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Advocacy

How & Why We Do Advocacy - Check out this statement put out by the ELCA's Washington Offices on the ELCA engages in Advocacy.
Learn more about the ELCA's role in advocacy in the Middle East.
The 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly committed this church to work with other churches and organizations to build a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence through 2010. Learn more about the Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence, which originated from the work of twenty Nobel Peace Laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama.

Write or call your congress representatives based on Peace Not Walls action alerts. A written letter or phone call makes a stronger impact than email.. Click here to find your congress people.
Write a letter to the editor or an op-ed for your local newspaper.
Host a conference on Peace with Justice in the Holy Land and introduce people to our companions, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and an Israeli peacemaker via skype. Peace Not Walls can help you identify speakers, moderators and resources. Invite all local churches.
Purchase Palestinian crafts for congregational craft fairs or for your own personal gifts to support the ailing Palestinian economy.
Utilize selective purchasing to avoid buying products made in illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land.

The Israeli peace organization Gush Shalom has taken down their list of

settlement products to be boycotted

Find out how some theologies and ways of looking at the bible can negatively affect our companions. Explore alternatives. Find resources here.
Plan events around the first week in June, which has been designated by the World Council of Churches for advocacy for a just peace in the Holy Land. Find ideas here and resources below for the 2010's Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel:

liturgical, educational, and advocacy resources to assist in planning for World Week activities, including newly created and updated resources
the Kairos Palestine Document (issued December 2009) and other church-related and political documents
the blog, "It's Time to Speak Out," which offers a weekly report from an Ecumenical Accompanier serving in the WCC's EAPPI program in Palestine
web-based links to the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) and other advocacy and peace groups
newly updated "Jerusalem Prayer" for Sunday, May 30, 2010, just released by the Jerusalem Interchurch Centre. This prayer has been authored by the heads of churches in Jerusalem.
updated Irish Ecumenical Liturgy "It's Time for Peace" - English | La Hora de la Paz - Spanish

Read reflections of ELCA members who have served as Ecumenical Accompaniers with the World Council of Churches in Israel and Palestine program (EAPPI).
Read about ways in which the ELCA’s accompaniment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land leads to advocacy: Accompaniment to Advocacy 2008.