Blessed are the Peacemakers Movie: A Journey to Palestine
What's the big deal about Israel and Palestine? Why all the controversy? What do Israelis say about it? What do Palestinians say about it? Is peace in the region possible?
The Holy Land (or Israel and Palestine) is a land fraught with controversy, conflict, and confusion. But here is a fantastic resource to watch at home or share with a group.
Photographer, visual peacemaker, and Peace Catalyst staff member, Andy Larsen has spent a good amount of time in the Holy Land and has collaborated with Emmy award-winning producer John Yeager to produce the movie Blessed Are The Peacemakers, documenting Andy's journey through the Holy Land and telling the stories of real people living life there.
The movie is inspiring, sobering, and enlightening, whether you know a lot about the subject or none at all.
Find out more about the movie here. You can watch the trailer, rent the movie, buy it online, or find a screening near you.
Check it out and be sure to share it with your friends!
Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to go on a “Holy Land Pilgrimage.” This short trip, my first time in this so-called Holy Land, forever changed the way I read Scripture. I believe it was Saint Jerome in the early 5th century who first referred to this experience as reading the fifth gospel, a term I have heard repeated by many. But I also discovered what I might call a “sixth gospel.”
As we approach Good Friday in Palestine, I wanted to share what is on my mind, because today, as Palestinians, we walk a similar path that the disciples walked two thousand years ago.
Whatever we believe about the Jewish people, the land of Palestine, or the end times, we must begin with the basics—with Jesus. Our theology is never just about ideas. It has real-world implications. It impacts how we treat people. It either upholds the ethics of the Kingdom of God, or it doesn’t. Jesus gave us a way of living marked by love, humility, justice, mercy, self-giving, and peacemaking.
For the past 6 months living in The Netherlands, I have felt like I escaped the reality of the world. However, as soon as I landed in Bosnia and Herzegovina I landed into reality once again. Yet, what surprised me was the division within the city. I wondered why there were inverted Russian flags all over town. As soon as I opened my mouth to ask, my new colleague Mirela said, “Welcome to Republika Srpska” (predominantly Serbian Orthodox). I realized that all of my reading and understanding wasn’t enough to prepare me for this.
It has been one year since fighters from Hamas and other militant groups fired rockets and crossed the border from Gaza into Israel, brutally killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 more, ripping apart families and traumatizing the country. It has been one year since Israel retaliated with airstrikes against the crowded cities of Gaza, soon to be followed by a ground invasion and blockade that cut Gaza’s access to food and fuel. Why do we care? Why don’t we just look away and trust these far-off countries to sort it out themselves?
The war in Gaza has been going on for almost a full year. At Peace Catalyst, we believe that God’s mission is to build a holistic and just peace and that our calling as Christians is to follow Jesus in the work of peacebuilding. Watch this video to hear our peacebuilders talk about what the Church should be learning and doing, and how everyday people can be engaged.
To honor Rick’s legacy, to further his vision, and to raise up more peacebuilders like him, Peace Catalyst presented the 3rd annual Rick Love Peace Awards atAlliance for Peacebuilding’s annual gathering, PeaceCon, on September 11, 2024. Meet this year’s Rick Love Peace Award recipient, Munther Isaac…
How do we understand the shared need for justice in both Minneapolis and Palestine? And how should the church be showing up and speaking out? Watch this conversation with Palestinian pastor Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac and local Twin Cities clergy and racial justice activists about liberation and solidarity across borders.
In a time of unimaginable violence in the Middle East, how can the Church imagine a future reconciliation? What wisdom can Christians gain from Jewish, Muslim, and Middle Eastern Christian concepts of justice? In this conversation, we talked with Palestinian Christian Salim Munayer about his latest book, Reconciling Justice: Concepts of Justice in the Multireligious Context of Palestine/Israel.
After everything that has already happened, Gaza’s Christians may now be facing their biggest challenge since the war began.
