A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE
In a faithful response to our founding call to promote a more robust Episcopal response on behalf of peace with justice for our Palestinian and Israeli sisters and brothers, the former and present members of the EPF Palestine Israel Network steering committee, its work groups and founding members, invite you, sister and brother Episcopalians, to join us in signing this statement of conscience:
READ and SIGN HERE
EPF PIN offers an alternative vision to the interfaith pilgrimage model of General Convention 2012's Resolution B019:
Standing Against Injustice
An excerpt from the "Statement of Conscience":
"During the Christmas just past, most of us will have sung:
"Oh, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie" or
"O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem."
But Bethlehem has not lain still for many years and few people want to go there anymore. Sadly, many of those who sang those lines prefer to think about a dreamy Christmas pageant Bethlehem over the stark reality that their holy land is a place besieged....
We are people of the Episcopal Church who have learned some truths about Palestine and Israel and have tried to speak out about the decades of massive and egregious injustices thrown down upon Palestinians....
But when we have come home from our time in Palestine and Israel and sought to share our understanding and experiences we realized that our understanding often differs from commonly held perceptions and misinformation about the region. Moreover, we have been too often rebuffed, put off, patronized, and scolded by our Church for our efforts. We perceive that the Church is reluctant to hear us because the truth we bring home from Palestine/Israel is an inconvenient one. It is not in line with the dominant narrative and it forces confrontation with a troubling reality: that the occupying power over Palestinians is a state of Israel that does not comport with their myth of Israel. This truth about the occupation disturbs the ecumenical expediency that some have chosen.
We write this today to widely share what we have learned in our time in Palestine/Israel, and to call people of the Church to rebuff what is merely convenient and stand with us against injustice..."
