MICAH News
Olive Wood Hearts
Need a nice gift for Christmas? To purchase olive wood hearts ($5.00 each) contact micah@northfieldumc.org. These hearts are being sold in support of the olive wood carvers of Bethlehem who are suffering from the lack of tourism.
Advent Creche displays
MICAH’s Advent mission this year is to bring awareness to the plight of modern day Bethlehem and Palestine through a series of nativity displays in the Narthex at NUMC. Beginning December 1 and continuing through the Advent season, you are invited to browse the displays and reflect upon the first Christmas scene in Bethlehem which is in stark contrast to the modern day experience in Palestine. Let us not forget the plight of the Palestinian people in the Holy Land. If you have a nativity scene you would like to add to the Advent season displays, please contact micah@northfieldumc.org.
MICAH supports a local Bethlehem family
For more than a decade, MICAH has supported families in Bethlehem through the Shepherd Society. Besides the annual sponsorship, MICAH also sends a little extra gift money for birthdays and Christmas. The following are excerpts from recent letters the current family sent us recently.
From son
Dear friends, you have made my day special, and I was very happy that you remembered my thirteenth birthday. Yes, the new school year started on September third, and now I am in the eighth grade. We have begun reviewing integers and fractions as an introduction to algebra, and in science, we are currently learning about the properties of matter and the transfer of liquids. As for my passion for football, I play as an attacking midfielder, contributing to scoring and assisting goals. I thank you for your kind words, which have had a wonderful impact on my life. With love, your brother.
From dad
My friends and brothers, I hope you are all well. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued concern for my health. I am still undergoing ongoing tests, and now I am waiting for the results of the genetic test for the CALR mutation, as it is possible that the disease could progress from myelofibrosis to acute myeloid leukemia. Therefore, we are conducting all the necessary tests, but due to the limited resources available in our government hospitals. Once again, I express my gratitude to you, and I always pray for you. I kindly ask you, my brothers, to remember me in your prayers. Your loving brother.
Prayer from Sabeel.org
Last week, the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority stated that the Israeli forces have dropped more than 85,000 tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, surpassing the amount dropped during World War II. The Authority added in a statement that “the ongoing Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip has led to the destruction of vast areas of agricultural land and the contamination of soil with toxic chemicals that will hinder farming for decades.”
Creator of the Earth, we grieve for the people of Gaza which have borne the weight of violence, and for the generations to come who may never know the land as it was. Lord, we lift up those who have cared for and loved this land for centuries, who are now left without the means to plant, to grow, or to reap. We pray for the families who relied on the soil for their sustenance, for the children who will be denied its harvest, and for all whose heritage and hopes are bound to this earth.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.