Church Council Sponsors “A Call to Education and Action Regarding the Crisis in Gaza”
In February, a team of writers from within our Hawai‘i Conference United Church of Christ approached Central Union Church’s (CUC) Council to sponsor a Resolution of Witness, titled “A Call to Education and Action Regarding the Crisis in Gaza.” A Resolution of Witness makes a moral and theological statement about a pressing issue and often contains a call to action for churches and members. In order to be considered by the larger body of the Conference at the ‘Aha Pae‘āina, a Resolution of Witness must be sponsored by one or more churches.
The writing team was led by CUC member Reem Bassous, who presented the resolution to our Council. The resolution calls on our churches to do three things: a) to publicly pray and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Palestine; b) to call for an end to the blockades of humanitarian aid preventing critical food and medical supplies from getting into Gaza; and c) to commit to educating ourselves about the history and current conflict in Palestine and Israel.
After thoughtful discussion, our Council unanimously voted to sponsor this resolution, allowing the resolution to come before the ‘Aha Pae‘āina for discussion in June. We have since been joined by five of our sister churches, who have also voted to sponsor the resolution.
