Tuesday, September 23

We have finally arrived and are staying at beautiful Betharram Retreat House in Bethlehem.

It was a long journey of 33 hours (including 11 hours in the Frankfurt Airport). We arrived here at 6:30 am just as the sun was rising over the distant hills.

We are on a hilltop overlooking the city with views of the town.

Prayers for Peace in the Middle East

O God Source of Life, Creator of Peace,
Help Your children, anguished and confused,
To understand the futility of hatred and violence
And grant them the ability to stretch across
Political, religious and national boundaries
So they may confront horror and fear
By continuing together
In the search for justice, peace and truth. . . .
With every fiber of our being
We beg You, O God,
To help us not to fail nor falter. Amen

Rabbi H. Rolando Matalon
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, New York, NY

In the Name of God, The Everlasting Merciful, The Cherisher
Of the Worlds and Worthy of all Praise,
Our Lord: You have created us from a single (pair) of a male
And a female and made us into Nations and Tribes that we may
Know one another (not that we may despise each other) so
Help us to love each other and take the hatred and anger from our
Hearts so that the People of The Book (Christians, Jews and Muslims)
In the Middle East may live in Peace and Justice. Amen

Dawud Ahmad Assad
Council of Mosques, USA, New York

God of mercy and compassion,
of grace and reconciliation,
pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East:
Jews, Muslims and Christians,
Palestinians and Israelis.
Let hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope,
oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation,
that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces,
and peace and justice could be experienced by all. Amen.

The Reverend Said Ailabouni
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago, IL

Almighty God!
After almost a century of mistrust and fratricide,
you inspired Jews, Christians and Muslims
to take the path of reconciliation in the Middle East. . . .
We ask for your forgiveness, O God,
yet we find it hard to forgive our past enemies.
May Your Words touch those who still stray
in the wilderness of vengeful violence,
forgetting your command to "forgive and overlook,
till God accomplish His Purpose;
for God hath power over all things." Amen

Abdelwahab Hechiche
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL