Peace, sustainable development and the role of the church in Syria: bringing the message to MPs

From November 27-28 the MCC Ottawa Office was pleased to host S. Laham*, formally with Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in Syria. MCC has been supporting local partners in Syria for more than 25 years and the MECC is one of the bigger partnerships in the country. Laham has since relocated to Canada but continues to support the work of MECC and local churches while serving as an informal advisor for their work in Syria and the surrounding region.

During his two days in Ottawa MCC arranged meetings with six Members of Parliament (MPs), representing the three main political parties, and multiple parliamentary committees working on foreign affairs and international human rights. Syria has been a significant focus for the Canadian government through significant support for refugee resettlement in Canada and promoting peace and stability in Syria.

Laham’s central message to each MP was the importance of working alongside grassroots and local organizations, as a means of promoting peace and sustainable development for the long-haul.

Throughout the visit, Laham stressed the importance of the local churches in Syria to bring a message of peace and reconciliation to areas of conflict as part of their work of rebuilding Syria. The churches, as minorities, are often seen as neutral when it comes to the broader sectarian conflicts in the region and are therefore trusted and able to reach out to anyone, regardless of ethnic, religious and political affiliation, says Laham.

“Jesus Christ was a refugee in Egypt. He was hosted by welcoming communities who provided him with security and peace at that time. Hospitality is not something of our own; it is something from our God. All of us as human beings are living in places created by God. We are all enjoying God’s hospitality,” Laham told us as we sat in the Ottawa Office between his meetings with MPs. His message is timely as we are approaching the Christmas season.

As we spend time with friends and family, celebrating once again the birth of a tiny baby, we invite you to create a space to reflect together on the connections the story of the Holy Family shares with our current context of over 66 million people forced to flee their homes. What if we were to interact with news headlines through the lens of the Christmas story, and act with hope and solidarity, based on the hospitality we have all received?

In the Ottawa Office, we want our country to be a welcoming place, and we also want people to find welcome wherever they arrive around the world. Our desire is for Canada to address some of the root causes of why people are forced to flee. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Today, however, is a moment when we can join with Laham, the Middle East Council of Churches, and thousands of other organizations, families and communities around the world in participating in the hospitality God has offered to each one of us.

*To protect S. Laham’s identity, only his partial name is used.

A Cry for Home Speaking Tour in Canada

From October 24 to November 7, 2018 the MCC Canada Advocacy Network hosted an A Cry for Home speaking tour in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Sahar Vardi, an Israeli activist based in Jerusalem and Tarek Al-Zoughbi, a Palestinian Christian based in Bethlehem, shared their unique perspectives and reflections of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas from both sides of the wall. Vardi works as the Israel Program Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Jerusalem in support of Palestinian-led struggles against house demolitions, child arrests and discrimination in East Jerusalem, Palestine. Al-Zoughbi is the Project and Youth Coordinator at Wi'am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, an MCC partner.

The speaking tour consisted of 29 events and meetings across the four provinces, including seven public events. If you were not able to attend any of these events, you can watch one of the presentations here or read this article in the Canadian Mennonite.

For more information and resources on the context in Palestine and Israel, and the work of MCC’s partners, see MCC’s A Cry for Home Campaign.

Staff update

From November 1-7 Ottawa Office Policy Analyst Bekah Sears participated in the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto, an international conference bringing together thousands of people of faith to collectively address some of the great challenges for peace and justice around the world – from the rising numbers of forcibly displaced people and refugees, the need to uphold and empower women to take leadership, the call to stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples from around the world, the urgent need to take action on climate change to the looming threats of nuclear war.

From November 11-13, members of the Canadian Advocacy Network met in Kitchener, ON for annual network meetings. This is an important time to connect and share about our advocacy work across the country.