MICAH
What is the Apartheid-Free Movement?
An Apartheid-Free church takes a renewed public pledge against all forms of racism, bigotry, and oppression, including against racist discrimination, islamophobia, antisemitism, and xenophobia in our own communities. The church educates itself about the devastation of Palestinian lives under military occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid, and about the connections between settler colonialism, racist oppression, and the cult of security in Palestine/Israel, in North America, and throughout the world. (Modified from apartheidfree.org)
Our Bethlehem Family sponsorship is a program of the Shepherd Society. The Shepherd Society is a vetted Advance Project of the UMC Global Ministries. 100% of gifts to Advance Projects go to the project. MICAH has just sent a $325.00 payment (½ of our annual family sponsorship) to the Shepherd Society, via Minnesota Annual Conference. In the staff photo, the woman who is second from the left is the social worker who is MICAH's contact regarding our Bethlehem family.
MICAH will offer holiday gift items for sale this advent season. Look for opportunities to purchase handmade items from Palestine/Israel in the months ahead. In case you might be interested in a 2026 Colors from Palestine calendar: please visit: https:// resistanceart.com/gallery
Looking ahead to Advent: MICAH is once again hosting nativity displays in the church narthex. Please contact us if you have a nativity you are willing to lend to the displays during the holiday season. micah@northfieldumc.org.
Thank you!
Thank you to Dean and everyone at the Brick Oven Bakery! The MICAH team truly appreciates your partnership and generosity as we work together to support a family in Palestine/Israel. The BOB’s donation of $352 will go toward our commitment to support a family in Bethlehem with their medical and living expenses. Please thank the Brick Oven Bakery for their support of MICAH!
Mark your calendars: Adult Forum MICAH topics:
11/9: Showing Up for Palestine Guest: Joan Deming, "Hope is Something We Do" - Sermon
Bio: Joan Deming is a retired United Methodist Pastor whose career included local church ministry in Wisconsin and nonprofit work on behalf of Palestinian Christian organizations in the West Bank and Israel. Since 2009 she has led many "Living Stones" Pilgrimages to Israel/Palestine to visit holy sites and hear stories from Palestinian and Israeli Peacemakers. She has traveled to the West Bank and Israel four times in the last year and a half to volunteer as part of a protective international presence on the Tent of Nations Farm southwest of Bethlehem. In both worship and a Forum on November 9th, she will share from her experiences at the Tent of Nations as well as recent experiences with friends in Bethlehem and in the Galilee region of northern Israel.
11/16: Insights into Palestine-Israel Guests: Bob Goonin & Ashraf Ashkar,
Description: The presentation will include the historical context and connection to current events, what it is like to live under occupation, and introduction to the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement. To be followed by Q&A. Bios: Ashraf Ashkar was born and raised in Palestine. While living under the Israeli military occupation, he worked with local and international agencies on water rights and access. Bob Goonin is Jewish, a member of the MN BDS Community and Jewish Voice for Peace. He visited Palestine in 2019 as part of an environmental justice delegation.
11/23: Activism at the Southern Border Guest: Marie Gery