Steadfast in our Shared Faith
“The Holy Land cannot remain alive without its indigenous people. Forcibly removing farmers from their land, threatening their churches, and encircling their towns is a wound to the living heart of this nation. Yet we remain steadfast in our shared faith and hope that truth and justice will ultimately prevail.” –Frs. Daoud Khoury, Jacques-Noble Abed, and Bashar Fawadleh, “Statement from the priests of the three Churches of Taybeh,” July 8, 2025
SAVE THE DATE: “Voices of our Christian Brothers and Sisters in Palestine” with CFOS Board Member Rev. Dr. Dorcas Gordon
Join CFOS Board Member Rev. Dr. Dorcas Gordon for an evening discussing her recent experience accompanying an “Come and See, Go and Tell” delegation with Canadian Friends of Sabeel. Rev. Dorcas Gordon is the Principal Emeritus of Knox College, Presbyterian Church in Canada and has a long history of accompanying Palestinian Christian siblings in their witness. Since October 7, 2023, Dorcas has travelled to Palestine three times, including with a delegation from the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 2025/2026.
Join Dorcas on Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 3:00PM to hear her firsthand experience standing in costly solidarity with Palestinian Christians. The event is free and will be held at St. Andrew’s Church (82 Kent Street) in Ottawa.
Contact voicesinottawa@gmail.com for any questions regarding the event.
Multifaith group from Friends of Sabeel North America denied entry by Israel
A recent multifaith delegation organized by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) was denied entry by Israeli authorities. Over the last three years, Sabeel and FOSNA have brought more than 450 people to Jerusalem through these solidarity delegations. These visits respond directly to the invitation Palestinian Christians have extended to Christians around the world to witness the plight of Palestinian Christians and to take action.
The denial of entry to the latest group represents a small fraction of the restrictions Palestinians themselves experience every day. We support FOSNA’s call for an investigation and review of Israel’s treatment of travellers at the border.
An Evening of Witness with Huwaida Arraf and Sebastian Tow
On August 20, 2026, CFOS joined Friends of Sabeel North America in Vancouver for an evening of witness and solidarity featuring Palestinian-American human rights lawyer and activist Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement and a leader of the Free Gaza Movement, and Sebastian Tow, a Vancouver activist and one of twelve Canadians who attempted to sail to Gaza with the flotilla this past April.
The Vancouver gathering formed part of Arraf’s 2026 West Coast speaking tour, which brought together hundreds of people across Canada and the United States to hear about Palestinian resistance, international solidarity, and efforts to challenge the siege of Gaza.
CFOS Board Member Monica Lambdon had the privilege of attending the event. The following are her reflections on the evening:
“The talk was excellent and I was humbled to hear about the commitment and self-sacrifice from both Huwaida and Sebastian. This was indeed costly solidarity. It was encouraging to hear from Huwaida that, while Israel is becoming more and more aggressive in its actions to stop the flotillas, international support has been steadily increasing and each time they sail there are exponentially more boats. Both Huwaida and Sebastian expressed an on-going commitment to free Gaza and said they would never give up.
It was very moving to hear Huwaida talk about the ships that did make it to Gaza in the early years. The first attempts didn’t, but then a couple of times they did get through. Huwaida told us about the warm and joyful welcome they received on the Gaza shores as hundreds of people came out to welcome them and thank them and celebrate with them for the defiance of the Gaza blockade.
CFOS is grateful to Huwaida and Sebastian and FOS-NA for making this evening possible, and to all those who worked on the event and attended and gave generously when we passed the hat. For many years CFOS and FOS-NA regularly collaborated on speaking tours that would move across the continent travelling back and forth across our borders. The covid pandemic put an end to the tours and when they started up again things had changed. We hope that this might be the beginning of increased collaboration and unity as we work together to build a Friends of Sabeel movement for justice, peace and an end to the Occupation.”
Urgent Message from Cardinal Pizzaballa Warns of Settler Violence in the West Bank
In a press release issued at the end of August, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stated that the occupied West Bank has become a “lawless land” as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities continues to escalate. “The fact that there is a situation of continuous aggression by settlers is well established,” he writes, warning that the West Bank has become “a no-man’s land — or rather, a lawless land — where everything that happens goes unchecked, with no safeguards in terms of security or the rule of law.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa’s words come to us amid continuing threats to Taybeh, the only remaining Christian town in the occupied West Bank. Christians of Taybeh continue to suffer Israel’s genocidal attacks alongside displacement, land confiscation, restricted access to Holy Sites, and escalating settler violence.
His message reminds us of the importance of amplifying the voices of the Taybeh Christians, who have called on churches and the international community to accompany their community, document what is happening, and press for an end to settler violence.
Read more about Cardinal Pizzaballa’s message here.
In Memoriam: Sliman Mansour and Rev. Dr. Kamal Farah
We at Canadian Friends of Sabeel mourn the passing of two important members of the Palestinian Christian community, Sliman Mansour and the Rev. Dr. Kamal Farah.
Sliman Mansour (1947 - 2026) was a Palestinian artist whose work focussed on stories of displacement, struggle, and resistance. Mansour was born in Birzeit in 1947, one year before the creation of the state of Israel. A lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, his work often explored Christian iconography in contemporary contexts of occupation.
Father Kamal Farah was a Maronite and Anglican priest. Born in Kafr Bir'im, a historic Christian village depopulated during the Nakba, Father Farah was a deeply respected priest who dedicated his life to community, leadership, and discipleship. His loss is deeply felt by Christian communities in Palestine and abroad.
We mourn the loss of these two leaders and extend our prayers to their families and communities at this time. We give thanks for the lives, advocacy, and service of Sliman Mansour and Father Kamal Farah, and are privileged to continue to share their work and stories.
Holy Family School reopens in Gaza
As children in Canada and across the globe return to school this September, the school at Holy Family Parish, Gaza’s only Catholic church, will reopen its doors. Throughout the genocide, the parish has served as a place of refuge for displaced Palestinians. Now, its school is once again becoming a place for learning for Palestinian children. The school’s open doors are a reminder of the Palestinian steadfastness that persists amid displacement and destruction. Speaking about the reopening of Holy Family School, Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has stated that: “Every child who enters this school is a reminder that hope is stronger than fear and that the Church remains dedicated to building a future of dignity, opportunity, and peace.”
Read more about the school’s reopening 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.