Reflection text
This week, the Office for Unity was prepared by the brothers and sisters of the Community in the Holy Land.
Being an Evangelical in the Holy Land, Botrus Mansour
Born in Nazareth in 1965, since October 2025 Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).
From an interview given to Christianity Today in August 2025
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/botrus-mansour-wea-secretary-general-israel-palestine/
Living in Israel, the Lord prepared me to love, as well as be sensitive and open to different people. I have Muslim students in my school, as well as Muslim friends and neighbours. I work with other Christians, including those from non-evangelical churches, and with Jews.
The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). If you have the love of Christ, you have the confidence to talk with other people, whether they’re a Muslim or an ultra-Orthodox Jew. That opens the door for us to come closer and understand each other.
As an evangelical, I am a minority among Arab Christians, Arab Christians are a minority among Arabs, and Arabs are a minority in Israel. Each of my identities – evangelical, Christian, Arab, Palestinian – can contradict with the others because of its political, social, and theological implications. But my identity in Christ overcomes them all and brings harmony in the midst of the contradictions. It motivates me to bring peace between people and God, as well as among believers.
…
We must be tolerant in accepting our brothers and sisters who have different views than we do, because we have something greater in common: our faith, our love for Jesus, our love for the Bible, and our desire for people to know Jesus..
Intercessions
To be adapted or modified according to the place and the circumstances
On 1st October, the World Council of Churches and the Assembly of Christian Churches and Communities of Geneva organized an evening of testimonies in Geneva, during which Christians from the Holy Land were able to share with others their desire to hold on to hope and build peace. Lord, we pray for all the volunteers of the Ecumenical Program in Palestine and Israel, affiliated with the World Council of Churches. Grant them the strength they need to continue this mission of listening, supporting, and seeking justice in their daily lives.
Lord of justice and mercy, we pray to you for the elections to be held in Israel on 27th October. In these troubled times, when Israeli society is deeply divided and the rights of Palestinians are increasingly being denied, we ask for your spirit of wisdom and discernment, an awakening of consciences, and a genuine commitment to the common good. Grant your Spirit of truth and kindness so that a lasting peace may be envisioned.
Lord, we give you thanks and pray for our church leaders, especially at this time for Pope Leo XIV. We entrust to you his health, that he may continue to spread the Good News and that he may make his trip to Latin America next month as planned. We pray to you for our world, which is searching for meaning and truth, and for Christians of all denominations, that they may be attentive to the concerns expressed by young people and become peacemakers in places of tension.
Prayer for Christian unity
Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one,
we pray to you for the unity of Christians,
according to your will,
according to your means.
May your Spirit enable us
to experience the suffering caused by division,
to see our sin
and to hope beyond all hope.
Amen!
(Prayer written by members of the Chemin Neuf Community
inspired by a prayer of Father Paul Couturier)