United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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Message from the UMKR Co-chairs
March 2017
Greetings and thank you for all you do for justice and peace.
We’re honored to be your co-chairs.
From Andrea (Andy) Whitmore:
As with many of you, my work with UMKR began with a
phone call from Rev. John Wagner, who asked me to join
the Steering Committee to help towards General
Conference 2012. At nearly the same time, I was elected
to the Steering Committee of the US Campaign to End
the Israeli Occupation (now the US Campaign for
Palestinian Rights). As well, Friends of Sabeel North America
asked me to join their Board of Trustees. Three more worthwhile organizations I cannot imagine! My goodness, such a busy time. What you, and the activists in the USC and FOSNA have taught me fills my heart with hope—as well as amazement that God allows me to work with such dedicated people. Now, due to family considerations, I concentrate my work with UMKR. Thank you!
From John Wagner:
On a 2008 trip to the Holy Land the truth overwhelmed me.
I came back to West Ohio, helped to form a task force, and
in 2011 our conference divested from three companies
supporting the occupation. We would not have passed our
divestment resolution in West Ohio without the active
support of brave conservatives who had become
convinced this was the right thing to do. It’s since been
my joy to be a part of creating UMKR and getting to work with all kinds of people, all over the world, with all sorts of politics and theology, who know that our cause is just and are willing to act on that knowledge. Thanks for that – it continues to be a great privilege.
From Andy and John:
We and our Steering Committee have so much hope for the future: three well-crafted resolutions coming from the Boycott & Divestment Committee; another from the Political Action Committee; and two from the Education Committee. They are posted on our website, and we hope you’ll choose one or more for your own annual conferences.
We’re also working in tandem with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, with FOSNA and other organizations on a boycott of HP products. See it in our newsletter that just went out and check out UMKR’s call for the HP Boycott on our website. We’ll keep you posted on what we hope to achieve and remind you of the tremendous successes the justice movement has had with similar boycotts.
We could never have come to this moment of clarity and hope without the courageous work of former Co-chairs Susanne Hoder and Rev. Michael Yoshii, as well as that of former Steering Committee members. With gratitude to them and to all of you, we bring our hope for justice and peace through the establishment of human rights for all in the Holy Land.
We’ll be in touch. Thank you again for all you do.
Andy and John
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