Five congregations in Mosaic Conference of Mennonite Church USA gathered March 17 in Lansdale, Pa., to share grief and hope and to pray for the people of Israel and Palestine as the humanitarian crisis in war-ravaged Gaza worsens.

Plains Mennonite Church hosted the Ambler, Methacton, Perkasie and Salford congregations, as well as friends and representatives from Philadelphia Palestinians of America, Prayers for Peace Alliance, Friends of Sabeel North America and If Not Now, a Jewish group.

Jacob Curtis, pastor of Ambler Church, was a main organizer. He said Jesus grew up under occupation. When people asked whose side he was on, Jesus blessed the poor, the grieving, the weak, those hungry and thirsty for justice, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted. When people are powerless, hungry and thirsty, that is the side Jesus is on.

The idea for the prayer service came when Curtis asked Samuel Kuttab, a Palestinian American and former member of Ambler, how he was doing. Curtis asked if Ambler could hold a prayer service for Kuttab and his family. He envisioned a smaller prayer service, but Kuttab said, “Throw the doors open.” Nearly 250 people showed up, with 50 more attending via livestream.

Since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, Palestinians are hungry, thirsty, sick and unable to go home. Arabs around the world are increasingly afraid that they will also become targets.

“As Palestinians and Arabs grieve, Jesus is with them,” Curtis said, addressing the gathered congregations. “And so are we.”

Israeli people were killed and taken hostage on Oct. 7, Curtis continued. Jewish people around the world are frightened as they hold their trauma.

“They are terrified that if they are not safe in Israel, they cannot be safe anywhere,” he said. “As Israelis and Jews grieve, Jesus is with them. And so are we.”

The service spent time honoring grief through readings from Lamentations 5 interspersed with reflections from Palestinian and Jewish friends.

Ahlam Kuttab pointed out widespread American culpability in the war in Gaza. The U.S. is a leading arms supplier to Israel. Amer Raja said Ramadan is a joy-filled time of fasting and feasting, but in Gaza, people can’t have these festivities. He finds it hard to be joyful when not everyone can participate.

Becca Feidelson, a representative from If Not Now, an American Jewish group that organizes for a just peace and future for Palestinians and Israelis, read the words of a fellow organizer, Ella Israeli.

“How could we let our pain [from the Holocaust] become this?” Feidelson asked. Jews believe humans are made in the image of God, and each life is sacred.

The second half of the service focused on readings from Matthew 5 with reflections about hope. Dina Portnoy, a teacher in Philadelphia who grew up on an Israeli kibbutz that was built on a Palestinian village, said she finds hope in confronting difficult truths. She said some Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve in Gaza, and Israeli activists have lost jobs and are going to jail.

Allaa Husney read from the Quran: “We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure who say, when struck by a disaster, ‘Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return.’ ”

Muslims understand life as a test, and Husney finds hope in that social media disrupts larger media narratives. He was also grateful for an opportunity to speak at the service.
Samuel Kuttab, a Palestinian Mennonite, said being a Mennonite and a Palestinian can be tough. Mennonites emphasize love, and Palestinians are suffering.

“My faith goes into conflict,” he said. But he finds hope in that the Mennonite church has “woken up.” He is encouraged by the work of Mennonite Action, a new peace-advocacy group, and feels Mennonites have legitimacy in political action because “we are a peace church.”

After the reflections, the speakers were invited to stand at different places in the sanctuary, where people gathered to lay hands on them and to pray as the worship leaders offered instrumental music.

An offering raised $5,500 for Mennonite Action.

At the close of the service, participants had the option of participating in Mennonite Action’s Holy Week Action to send postcards to local government representatives, urging them to support peace and diplomacy.