Off to Palestine: Standing Where Jesus Would Stand

Palestinian children in Massafer Yatta, West Bank, Palestine. October 2023. (Photo by Rev. Linda Noonan)

On April 29, I will be traveling to Israel and Palestine to represent the United Church of Christ and St. John’s UCC on a delegation of bishops and denominational leaders. I will return on May 10.

I am not going to walk where Jesus walked as much as I am going to stand where I believe Jesus would be standing right now – with those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes and ancestral lands, denied basic human rights, and are daily witnessing the genocide of their people.

And yet, the faith of the Palestinians is astonishing. We have so much to learn from them about trust in God and the power of community. They are begging us to not avert our eyes and inviting us to be in solidarity with those who suffer. Throughout our scriptures, we are told that God stands with the oppressed, and God’s people are called to defend those who are crushed by the powerful, whoever they may be. We can do that by praying, and also by taking action for an end to the war in Gaza, an end to illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, and a just peace for all people in the Holy Land.

This will be my second trip. I was there last in September and October of 2023, and we were in the West Bank when the war on Gaza began on October 7. This is a story I sent to the United Church of Christ News about our experience – (Link found below)

I feel proud to represent St. John’s on this delegation and am so grateful for your support and care. I will do my best to send back some brief reports, which Grace Marchione, our Communications Coordinator, will share with the congregation. I welcome your prayers for those who are traveling, the ones we leave behind (like some of you, my family would have preferred that I sit this trip out!), and those that we meet.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, let us “learn to do right; seek justice; defend the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17.)

Pastor Linda

Read Rev. Linda's UCC Article

Read the Full Enlightener