In April, 2025, Friends United Meeting organized a pastoral care trip to Friends in Palestine and Lebanon. We carried multiple stories in the enews. We reprint here the initial prayer request for guidance and protection, an account of the trip, and FUM General Secretary Kelly Kellum's prayer upon leaving.
Friends United Meeting is hosting a pastoral care visit to the Middle East, led by General Secretary Kelly Kellum. The team will leave this week and be gone for two weeks. The plan is to visit Friends communities and schools in the region.
The tragedies of the current wars in the region deeply impact the Friends school communities, which remain committed to creating secure environments for their students and maintaining the normalcy of educational routines, while upholding an unwavering commitment to the Friends’ testimony for peace. The primary purpose of this visit is for Friends to provide support, listen to the stories of resilience from these communities, and offer spiritual encouragement and solidarity as they navigate the realities of these conflicts.
The team of ten consists of leaders from Friends United Meeting and Friends World Committee for Consultation – Europe and Middle East Section, pastoral ministers, mental health providers, and educators.
Friends are asked to hold this team in prayer as they travel, navigate borders, and meet with Friends.
Friends United Meeting General Secretary Kelly Kellum writes:
This month, I had the opportunity to lead a pastoral care team to visit Friends communities and schools in the Middle East. The team consisted of:
Cliff Loesch – Ramallah Friends School Board
Jane Carter – Ramallah Friends School Board
Michael Eccles – FWCC-Europe and Middle East Section
Ethel Livermore – FWCC-Europe and Middle East Section
Emily Provance – Traveling Friends Minister
Monica Guzman – Author and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity
Manny Garcia – FUM Executive Board
Kelly Kellum – FUM General Secretary
The purpose of the team was to visit Quaker communities which are enduring the ongoing strain of the current conflicts in the region, listen to stories of resiliency, provide spiritual encouragement and the ministry of presence, and provide firsthand accounts of what we saw, heard, tasted, and experienced.
The team met in Amman on April 5 and traveled to the West Bank the following day, crossing the King Hussein Bridge border crossing. We arrived in time to join Friends for meeting for worship at Ramallah Friends Meeting House.
While much of the city of Ramallah is getting on with life, the stress of war and the resulting humanitarian crisis, and the awareness of the genocide in Gaza, are never far from the minds of all who live in the West Bank. Out of the silence of meeting for worship, we heard rumbling overhead. A member stated that it was the sound of fighter jets. Later that day, we learned of airstrikes in southern Lebanon that took the lives of forty-three people. That afternoon, we heard the sounds of sirens in Ramallah. Three boys were shot, and one was killed, not far from Ramallah. While we do not fully know if the sirens we heard were responding to this crisis, it was a reminder of a crisis that is ongoing.
That week, we met with teachers, visited classrooms, connected with parents, met with church leaders and government officials, ate amazing food, witnessed the encroachments of settlers, visited holy sites, and were amazed by the brilliance and hopefulness of our Ramallah Friends School students. They truly are the world’s hope for a brighter Middle East.
On Palm Sunday, our team had the joy of joining thousands of Christians from across the region and around the world for the procession from the Mount of Olives to the Old City of Jerusalem. The procession started with each group marching together, waving their palm branches, and singing their songs. We walked with Ethiopian Coptics, the Catholic Youth of Jerusalem, and a group from South America. We heard songs of praise in English, French, Spanish, Swahili, and Arabic. By the time we reached the Old City, the groups merged into a giant block party. “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” We joined our voices with those who gathered in the streets of Jerusalem for over two millennia, longing and praying for real change—people longing for a new leader to reign in a new era of peace, hope, and justice.
As we were departing the Old City that day, the missile sirens went off, and we heard the loud sound of percussion. We were then told that it was the sound of the “Iron Dome” intercepting missiles from Yemen. War is never far from the minds of the people living in the region.
The team left the West Bank the following day to return to Amman, where we parted ways. Some of us traveled on to Beirut to visit Friends in Brummana, Lebanon.
All members of the team are eager to share our experiences. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you want someone to talk to your group.
From Ramallah, Kelly Kellum writes:
As the Friends pastoral care team is leaving Palestine today (April 13), I offer this prayer:
God of Hope,
I come before you, my heart heavy yet strangely full, as I stand on this ancient and sacred land of Palestine during a time of profound struggle. The echoes of fighter jets overhead are a stark reminder of the conflict that shadows daily life. The news of young lives lost pierces my soul, each story a fresh wound. I have heard the sirens of hurried ambulances in Ramallah, alerting me to the urgent needs of your people. I have seen the persistent encroachment of settlers, taking lands and olive trees that do not belong to them. I have listened to the stories of people living under the weight of injustice, their resilience a quiet miracle.
Yet, amidst this hardship, I have also been embraced by the warmth of Palestinian hospitality, the tables of my hosts overflowing with generosity and kindness. I have been inspired by the brilliance and confidence radiating from the students at Ramallah Friends School, their potential is a ray of light in the darkness. Tears have flowed freely, mingling with moments of shared laughter, a testament to the paradox of human experience in this land.
As a steward of truth, I now carry the weight of what I have seen, heard, and experienced. I am responsible for sharing a narrative that reflects the realities I have witnessed, which counters the false portrayals that obscure the truth.
Grant me the courage to confront false claims and political bias with clarity and conviction. Empower me to be your instrument of peace and justice, to amplify the voices of those who feel abandoned, who are questioning why the world has forgotten their humanity, and who are asking for basic human consideration.
May my time here not be a fleeting memory but a call to action and love on behalf of the people of Palestine, who inhabit this land you hold dear.
Amen.
