ELCA Sumud

05/23/2026

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry and Rev. Gabi Aelabouni attended the graduation at United Lutheran seminary today! It was an honor to be with Bishop Emeritus Susan Johnson of the ELCIC. Rev. Dr. Fursan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land received his Doctor of Divinity. Alf mabrook Pastor Fursan!

05/20/2026

In early May eight ELCA bishops, ELCA Service and Justice Executive Director Rev. Khader Elyateem, MENA Regional Associate Ms. Shadin Nassar, MDCC Arab and Middle East Ministries Program Director Rev. Khader Khalilia, Sumud Program Director Maddi Froiland, and around 40 ELCA members traveled to Washington DC to be a part of the Joint Advocacy Summit, hosted in part by ELCA Witness in Society (WiS) Senior Director Rev. Amy Reumann and Middle East Policy Program Director Mr. Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, with support from the entire WiS team. Rev. Amy Reumann, Rev. Khader Elyateem, and Ms. Shadin Nassar accompanied the delegation of bishops to the US Department of State to discuss issues of religious freedom in Palestine and Israel with the Office of International Religious Freedom. Rev. Khader Elyateem delivered a powerful keynote speech, and Rev. Khader Khalilia, Mr. Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, Ms. Shadin Nassar, and Ms. Maddi Froiland participated in panels for the gathered group of nearly 300 folks at the summit. The group heard from the famous Palestinian poet , student activist .of.palestine and author of “Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza” , and other incredible speakers. Bishop Nathan Pipho of the ELCA New England Synod prayed before the group on the morning of the advocacy day, in which participants visited congressional offices to advocate for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel together. This was an outstanding collaborative effort of the ELCA MENA Desk, Witness in Society, and MDCC, as well as a wonderful ecumenical movement joining with 250 other Christians from around the nation. We give thanks to our eight bishops who were able to take time out of their packed schedules for this important week, to for their incredible efforts to make this summit happen, and to all our ELCA members who came out to learn, listen, and advocate.

05/18/2026

Will you be at the Triennial this summer? Be sure to attend the screening of “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, with post-screening commentary by Rev. Khader Khalilia.

05/15/2026

Today, May 15, we remember the Nakba (Arabic, “catastrophe”) of 1948. Our Palestinian siblings in Christ remind us that their reality constitutes an “ongoing Nakba”, an ongoing reality of displacement, violence, erasure, and exile. Please spend a moment in prayer today in remembrance of the Nakba of 1948, and find one of the resources listed on the “learn more” slide, or in our Sumud Resource bank on ELCA.org/sumud to keep learning.

05/03/2026

04/30/2026

04/01/2026

A Letter to Partners from Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad on the Recent Israeli Death Penalty Law for Palestinians

Dear partners,

On Monday, March 30, Israel’s Knesset passed a law imposing the death penalty for Palestinian detainees. This discriminatory law is worded to apply exclusively to Palestinians sentenced at an Israeli military court’s discretion. The military courts responsible for enforcing this law, where only Palestinians are tried, are notorious for disregarding due process; they have an approximately 96 percent conviction rate that relies on confessions obtained under duress and torture, as condemned by many human rights organizations. The United Nations high commissioner for human rights says the application of this law would constitute a war crime.

As we are preparing to celebrate Easter, the miracle of the empty tomb, our people are preparing tombs for those who will be impacted by this inhumane ruling. As Christians, we reject the ideology of an eye for an eye. As Palestinians familiar with the dehumanizing conditions of Israeli prisons and the unjust machinations of military courts, we fear for the many innocents who will inevitably be executed under this directive. In our belief in the sacredness and dignity of every human life, we stand firmly against killing by anyone, including by the state.

While those who designed and passed this law celebrate death by drinking champagne in the halls of power, we preach a gospel of life from the foot of the cross.

Now is the time to urgently ask you, our partners, to take a courageous stand: to write, to publicly advocate, and to condemn. Do not let death have the last word. Stand firm in our commitment to abundant life that encompasses all.

Your brother in Christ,

Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad
Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

03/31/2026

Important information in light of new Death Penalty Law passed yesterday by the Israeli parliament. Find each source in the link in our bio.

03/28/2026

03/24/2026

“Can breath from a global Lutheran church body like the ELCJHL blow though through the atmosphere and give life to the rest of the church? If it could, the breath would whisper about six congregations plus schools and other ministries who are giving life to their local communities. The Palestinian Lutherans we met are serving everyone in their midst in need…Bishop Imad told us the ELCJHL is not there to stay behind closed doors, but to be sent out”.

Read this final Lent devotion from ELCA Sumud, in which Bishop Manlove of the Northwest Intermountain Synod of the ELCA reflects on the Dry Bones passage and her time spent in community with our siblings in Christ in Palestine. Go to ELCA.org/sumud and find “Lent Series”, or look in the comments of this post.