The toolkit is an excellent resource for congregational, regional and conference use. I have made multiple copies to distribute at the Bi-annual Assembly of the Northwest Region of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."
Marvin Eckfeldt- Kent, Washington

Send us your comments on how you've used the toolkit in your local area! Email info@cmep.org


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Churches for Middle East Peace
Email: info@cmep.org
Phone:202-543-1222
Web: http://www.cmep.org


Churches for Middle East Peace
110 Maryland Ave. NE
Suite 311
Washington, DC 20002

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