In This Issue

Mennonite Action and MennoPIN – Such a Time as This…
MennoPIN and Mennonite Men’s Tree Planting Initiative and Trip to Palestine/Israel
An Anabaptist Response to Christian Zionism
MennoPIN Announces New Communications Coordinator!
Prayers from Sabeel
Stay Informed on Palestine

Mennonite Action and MennoPIN – Such a Time as This…

Mennonite Action protestors in DC on January 16

Mennonite Action is a new grassroots movement of Mennonites bonded by a common belief that we must be public about our peace values.  Mennonite Action has created a new space and a new voice for so many Anabaptists who are seeking to be faithful to Jesus’ non-violent teachings.  Since their first action on December 19th to the January 16th action in Washington, DC, the movement has grown and at the time of this post collected 5,882 signatures asking for a ceasefire in Gaza.  If you haven’t already plugged into this amazing work, check it out at https://www.mennoniteaction.org/get-involved.

MennoPIN and Mennonite Men’s Tree Planting Initiative and Trip to Palestine/Israel

In Palestine, Olive Trees are a symbol of peaceful resistance. Copyright: Ryan Rodrick Beiler

Raise Funds to replace olive trees in Palestine
Israelis have destroyed over one million olive trees belonging to Palestinians. Why? To strike at their livelihoods, create economic hardships, and displace them from their land. Once trees are removed and farmers are forced to leave their land, Israelis may claim and add this land to their settlements in occupied Palestine. This is one of many aggravating factors leading to Palestinian resistance and the current war.  Help MennoPIN and the Mennonite Men JoinTrees campaign raise $50,000 to replace 2,500-3,000 olive trees and enable Palestinian families to remain on their land. See the flyer and more information on the MennoPIN website at this link. 
 
Travel with us to Palestine and Israel
Join Mennonite Men and MennoPIN February 12-27, 2025, as we travel to Palestine and Israel to plant olive trees, meet Palestinian peacemakers, and connect the land to Jesus’ way of peace. This is for anyone age 18 and older.
 
Our two-week sojourn in Palestine and Israel will bring us into multifold contact with this land. Tree planting days in the West Bank will give us intimate, hand-to-soil contact with the land itself as we work with Palestinian farmers. We will learn about the occupation of Palestine through relationship building and experiential learning. We will discover the critical place of trees in the culture, economy, and ecology of the region. And we will see that the olive branch is not simply a symbol but that olive trees are essential for God’s peace in this land. Since this is the homeland of Jesus of Nazareth, we will visit ancient biblical sites—in Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem—and make connections between the ancient land of Abraham, David, and Jesus and of modern-day Palestinians. We will also meet with Palestinian peacemakers practicing creative non-violence to bring hope and courage into their local communities. We will make time for worship and reflection together, recognizing that there will be much to process, and much about this trip that will transform us. Learn more about the trip, including a link to sign up on MennoPIN’s website at this link

We hope you will support this fund-raising campaign or join us for this trip to Palestine and Israel. See attached flyers for more information. We will have an information and Q&A meeting via Zoom on March 18th at 7:30pm (EST) at https://bit.ly/palestinequestions.

For more information about the trip or about fundraising, reach out to

  • Steve Thomas, US Director of Mennonite Men and ISA certified arborist, SteveT@MennoniteMen.org
  • Bob Atchison, Chair of MennoPIN and professional forester, robertleeatchison@gmail.com 
  • Amy Yoder McGloughlin, delegation leader for CPT (Community Peacemaker Teams) in Palestine, amy.yoder.mcgloughlin@gmail.com

An Anabaptist Response to Christian Zionism


Image of a American woman with an Israeli flag around her shoulders. Copyright: Ted Eytan

Thanks to the work of MennoPIN’s Christian Zionism Committee, we are now offering a publication that provides an Anabaptist perspective to Christian Zionism which challenges the perspective that Jewish people alone have sovereignty over historic Palestine and the sole right to a state.  The publication is available at https://mennopin.org/christian-zionism/.  

Prayers from Sabeel

Israel confirmed last week that its troops are pumping seawater into a network of tunnels in Gaza, a method, environmentalists say violates international law and cause dire long-term environmental consequences in Gaza. This raises questions about Israel’s plans to rescue the Israeli captives and adds to the lasting devastation of Gaza.

Divine creator, Israel’s disregard for the consequences of their actions reveals their twisted intention. Your children and creation are victims to the sin of Israel’s military actions. Help us steward your good creation by resisting the sin of oppression and working for the redemption of all forms of life, human and ecological.

Lord in your mercy… hear our prayer

On the 7th of February, many Muslims around the world marked the Israʾ and Miʿraj, or the Night Journey, and Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims believe that the night journey and ascension was a miraculous occurrence during which prophet Muhammad travelled from Makkah to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem before ascending to heaven, all in one night. This year the commemoration was sombre as many worshipers were denied access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and police and settler violence in the old city are frequent.  

God of love, we are angered and saddened that our Palestinian Muslim siblings are prevented from their right to worship, and at times harassed and attacked by settlers and Israeli police. Lord, you wept over Jerusalem, and we continue with that cry today as Jerusalem has become a city of intolerance and hate.

Lord in your mercy… hear our prayer  
 

MennoPIN Announces New Communications Coordinator!

The MennoPIN Steering Committee is excited to welcome Lydia Miller, of Kalamazoo, MI as our new communications coordinator.  Lydia is married to Grant Miller, the pastor of Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship, she currently works as an independent business software consultant and is finishing up an MBA program at the University of Michigan. Along with several MennoPIN Committee members, Lydia has been actively engaged in Mennonite Action including her presence in the DC action. We are blessed to have Lydia join our Steering Committee and help us improve our outreach in these critical times.

Stay Informed on Palestine

MennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends:

Organizations

 
Web Publications

Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network
mennopin@gmail.com | mennopin.org | facebook.com/mennopin | twitter.com/mennopin

Steering Committee:
Bob Atchison (Manhattan Mennonite Church, Manhattan, KS)
Dorothy Jean Weaver (Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA)
Dave Janzen (Fellowship of Hope, Elkhart, IN)
Jonathan Kuttab (Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, Manheim, PA)
Lydia Brenneman (Lima Mennonite Church, Lima, OH)
Rod Stafford (Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, OR)
Zachary Murray (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington, DC)
Lydia Miller (Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship, Kalamazoo MI)

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Published by Mennonite Palestine Israel Network (MennoPIN)

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