Giving Tuesday is next week!

CMEP is excited to announce we will be participating in Giving Tuesday this year! Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It's an incredibly important day for CMEP, as we receive 70% of our funding at year-end. Mark November 29th on your calendar and keep an eye on your emails and our social media for more information!

Advent Devotionals:

Together this Advent season, we look toward the child born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Guiding us on our journey, Kelley Nikondeha offers devotions from her book The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope. Nikondeha teaches us about invitations from the first Advent into service, embodying God’s peace through lament, collective prayer, resisting injustice, theological reflection, following stars toward hope, and being willing to relinquish the status quo. At Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), our work seeks to embody each of those practices. We ask the question and daily live out what it means to have hope when the status quo on the ground in Palestine and the Middle East often seems to be getting worse. We remain committed to education and service in response to the injustice we witness as we advocate for the U.S. government to have different policies that will create justice and equality for all people in the Middle East. Devotionals will be posted on our website every Sunday morning of Advent.

CMEP is pleased to have partnered with author Kelley Nikondeha to create a devotional series booklet entitled “The First Advent: Embodying God’s Peace Plan” that is available for purchase for you or your church group. This devotional book contains devotionals for each Sunday of Advent, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as Alternative Advent Practices written by members of CMEP’s staff. The book can be purchased at this link.

Public Statement: The Violence Must Stop: CMEP calls on Palestinian and Israeli Leaders to Protect Children and Pursue Peace

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) continues to be dismayed by the escalation of violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem and its devastating impact on children. CMEP calls on Palestinian and Israeli leaders to protect children and pursue peace.

Action Alert: Contact Your Representative Now: Ask Them to Cosponsor the Justice for Shireen Act

On May 11, Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist wearing a flak jacket with the word PRESS clearly marked, was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. So far, no one has been held accountable for her killing. On November 14, Rep. André Carson introduced the “Justice for Shireen Act” (HR 9291), a bill that will be vital to ensuring a thorough and transparent investigation is carried out. That same day, it was reported that the FBI has opened an investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh's death.