Sabeel Wave of Prayer
March 9th, 2017
2017 marks 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, a declaration that gave birth to the injustice, suffering and dispossession of the Palestinian people. Sabeel does not want to this year to be only a time of looking back. Through our 10th International Conference this week, let us aspire to make 2017 a biblical year of Jubilee, a year in which we proclaim liberty to our land and for all its inhabitants. Inspired by this vision of Jubilee, we want 2017 to mark a time for moving forward and overcoming the challenges of Israeli occupation and extremism.
- Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
Will be the time for Palestine.
will be the time of justice for the Palestinians.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry…
- Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be the time to respect human lives in the land called holy.
will be the time for healing to begin in wounded souls.
will be the time to end more than 100 years of conflict, oppression and fear.
will be the time for freedom from occupation.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry… - Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be the time for equal rights.
will be the time to end discrimination, segregation and restriction on movement.
will be the time for those who build walls and fences to put them up on their own property.
will be the time to stop bulldozing the homes of one community and building homes for another on land that is not theirs.
will be the to do away with double standards.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry… - Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be the time for the international community to implement more than 70 years of United Nations resolutions.
will be the time for people who have been refugees for more than 70 years to gain their right of return
will be the time for self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry… - Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
Will be a time for pilgrims to visit Bethlehem and other Palestinian towns imprisoned by the wall.
will be the time to expose settlements in their comfort and refugee camps in their despair.
will be the time for people living under occupation for 50 years to feel stronger solidarity from people around the world.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry…
- Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be the time to name the shame of collective punishment and to end it in all its forms.
will be the time to voice rejection of violence against civilians and for civilians to be safe.
will be the time for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners
will be the time to reunite the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
will be the time for all parties to obey international humanitarian and human rights law.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry… - Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be the time to share Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Will be the time for Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities to be free to visit their holy sites.
will be the time for olive trees in this land to flourish and grow old.
Lord in your mercy hear our cry…
- Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel conference cry out to you that this year
will be a time to speak truth to power.
will be a time to break the silence surrounding injustice.
will be the year for peace, the year for Palestine
Lord in your mercy hear our cry…
- We join the World Council of Churches in praying for the countries of Ireland; United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Lord in your mercy…