Moral Courage
“Being a disciple of Jesus, from the very first page to the very last is all about bearing witness…. The call to follow Christ has never been a call to comfort. It has always been a call to the witness stand.” – John Munayer, Palestinian theologian at Winnipeg Conference
Winnipeg conference calls for witness, testimony and moral courage
While genocide continues in Gaza and Nakba increases throughout Palestine, some 120 individuals from across Canada gathered in Winnipeg, May 14-16, at the conference “Palestine, Settler Colonialism and an Ecumenical Call to Action” to learn, network and inspire one another to take action for Palestinian justice and liberation. CFOS was a co-sponsor of this event.
Keynote speakers, Palestinian theologians John and Samuel Munayer, spoke about a Palestinian theology of martyrdom and how it calls for witness and testimony. South African scholar Sarojini Nadar warned against the danger of biblical concepts like “chosenness” legitimating genocide. Heiltsuk First Nation professor Carmen Lansdowne explored the concept of “sintering solidarities” as a metaphor for bonds of connection between oppressed people.
On Nakba Day, May 15, lived theologian Shadia Qubti and musician Samia Odeh, Palestinians living in Canada, shared the stories of how their own families were impacted by the Nakba (the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes by Israel in 1948). A cultural evening with poetry, music and film portrayed the devastation, destruction and death in Palestine, as well as the beauty, resilience and “sumud” of Palestinian resistance.
Read more about the conference here.
“Come and See, Go and Tell” visits
When Gerlyn Henry, incumbent of the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Toronto, returned from a “Come and See, Go and Tell” CFOS pilgrimage with other Canadian clergy in December 2025 she wanted to do something that “makes this worth it.” Participants were encouraged to bear witness to what they had seen on their return, and Rev. Gerlyn embraced that heartily, sharing photos and stories on her social media pages, where she boasts 300,000+ followers on Instagram and 185,000+ followers on TikTok.
Rev. Gerlyn wanted to answer the questions “What is being done in my name, and who and what are the impacts”? She hoped that every time someone saw or heard the story of what the clergy had seen in Palestine it would shift their world view. “Go and see what it’s like on the ground, and then come back and tell the story,” she tells viewers of this video in calling them to witness.
Current hostilities in the Middle East have meant postponing some of CFOS's planned Come and See delegations. However, we know the transformative power of these visits, and so we continue to recruit potential participants. We want to be ready when such visits are possible once again. If you are interested in joining a future delegation, please visit our webpage or contact us at cfosinfluencer@gmail.com for more information.
Support the Canadian diplomats calling for sanctions on Israel
On May 14—just a day before the 78th anniversary of the Nakba—190 former senior Canadian diplomats sent an unprecedented letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney urging ten specific and robust measures in response to Israel’s flagrant and violent disregard of international law and human rights. These measures include:
an immediate review of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement,
termination of the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership MOU,
strengthening of bilateral relations with the State of Palestine, including increased support to the Palestinian Authority,
legal action against Canadian companies that bid on or participate in construction projects in the illegal Israeli settlements.
Read the entire letter here. Via Action Network, add your voice to those of this enormous list of experienced Canadian diplomats. Almost 16,000 letters have already been sent.
Nakba as moral catastrophe
We encourage you to read a particularly eloquent meditation by Dr. Yousef AlKhouri posted on the Bethlehem Bible College website. “The Nakba is not only a Palestinian experience; it is also a reflection of a global moral catastrophe. The Nakba exposes the moral failure of a world that has been complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian people.” Dr. AlKhouri goes on to decry “the weaponization of the Bible to justify violence.” Read the entire post here.
Hear about Kairos Palestine II from some of its authors
On May 4 Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ hosted a webinar conversation featuring Palestinian leaders Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine, and Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah. Both are among the authors of the seminal Kairos Palestine II document of November 2025, “A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide.” They draw a vivid, concrete picture of Palestinian daily life now, and how it has profoundly and radically changed in historically unprecedented ways since the first Kairos Palestine document of 2009. “The genocide is ongoing, the region is boiling.” View the entire one-hour recorded live-stream on the Global Ministries YouTube channel.
Learn about the increasing precarity of Palestinian Christian existence
Here are two opportunities to hear from Christian Palestinians about the increasing attacks they are experiencing in Jerusalem and across the West Bank.
On May 30 our exceptionally active and faithful allies at Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land (CJPHL) will be hosting a webinar, “Faith under Pressure: The Untold Story of Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem,” hosted by Dr. Imad Haddad, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. “Christian communities in Jerusalem are facing …not only attacks on individuals, but also on the dignity, history, and spiritual presence of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.” Register here. Subscribe to the cogent CJPHL e-newsletter here.
Christ at the Checkpoint recently postponed their May conference to December. But they say, "What we need to talk about is too important to wait. … [T]he conversation is urgent, so we’re meeting anyway. The genocide is ongoing, the region is boiling, and the calls for war are growing louder." They have organized two online conversations for May 30 and June 6. Register for these conversations here.
Information from Sabeel
Sabeel’s weekly topical Wave of Prayer email draws on specific experiences from the preceding week; you can find each week’s prayer posted on Sabeel’s fresh new website.
And don’t forget Sabeel’s weekly English online worship service on Thursdays at 11:00 AM ET. These services gather folks from around the world to read scripture, and to reflect, discuss and pray how these readings apply to life today, especially in Palestine/ Israel. Register here to participate.