Get Involved

Here are six ways you can participate in the ELCA’s efforts to help build peace with justice in Palestine and Israel through the Peace Not Walls campaign.

Connect

Peace Not Walls has an active network of individuals and working groups across the United States that you are invited to join. To find out if there is a PNW working group in your area or for more information, email or call 773-380-2933.

Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine

Join us this Advent Season on the WAY to Bethlehem: Prepare, Journey, Arrive, Witness

Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine is an annual four-week virtual pilgrimage from the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls and Young Adult Ministry teams featuring young adult voices from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

What is “the way to Bethlehem,” as Advent practice, and as Christian engagement in Palestine? What does it mean for us as Christians, and for the church, to be called to resist the injustice of “the way things are” in favor of following the disruptive and transformative way of the Lord? What does it mean for us to be “on the way”?

All of the resources are here: explore the tabs to find the elements you want to use. You will find five 5-minute videos (an intro and then 1 video for each week of Advent focused on a specific word and Biblical text), a Bible study (includes Biblical text, discussion questions, centering and closing prayers for each gathering), a Leaders guide (for how to organize a small group discussion space), and more.

Register here to receive the resources directly.

Accompany

Walk with our companions in the Holy Land, ELCA missionaries and Ecumenical Accompaniers working for peace with justice in the region by following their blogs and websites (look under the "Accompany" tab on the resources page). There are many ways to accompany our companions:

• Become an “Ecumenical Accompanier” with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel and live in the Holy Land for three months on a peacebuilding team.
• If you are between the ages of 19-29, join the Young Adult in Global Mission program and live in the Holy Land for a year. 
• Sponsor an ELCA missionary living and working in the Holy Land.
• Travel to the Holy Land with an existing group or plan your own trip. 

Advocate

To receive the latest updates and action alerts from Peace Not Walls, sign up for the Middle East Network Newsletter. Peace Not Walls encourages you to become familiar with and contact your members of Congress to advocate for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. Check out the "Advocate" tab on the resources page.

Host an event

Thinking about holding an event to raise awareness? Looking for resources on how to do this? We have resources to help: background on some of the major issues of the conflict, suggestions for the best videos, books, websites and study resources, and other printed resources. You can find these materials under the "Learn more" tab on the resources page.

Purchase selectively

The Strategy for Engagement with Palestine and Israel and subsequent actions by churchwide assemblies encourage the purchasing of Palestinian products and the use of selective purchasing to avoid buying products made in illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land. Various resources are available, including the ELCA stance on boycott, divestment, and sanctions; and guidance on identifying products made in Israeli settlements under the "Advocate" tab on the resource page.