Working Group in the Middle East – Metropolitan Chicago Synod ELCA

Working Group on the Middle East (WGME)

Our Vision is equity, justice and peace for Palestinians and Israelis, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and reduction of Middle East conflicts.

Our Mission: Led by the Holy Spirit and inspired by the witness of our companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Working Group on the Middle East (WGME) strives to educate congregations and individuals in our synod, to accompany our siblings in the Holy Land, and to motivate our synod and the larger ELCA to advocate actively for justice for Palestine and Israel.

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Educate

Awareness

We strive to educate ourselves, our church, and our communities about the history of the region, about Lutherans in the Holy Land, and about such current issues as economic justice, access to holy sites for all, and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

How can we learn through events? In February 2020 the Working Group sponsored a well-attended Middle East Fair with such presentations as Life on the Ground in Palestine, Lutheran Schools in Palestine, and An Overview of Islam. Display tables featured the work of such groups as ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission, Bright Stars of Bethlehem, and Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as sales of embroidered cloth, olive wood carvings, and olive oil.

“Learn More” will take you to a document with many more opportunities to learn more.

Take Action

Advocacy

In the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, we join with ELCA/Sumud and many others to promote boldly the cause of justice for all in the Holy Land through public witness and outreach with government officials.

What are some ways the Metro Chicago Synod does advocacy?

Through resolutions: The conflict and suffering in Gaza and Israel prompted the drafting of a resolution calling for Metro Chicago Synod actions and a memorial intended for the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. Both were discussed and adopted at the June 1, 2024, Synod Assembly.

Walk Alongside

Accompaniment

As a church and as a working group we strive to listen to our companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land/ELCJHL, to share their stories, and to stand in solidarity with them—and with all the peoples of the Holy Land.

Accompaniment Partners

ELCA Sumud

The name sumud, Arabic “steadfastness,” was chosen at the suggestion of the ELCA’s Palestinian Lutheran companions to continue “Peace Not Walls,” a campaign initiated by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2005.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Since 1947, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has been an independent Palestinian denomination with bishops and pastors born and raised in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Bright Stars of Bethlehem

Bright Stars of Bethlehem is a 501c3 nonprofit group that for 20 years has raised “awareness and support for Dar al-Kalima University, the first and only university for arts, culture, and design in Palestine.